How - and Why - American Jews Have Contended for Religious Freedom: The Requirements and Limits of Civility
The issue is not only what we debate, but how. … Conflicts over the relationship between deeply held beliefs and public policy will remain a continuing feature of democratic life. They do not discredit the First Amendment, but confirm its wisdom and point to the need to distinguish the Religious Lib...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
1990
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| In: |
Journal of law and religion
Year: 1990, Volume: 8, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 131-152 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The issue is not only what we debate, but how. … Conflicts over the relationship between deeply held beliefs and public policy will remain a continuing feature of democratic life. They do not discredit the First Amendment, but confirm its wisdom and point to the need to distinguish the Religious Liberty clauses from the particular controversies they address. … In the public discussion, an open commitment to the constraints and standards of the clauses should precede and accompany debate over the controversies. … Civility obliges citizens in a pluralistic society to take great care in using words and casting issues."— The Williamsburg CharterThroughout history — and throughout the world — religious minorities of all faiths generally have not fared very well at the hands of religious majorities. Sadly, that has been the norm rather than the exception. And the Jews were always a religious minority in every country in which they lived. The seventeenth century French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, spoke both from knowledge and personal experience when he wrote in his Pensees: "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction." All peoples, of course, are products of their collective historical experience. The Jews are no exception. |
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| ISSN: | 2163-3088 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of law and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1051261 |