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Religion and the Purification of Reason: Why the Liberal State Requires More Than Simple Tolerance
Get PDFWhat could Pope Benedict possibly mean by the astounding claim that reason in public discourse must be purified by religion? What does he mean in saying that religion has a corrective role to play in the political process? In the essay that follows, first, I explore the meaning of this provocative passage as elucidated in the other documents of Benedict\u27s papacy, in the work of Joseph Ratzinger prior to his election as pope, and in the larger body of papal encyclicals, conciliar documents and episcopal statements collectively known as Catholic social teaching. Second, I will show how much of what Benedict has to say about the positive contribution religion can make to public life finds support in two diverse sources - the commentary of Alexis de Tocqueville in Democracy in America and the work of contemporary political theorist Jeremy Waldron. Third, I will review the Supreme Court\u27s recent decision in CLS v. Martinez in light of the positive and corrective function that Benedict says religion performs in the political process. I end the essay with a brief conclusion that ties together the various themes developed
Secular Not Secularist America
Get PDFOther contributors to this symposium see liberalism \u27 as the problem and God as the solution.\u27 To a large extent, Ithink they have it backwards. God is the problem to which liberalism provides a particularly creative solution. Power hates a rival,\u27 and God - or allegiance to an all-embracing monotheistic God - poses a significant threat to power because the wild faith of the martyr cannot be tamed by civil authority
A Story of Privileges and Immunities: From Medieval Concept to the Colonies and United States Constitution
Get PDFCommentators often advocate that the privileges and immunities language found in the United States Constitution represents authority for some right along the spectrum of natural law, the Bill of Rights, or fundamental law in general. This Article provides contextual background for the argument by examining medieval royal privileges and immunities and tracing the crown’s charter to the American colonies and the United States Constitution. This Article goes beyond merely providing a short background for the use of the language in revolutionary pamphlets and the U.S. Constitution; rather, this Article discusses the concept of royal privileges and immunities and traces its growth in England and influence on the colonies. Along the way, useful comparisons are made between English institutions and American institutions
