The intersection of religious belief and public policy has been in the news of late. Most notably, a number of recent Supreme Court cases have focused on claims that civil laws either improperly burden or favor religion in violation of the First Amendment. However, questions also arise in the other direction. To what extent do religious traditions encourage followers to attempt to have their religious practices or beliefs codified into secular law? How do or should religious traditions use sacred texts and/or commentary thereon to develop positions on modern issues? What impact, if any, should the pluralistic nature of our society have on these debates? Panelists will discuss Jewish, Christian, and Islamic perspectives on these and other questions about the proper role of religion in the public sphere as well as Rawls’s argument that any debates regarding secular laws be framed solely in secular terms.
Business meeting at program conclusion.