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PART IV - THEOLOGICAL FRAGMENTS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2009

Duncan B. Forrester
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
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Summary

We have seen in earlier chapters of this book some ways in which contemporary pluralism raises problems for policymakers and practitioners. It is often experienced not so much as healthy diversity, but as fragmentation of a sort which seems to obscure the necessary guidelines and norms. We found people of integrity and insight complaining about ‘moral vacuums’, about the problems which arise when nobody knows what justice is, about sudden and inadequately justified reversals of ideology. At the theoretical level we found a diversity of incompatible world-views and theories of justice on offer, and we noted that attempts to base theory and policy on a consensus are fragile because consensus seems today to be rather thin and temporary. But even if we agree that something richer and more robust than a Rawlsian consensus is needed at the heart of things if we are to have a healthy social life, it is difficult to see how the religious beliefs of a minority, however strongly held, can be constructively deployed for the good of society as a whole.

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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1997

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  • THEOLOGICAL FRAGMENTS
  • Duncan B. Forrester, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Christian Justice and Public Policy
  • Online publication: 02 November 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605628.013
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  • THEOLOGICAL FRAGMENTS
  • Duncan B. Forrester, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Christian Justice and Public Policy
  • Online publication: 02 November 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605628.013
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • THEOLOGICAL FRAGMENTS
  • Duncan B. Forrester, University of Edinburgh
  • Book: Christian Justice and Public Policy
  • Online publication: 02 November 2009
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511605628.013
Available formats
×