By ANDREA PICCIOTTI-BAYER
In a new book, three scholars make the argument that a pluralistic society can be both pragmatic and principled. Thanks to the work of three young American scholars, a new and invaluable primer is the latest tool helping to make sense of the country’s current culture wars. In Debating Religious Liberty and Discrimination, John Corvino, Ryan T. Anderson, and Sherif Girgis boldly tackle the ongoing legal and cultural battles in which matters of faith and fairness appear opposed and poised to further divide an already divided nation.
The authors’ thought-provoking essays, presented in a point-counterpoint format, broadly address religious liberty, tolerance, and discrimination, providing a valuable framework from which to assess public policy as it relates to these questions in the context of intimate matters including marriage, sex, and child rearing.
The book begins with an important introduction to our country’s history of religious freedom and to how the “close connection between civil liberties, religious liberties, and limits on government power is reflected in the combination of rights reinforced by the First Amendment.” Readers are reminded, for example, that the First Amendment’s religion clauses and guarantees of freedom of speech, press, assembly, and petition were designed and are still meant to “work together.”
