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Liberalism, Multiculturalism, and the Case for Public Religion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2010

Sonia Sikka
Sonia Sikka*
Affiliation:
University of Ottawa
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Sonia Sikka, Department of Philosophy, University of Ottawa, 70 Laurier Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6N5, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Liberalism, as a political paradigm, is committed to maintaining a stance of neutrality toward religion(s), along with other comprehensive systems of belief. Multiculturalism is premised on the view that the political policies of internally diverse nations should respect the beliefs and practices of the various cultural, ethnic, and religious groups of which those nations are composed. Sometimes synthesized, sometimes standing in tension, these two political frameworks share a common goal of minimizing conflict while respecting diversity. Although this goal is, in principle, laudable, I argue in this article that the operation of liberal and multiculturalist forms of public reasoning inadvertently diminishes critical reflection and revision in the area of religion, with potentially dangerous consequences both for the health of religion and for social stability. Measures to counter these dangers, I propose, include a relaxation of the restrictive rules that define liberal public reason, and education about religion in schools.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 3 , Issue 3 , December 2010 , pp. 580 - 609
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2010

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