Rawls, Political Liberalism and Reasonable Faith

271 Pages·2016·1.522 MB·English

by  Paul Weithman

Rawls, Political Liberalism and Reasonable Faith
For over twenty years, Paul Weithman has explored the thought of John
Rawls to ask how liberalism can secure the principled allegiance of those
Rawlscalled“citizensoffaith.”Thisvolumebringstogethertenofhismajor
essays(includingonenewunpublishedessay),whichreflectonthetaskand
politicalcharacterofpoliticalphilosophy,thewaysinwhichliberalismdoes
anddoesnotprivatizereligion,theroleofliberallegitimacyinRawls’stheory,
andtherequirementsofpublicreason.TheessaysrevealRawlsasathinker
deeplyengagedwithpoliticalandexistentialquestionsthattroublecitizensof
faith.Theyalsoexplorehow–infirmoppositiontopoliticalrealism–Rawls
triestoshowthatthepossibilityofliberaldemocracyandthenaturalgoodness
ofhumanityareobjectsofreasonablefaith.Thevolumewillbeofinterestto
political philosophers, political theorists, moral theologians and religious
ethicists.
paul weithman is the Glynn Family Honors Collegiate Professor of
Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. His publications include
Religion and the Obligations of Citizenship (Cambridge University Press,
2002),WhyPoliticalLiberalism?OnJohnRawls’sPoliticalTurn(2010)and
manyjournalarticlesonmedievalpoliticaltheory,religiousethicsandpoli-
ticalphilosophy.

Rawls, Political Liberalism and
Reasonable Faith
Paul Weithman
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Weithman,PaulJ.,1959–author.
Rawls,politicalliberalism,andreasonablefaith/PaulWeithman.
NewYork:CambridgeUnversityPress,2016.|Includesbibliographical
referencesandindex.
LCCN2016008447|ISBN9781107147430
LCSH:Politicalscience–Philosophy.|Religionandpolitics.|Liberalism.|
Rawls,John,1921–2002.|Rawls,John,1921–2002.Briefinquiryintothe
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deepdevotionwhotaughtmeareasonablefaith.

Contents
WorksbyJohnRawls pageviii
Introduction ix
PartI Theundergraduatethesis 1
1 OnJohnRawls’sABriefInquiryintotheMeaningofSinandFaith 3
PartII FromATheoryofJusticetoPoliticalLiberalism 27
2 JohnRawlsandthetaskofpoliticalphilosophy 29
3 Rawlsianliberalismandtheprivatizationofreligion:three
theologicalobjectionsconsidered 41
4 Liberalismandthepoliticalcharacterofpoliticalphilosophy 62
5 LegitimacyandtheprojectofPoliticalLiberalism 82
PartIII Publicreasonanditsrole 117
6 Citizenshipandpublicreason 119
7 Inclusivism,stabilityandassurance 150
8 Convergenceandpoliticalautonomy 168
PartIV Rawls,realismandreasonablefaith 191
9 TheLawofPeoplesandChristianrealism 193
10 Doesjusticeasfairnesshaveareligiousaspect? 213
Bibliography 242
Index 248
vii
Works by John Rawls
Rawls’sworks,givenhereinchronologicalorderoftheirpublication,arecited
parentheticallyinthetextusingthefollowingabbreviations:
TJ A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1971, 1999. Page references to both editions are sup-
plied,separatedbya“/”.
PL Political Liberalism. New York: Columbia University Press,
1996.
CP Collected Papers, ed. Samuel Freeman. Cambridge, MA:
HarvardUniversityPress,1999.
LHMP Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy, ed. Barbara
Herman.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2000.
JFR JusticeasFairness:ARestatement,ed.ErinKelly.Cambridge,
MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2001.
LP The Law of Peoples. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press,2001.
LHPP Lectures on the History of Political Philosophy, ed. Samuel
Freeman.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2007.
BI ABriefInquiryintotheMeaningofSinandFaith,ed.Thomas
Nagel.Cambridge,MA:HarvardUniversityPress,2009.
viii
Introduction
The chapters in this volume stem from a long-standing desire to deepen my
understandingofliberaldemocracy.AmongthethingsIhavemostwantedto
understand about it are the conditions under which it might gain principled
acceptance–especiallyprincipledacceptancebythosewhoadheretovarious
religiousviews.Thepossibilityofsuchacceptanceispuzzlingandraisesmany
deep questions, and the road to it may seem to be blocked by formidable
intellectual obstacles.Forliberalismis oftenthoughttobeincompatiblewith
religious faith, with consequences for politics that are all too evident in our
world.
By the time I began graduate studies at Harvard in 1981, it had long been
apparent that John Rawls’s justice as fairness was the most philosophically
powerful account of liberalism on offer. Rawls began his so-called “political
turn” during the time that I was working with him. My initial reaction – or
perhapsIshouldsay,myinitialreactionasIrecallitmanyyearsafterthefact–
wasthattheviewhewasthendevelopingwasaliberalismthatnotonlymerited
thesortofacceptancethatinterestedme,butwasalsoonethatcouldovercome
theobstacleswhichseemedtostandinthewayofsecuringit.Thechaptersin
this book are some of my best attempts to gain a clearer understanding of
politicalliberalismandtoshowthatmyinitialreactiontoitwasright.
The chapters also stem from my belief that if religious faith does not seek
philosophical understanding, it risks becoming complacent, superficial or
unreasoned.Conversely,thesearchforsuchunderstandingcanleadtoafaith
that is deepened by a more satisfying grasp of the metaphysical, theological,
andmoralconceptsinwhichitscoredoctrinesareexpressedanditsimplica-
tionsdrawnout.Ithereforethinkthatthosewhoprofessareligiousfaithshould
trytoexamineitusingthesharpestphilosophicaltoolsavailable.
As I have already intimated, I believe that justice as fairness is the best
politicalphilosophyforourtimeandplace.Ialsobelievethatitpromisesthe
deeperunderstandingofourcommonlifethatreligiousfaithshouldseek.Ido
notclaimitholdsoutthispromisebecauseIthinkthatprobingRawls’stheory
of justice reveals his own unspoken convictions or suppressed premises of
areligiouscharacter.Rather,Ibelieveitholdsoutthatpromiseforatleastthree
ix