Religion in Public Life: Must Faith Be Privatized?

How far can religion play a part in the public sphere, or should it be only a private matter? Roger Trigg examines this question in the context of today's pluralist societies, where many different beliefs clamour for attention. Should we celebrate diversity, or are matters of truth at stake? In particular, can we maintain our love of freedom, while cutting it off from religious roots? In societies in which there are many conflicting beliefs, the place of religion is a growing political issue. Should all religions be equally welcomed in the public square? Favouring one religion over others may appear to be a failure to treat all citizens equally, yet for citizens in many countries their Christian heritage is woven into their way of life. Whether it is the issue of same-sex marriages, the right of French schoolgirls to wear Islamic headscarves, or just the public display of Christmas trees, all societies have to work out a consistent approach to the public influence of religion.

Roger Trigg is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick and a former President of the Mind Association and of the British Society for Philosophy of Religion. His other books include Pain and Emotion (OUP, 1970), Rationality and Religion (Blackwell, 1998), Philosophy Matters (Blackwell, 2002), and Morality Matters (Blackwell, 2005).