Christian Accounts of Religious Liberty: Two Views of Conscience
Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: This article examines two views of conscience found with Christian religious liberty discourse. First, the inter-subjective view of conscience. This contains two claims: (a) conscience should not be coerced because of the end to which religion or conscience is directed - the free offering of the person to God; and (b) conscience ultimately serves (and its exercise is judged by its consistency with) a social end. Second, the ethical freedom view of conscience. This also holds that conscience should not be coerced, but frames that requirement as part of facilitating the individual's capacity to determine his or her own ends. The article considers how each of these views of conscience responds to pluralism or religious difference, how each understands the ends of political community, and how each characterises the role of political authority.
Author: Joel Harrison
Institution: The University of Sydney
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3093427852