Seeing through the secular illusion

Iain T Benson

Dutch Reformed Theological Journal (NGTT)
Dutch Reformed Theological Journal (NGTT)

Abstract
Only when it is recognized that not all ‘faiths’ are religious and that all citizens operate out of some sort of faith commitments can we be properly in a position to evaluate nonreligious faiths alongside religiously informed ones. This re-adjustment of the usual way of examining matters then should lead, Professor Benson argues, to a more accurate way of viewing current education and politics (and their areas of avoidance) as well as such things as fair access to the public square by religious believers and their communities. The long dominance of atheistic and agnostic forms of social ordering (including funding for such things as education and health care) is based, in part, on a belief that stripping religious frameworks from public sector projects is ‘neutral’ when it is not.

In addition, the focus on a rights based jurisprudence has a tendency to view rights such as the freedom of religion in individualist ways that ignore the communal importance of religion. The paper will suggest that moves to put pressure on the associational dimension of religions ignore the communal nature of certain forms of belief to the detriment of a more co-operative society and far from encouraging human freedom, actually reduce it.

In the long run, the importance of religions and their communities to the public sphere – which has been recognized by the Constitutional Court of South Africa – will be encouraged by this fresh and more accurate way of viewing belief systems and the communities that form around them. The more accurate way of understanding both the reality of and the need for more articulate public beliefs, will, Benson argues, provide a richer ground for such things as public school curriculum which often drift in the face of fears of moral imperialism and metaphobia (fear of metaphysics).


Benson IT. Seeing through the secular illusion. Nederduitse Gereformeerde Teologiese Tydskrif. 2013;54(Supplement 4)

Living Together with Disagreement: Pluralism, the Secular, and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs in Canada Today

Iain T Benson

Living Together with Disagreement: Pluralism, the Secular, and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs in Canada Today

Abstract
The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Chamberlain,referred to above, in how it handled the definition of “secular” and pluralism as requiring the inclusion of religion and religious viewpoints, is a model for the law and the first serious consideration of a non-atheistic/agnostic (or secularistic) “secular” in Canada. It, and the TWU decision, provide the beginning outlines of an approach to both pluralism and the secular that will be superior to the preemptively non-religious and atheistic/agnostic understandings that preceded them. The decision also correctly describes the nature of pluralism as one that encourages a diversity of beliefs and that resists the co-option of “secular” society by totalistic conceptions of liberalism that exclude diversity.

These decisions ought to lead to a reconsideration of how we view law and policies in relation to all public aspects of society, including public education. Pluralism can be and needs to be re-conceptualized within existing legal norms and the Canadian historical tradition, so as to foster a richer conception of diversity and genuine tolerance with an appropriately communitarian focus. For pluralism to be pluralism, however, it is important to rescue it from a pseudo-liberalism that hides its totalistic claims.


Benson IT, Fielding A. Living Together with Disagreement: Pluralism, the Secular, and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs in Canada Today [Internet]. Camrose, Alberta: The Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life; 2010: 1-48.

Liberalism Unbound: Towards a More Inclusive Public Sphere

A Response to Iain T. Benson, “Living Together with Disagreement:
Pluralism, the Secular and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs
in Canada Today”

Alex Fielding

Liberalism Unbound: Towards a More Inclusive Public Sphere

Abstract
This response will be divided into three segments. First, it will respond to Benson’s analysis of pluralism, liberalism, and the “secular”. Second, it will advocate for a return to John Stuart Mill’s harm principle as a better way of reconciling competing claims when equality rights and religious freedoms collide. Third, it will apply the harm principle to the contemporary issues of same-sex marriage and the religious objections of marriage commissioners. The central idea is that by moving away from the vague, all-encompassing language of “Charter values” to the harm principle, we create a more pluralistic public sphere that gives reasons for religious and ethnic minorities to reciprocate such tolerance and participate actively in civil society.


Benson IT, Fielding A. Living Together with Disagreement: Pluralism, the Secular, and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs in Canada Today [Internet]. Camrose, Alberta: The Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life; 2010: 46-60.

(Editorial) Conscience and the Unconscionable

Robert Baker

Bioethics
Bioethics

Extract
The challenge is thus to accommodate conscience- based treatment refusals without jeopardizing the foundations of pluralistic medical professionalism. I believe that medical professionals functioning in pluralistic healthcare settings may be excused from providing certain information or services if they apologize to those in need of this aid, and if those in need of aid can be assured equitable access to the information or services in question. Note carefully, I am proposing conditions for excusing professionals who fail to maintain moral neutrality; I am not defending a right to conscience-based denials of healthcare, or ‘civil rights’ protections for refusers. . .Refusals to refer to other professionals or to transfer prescriptions are inexcusable.


Baker R. (Editorial) Conscience and the Unconscionable. Bioethics. 2009;23(5):350-352.

Religion, conscience and clinical decisions

John D Lantos, Farr A Curlin

Acta Paediatrica
Acta Paediatrica

Extract
However, as long as medicine is practiced in a pluralistic democracy where some people find moral guidance in religions and others do not, situations will arise in which two paediatricians, both acting deliberately and conscientiously, will choose different responses to a given clinical decision. The policy challenge becomes one of specifying the situations for which conscience claims ought to be tolerated. . . For situations in which disagreement is consistent with good medical practice, practitioners must be free to follow the dictates of conscience. The risks of disallowing conscientious practice to the profession are greater than that of allowing grounded and well-articulated zones of moral pluralism.


Lantos JD, Curlin FA. Religion, conscience and clinical decisions. Acta Paediatrica. 2008;97(3):265-266.

Does Mission Matter?

Lawrence E Singer

Does Mission Matter?

Extract
It is apparent that Catholic health care is suffused with a religious purpose. Its creation is based upon Church interpretation of a duty to Jesus, and its facilities are required to adhere to formal prescriptions of appropriate canonical, ethical and moral behavior. As recently as twenty years ago, questions regarding a facility’s Catholicity and the implications of this calling would rarely have been asked. In part this was because of the highly visible presence of Sisters or Brothers in the facility, making the religious nature of the institution readily apparent to even the casual observer. Too, few Catholic institutions were part of health care systems, and those systems that existed were of a local or regional nature, likely well- known by the communities served.

Today, many Catholic health care facilities have joined together into larger (often multi-state) health care systems with less visible Sister presence and the development of sophisticated corporate management teams distant from day-to-day operations and local community involvement. Many of these systems enjoy significant market power. As discussed below, the heightened visibility of these organizations has led to very public questioning of institutional adherence to religious teaching (especially in the area of sterilizations and, to a lesser extent, abortion), posing a significant challenge to the Catholic mission. Other significant challenges to the mission have also arisen, as the law, the competitive environment, and even changes within the Church present their own hurdles to Catholic facilities. Section III discusses these issues, setting the stage in Part IV for a discussion of whether a religious mission is sustainable in a pluralistic society.


Singer LE. Does Mission Matter? Houston J Health Law Pol. 2006 Sep;6(2):347-377.