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PPE Conversation Series

February 6 at 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

In his talk, “Justice and Religious Freedom in Christian Political Thought,” Kevin Vallier explores the foundations of religious freedom within Christian political philosophy.

Dr. Vallier is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toledo, where he is Associate Director at the Institute of American Constitutional Thought and Leadership. Vallier’s interests lie primarily in political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of religion, and philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE).

Abstract

A new controversy over how Catholics should regard the free exercise of religion will be discussed. Catholic teaching on religious liberty developed considerably in the 20th century. Some 19th-century popes seemed to condemn universal religious freedom, and Early Modern figures, like Cardinal Robert Bellarmine and Francisco Suarez, certainly did. Yet the Catholic Church affirmed universal religious freedom in 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council. The traditional view held that Christian states may limit religious freedom. The state must promote the authentic human good, which includes salvation, and securing salvation may require restricting the free exercise of religion.

The contemporary Catholic view disagrees: the state may seldom, if ever, limit religious freedom. Human dignity prohibits such restrictions in almost every case. Dr. Vallier defends Catholicism’s current stance, one shared by almost every Christian confession. To vindicate it, however, he must first defend the traditional position, as it has a compelling rationale. To assess that rationale, we must address the surprising claim that baptism can license coercive restrictions on religious freedom. The traditional view faces a baptism puzzle, one that it cannot resolve. Catholic leadership overwhelmingly endorses the contemporary approach. Yet recent developments in American politics have revived the traditional view, and the contrast has acquired enormous symbolic status. It forces us to ask whether liberal democratic order itself is a mistake.

Details

Date:
February 6
Time:
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm

Venue

Arts Building (ART)
1147 Research Road
Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7 Canada
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Additional Info

Room Number
ART 110
Registration/RSVP Required
No
Event Type
Talk/Lecture
Topic
Arts and Humanities
Audiences
Faculty, Staff, Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Associates