Why it's wrong to single out religious liberty for special legal protections
This provocative book addresses one of the most enduring puzzles in political philosophy and constitutional theory—why is religion singled out for preferential treatment in both law and public discourse? Why are religious obligations that conflict with the law accorded special toleration while other obligations of conscience are not? In Why Tolerate Religion?, Brian Leiter shows why our reasons for tolerating religion are not specific to religion but apply to all claims of conscience, and why a government committed to liberty of conscience is not required by the principle of toleration to grant exemptions to laws that promote the general welfare.
Brian Leiter is the Karl N. Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the Center for Law, Philosophy, and Human Values at the University of Chicago. He is the author of Naturalizing Jurisprudence and Nietzsche on Morality and the coeditor of the annual Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Law. He writes the Leiter Reports blog.
Table of Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition ix Preface and Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 Chapter I Toleration 5 Chapter II Religion 26 Chapter III Why Tolerate Religion? 54 Chapter IV Why Respect Religion? 68 Chapter V The Law of Religious Liberty in a Tolerant Society 92 Notes 135 Selected Bibliography 175 Index 181
What People are Saying About This
From the Publisher
"Think you understand religious toleration? Think again. Brian Leiter's bracing argument moves deftly from the classics of political philosophy to the riddles of modern case law, demolishing old nostrums and sowing fresh insights with each step. Every reader will learn something from this remarkable book, and, beginning now, every serious scholar of religious toleration will have to contend with Leiter's bold claims."—Christopher L. Eisgruber, Princeton University"This is a provocative and bracing essay, one that is bound to stimulate much discussion."—Richard Kraut, Northwestern University"The place of religion in the public arena, and the kind of protection and even respect it should be entitled to from the state, is a topic of significant contemporary interest. Leiter writes about it with wit and good humor. He is even bruising on occasion. But there can be no doubting his capacity as a scholar, his intellectual energy, or his ability to persuade."—Timothy Macklem, King's College London"Leiter argues that there are no principled, moral reasons for singling out religion as the subject of toleration. He has cut through a dense philosophical and legal literature, focused on a question of great importance, and developed a provocative, sharp, and yet nuanced case. Anyone concerned with this topic will have to read and take seriously the arguments presented in this very well-written and accessible book."—Micah J. Schwartzman, University of Virginia
