Democracy and Secularism: Remarks on an Ongoing Dispute

vol. 13, n. 1 (2014) • Ethic@ - Revista Internacional de Filosofia Moral

Autor: Luiz Bernardo Leite Araujo

Resumo:

This paper focus on the disputed issue concerning the proper role of religion in politics, confronting the contributions of three major contemporary political thinkers about democracy and secularism. I present, first, Charles Taylor’s characterization of secularist regimes as attempts to secure the basic principles of the modern moral order. Next, I argue that John Rawls’s growing interest in the relation between religion and democracy led him to an even more inclusive view of public reason. Thirdly, I show that Jürgen Habermas preserves a distinction between faith and knowledge that proves essential to grasping the debate over the place of religion in the public sphere. All three thinkers are concerned with the appropriate forum for the basic political language of the secular state. In a nutshell, my interpretation highlights a much greater proximity between Habermas and Rawls on political justification, on the one hand, and between the former and Taylor regarding the normative basis for the secular state, on the other hand, than their various interventions seem to indicate.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5007/1677-2954.2014v13n1p141

Texto Completo: https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/ethic/article/view/1677-2954.2014v13n1p141/26937

Palavras-Chave: Rawls,Habermas,Religion,Secularism,Democracy

Ethic@ - Revista Internacional de Filosofia Moral


ethic@ - An international Journal for Moral Phylosophy - uma publicação do Núcleo de Ética e Filosofia Política da UFSC, tem como objetivo principal publicar trabalhos inéditos (artigos, resenhas, entrevistas, traduções), com excelência e vanguarda na área de Filosofia Moral Moderna e Contemporânea.