Minding the 'Unbridgeable Gap': The Future of Conscientious Objection in a Secular Age
In this article, we offer a rebuttal to a key thesis in Chapter 5 of Engelhardt's After God: namely, that there exists an "unbridgeable gap" between the dominant secular culture and traditional religious believers. Contra Engelhardt, we argue that it is possible to bridge the gap by e...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Review |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2017]
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| In: |
Christian bioethics
Year: 2017, Volume: 23, Issue: 2, Pages: 149-168 |
| Review of: | After God (Yonkers, New York : St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2017) (León, Alain Julian)
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| IxTheo Classification: | CH Christianity and Society NCH Medical ethics VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
Book review
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | In this article, we offer a rebuttal to a key thesis in Chapter 5 of Engelhardt's After God: namely, that there exists an "unbridgeable gap" between the dominant secular culture and traditional religious believers. Contra Engelhardt, we argue that it is possible to bridge the gap by employing a strategy that includes, but is not limited to, methods for cultivating (1) understanding and respect and (2) a sense of solidarity. Our argument proceeds in three steps. First, we elucidate Engelhardt's thesis in light of some of the key concepts he discusses elsewhere in After God. Second, in the hope of developing understanding and respect, we elucidate the history and teachings that form the consciences of traditional Christian medical professionals concerning abortion, euthanasia, and disfiguring surgeries. Third, in the hope of developing a sense of solidarity, we explain the broad scope of the dominant secular culture's attempt to limit people's freedom of conscience rights, showing that it includes not only traditional Christians but also members of other traditional religions, members of mainline religious groups, people with alternative conceptions of secularity, and even faithful members of the dominant secular culture. |
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| ISSN: | 1744-4195 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Christian bioethics
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/cb/cbx001 |