Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Participation, full participation and realized citizenship
- 2 Religion's role in promoting democracy
- 3 Conceptions of the democratic citizen
- 4 Public argument
- 5 The principles
- 6 Robert Audi on secular reasons
- 7 John Rawls on public reason
- Conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index
5 - The principles
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 September 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface and acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 Participation, full participation and realized citizenship
- 2 Religion's role in promoting democracy
- 3 Conceptions of the democratic citizen
- 4 Public argument
- 5 The principles
- 6 Robert Audi on secular reasons
- 7 John Rawls on public reason
- Conclusion
- Select bibliography
- Index
Summary
The principles I shall defend are:
(5.1) Citizens of a liberal democracy may base their votes on reasons drawn from their comprehensive moral views, including their religious views, without having other reasons which are sufficient for their vote – provided they sincerely believe that their government would be justified in adopting the measures they vote for.
(5.2) Citizens of a liberal democracy may offer arguments in public political debate which depend upon reasons drawn from their comprehensive moral views, including their religious views, without making them good by appeal to other arguments – provided they believe that their government would be justified in adopting the measures they favor and are prepared to indicate what they think would justify the adoption of the measures.
As I indicated when I introduced them, these principles put me at odds with what I call the “standard approach” to questions about religion and political decision-making. Unlike proponents of the standard approach, I distinguish voting from advocacy in public political debate and impose a higher standard on the latter than the former. According to (5.1) and (5.2), someone offering a religious political argument in public must be prepared to indicate what she thinks would justify enactment of the measure she favors. Someone voting for a measure must believe that enacting it would be justified, but she need not be prepared to indicate what the justification is.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Religion and the Obligations of Citizenship , pp. 121 - 147Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2002