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Political Solidarity and Religious Plurality: A Rortian Alternative to Liberalism and Communitarianism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2015

Yong Huang
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There are two very different sets of questions that thoughtful intellectuals ask. On the one hand, we ask those questions like whether there is a God, how many gods there are, who or what God is, and where God exists. On the other hand, we ask those questions like whether women are essentially subordinate to men, whether blacks are by nature inferior to whites, and whether the poor are necessarily secondary to the rich. Despite some strong protests from religious fundamentalists, slowly but constantly, as a society, we are becoming more and more used to thinking that universally agreed answers to the first set of questions are unlikely, unnecessary, and perhaps undesirable. For different people may, and indeed should be allowed and even encouraged to, have their own opinions about, and ways of living with their understanding of God. By contrast, despite some persistent dissents by cultural and moral relativists, gradually but steadily, we are becoming more and more convinced that consensus must be sought on the second set of questions. For we cannot imagine a well ordered society that allows people who have conflicting political convictions (those who believe in human equality and those who don't, for example) to freely exercise their respective ideals. In short, despite some resistance that cannot be ignored, with difficulty, we are eventually coming to realize that religious plurality and political solidarity must co-exist. The question is how.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Law and Religion , Volume 11 , Issue 2 , June 1994 , pp. 499 - 534
Copyright
Copyright © Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University 1994

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