04885nam a2200481Ia 4500001001300000003000600013005001700019006001900036007001500055008004100070040001300111020001500124020001800139020003500157020003200192035002100224035001800245050002200263072002500285072002500310082001600335049000900351100002300360245013300383260004900516300003100565504006600596505244300662520072103105588004703826650002703873650002103900650002203921650005703943650004704000655002204047776016004069856010504229938002804334910001204362994001204374999001704386ocn857224154OCoLC20200709055827.0m        d        cr cnu---unuuu130829s2006    ilu     ob    001 0 eng d  aN$TcN$T  z0830828427  z9780830828425  a9780830877751 (electronic bk.)  a0830877754 (electronic bk.)  a(OCoLC)857224154  a577774b(N$T) 4aBL65.P7bS94 2006 7aOCCx0330002bisacsh 7aRELx0700002bisacsh04a201/.72222  aN$TA1 aSweetman, Brendan.10aWhy politics needs religionh[electronic resource] :bthe place of religious arguments in the public square /cBrendan Sweetman.  aDowners Grove, Ill. :bIVP Academic,cc2006.  a1 online resource (256 p.)  aIncludes bibliographical references (p. [251]-252) and index.0 aIntroduction: a new perspective on religion and politics -- Understanding worldviews -- Worldviews : the center and the outer edges -- Two major worldviews in contemporary America -- The formal structure of a worldview -- Worldviews and faith -- The rationality of worldviews -- Worldviews and religion -- Foundational and nonfoundational beliefs -- Lower-order and higher-order beliefs -- Promoting our worldview : belief, action and ritual -- The worldview of secularism -- Secularism today -- Secularism, politics and seculocracy -- The influence of secularism on religion -- Secularism as a worldview -- Secularism as a religion -- Religious beliefs and reason -- What does it mean to describe a belief as "religious"? -- Reason as a source of religious beliefs -- The rationality of religious belief -- Introducing reasonable religious beliefs into politics -- How should we handle reasonable disagreements? -- Keeping religion out of politics I -- Religious beliefs should be excluded because they are "religious" -- Traditional religious beliefs cannot be based on reason and evidence -- "Secular reason" does not imply secularism -- Secularism can better achieve overall agreement among worldviews -- Keeping religion out of politics II -- Most religious beliefs are higher-order beliefs, and so should be kept private -- Religion is dangerous, secularism is benign -- Religious beliefs should not be forced by law on those who do not think they are true -- Religious views should be excluded according to the U.S. constitution -- Rawls, religion and democracy -- Arguing from within our worldview -- John Rawls's political liberalism -- Problems with Rawls's theory -- Religion and democracy -- The principle of religious freedom -- Religion in politics -- Introducing lower-order, rational beliefs into public arguments -- A seculocracy for a secularist people? -- Some practical applications -- The relationship between church and state -- A fictional example : form and content -- Looking at the world upside down : on revising our terminology -- Pluralism, relativism and religious debates : American style -- American pluralism -- School prayer -- Display of traditional religious symbols in public places -- Religion and moral issues : the euthanasia debate in Oregon -- Moral relativism in American culture -- The problems with relativism -- The rhetoric of relativism -- Tolerance : traditional and contemporary meanings.  a"The charge is often repeated that it is wrong to use religious arguments in public debate. But is it? In this timely book Brendan Sweetman counters this charge and the various sophisticated arguments that support it. As we witness the clash of religious and secular worldviews he argues that our pluralistic democratic society will be best served when the faith elements of secularism are acknowledged and the rational elements of religious arguments are allowed to inform the momentous debates taking place in the public square. In fact, Sweetman contends that "politics needs religion if it is to be truly democratic, concerned with fairness among worldviews, equality and a vigorous public discussion.""--Jacket.  aDescription based on print version record. 0aReligion and politics. 7aPolitik.2idszbz 7aReligion.2idszbz 7aBODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Gaia & Earth Energies2bisacsh 7aRELIGION / Christianity / General2bisacsh 4aElectronic books.08iPrint version:aSweetman, Brendan.tWhy politics needs religion.dDowners Grove, Ill. : IVP Academic, c2006z0830828427w(DLC)  2006013030w(OCoLC)67728074403EBSCOhostuhttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=577774  aEBSCOhostbEBSCn577774  acpp1794  a02bN$T  c53174d53174