Religious Values in Liberal Democracy

Abstract

Religious values neither wholly threaten nor wholly reinforce the stability of liberal democracy. This depends upon how they may be interpreted and applied. The recent influence of Christian nationalists, who would promote a specific interpretation of Christianity as the only legitimate basis for public policy, and of those who would elevate religious liberty above all other rights, does not promote pluralism. Although people should be able to live out their religious commitments, it is the state, not individuals or private organizations, that must draw the line between the free exercise of religion and the civil rights of those who may be adversely affected by the religious exercise of others. First, religious rights may threaten other rights, particularly when reinforced with public funds. Second, religion makes valuable contributions to pluralism when it protects the conscientious beliefs and practices of individuals and of minority religious groups. Finally, concerning LGBT civil rights, individual religious believers should be accommodated as much as possible, but their organizations should be required to arrange for others without objections to provide services that are sought. Religion’s greatest contribution occurs when it is allied with movements that enhance individual rights, including but not limited to the free exercise of religion.

The Representation of Counterproductive Religious Values in a Selected Chapter of an Indonesian ELT Textbook: Systemic Functional Multimodal Discourse Analysis

“…The religious value is inevitably essential to exist (Ariza et al, 2020;Astapov & Krasnova, 2022;Astavov & Krasnova, 2022;Gill, 2020;González-Gijón et al, 2019;Pusztai et al, 2021). It is in line with some crucial instructional objectives i.e.…”

Believers, Attractiveness and Values

“…While these features may lead to higher-order interactions, no research has explored the extent to which this dialogic dynamic can foster intercultural dialogues that enhance the attractiveness of values such as love, kindness, humility, or generosity. Especially in times where freedom is jeopardized in many contexts (Gill 2020), this study opens up new horizons for intercultural dialogues that nurture fundamental human values, which might bring renewed hope for future generations.…”

“…However, research has widely demonstrated how actions grounded in values such as love, friendship, or solidarity have the potential to enhance social cohesion; to provide emotional, economic, or other kinds of support; and to promote health and the public good (Gill 2020;Leon-Jimenez 2020). At the individual level, neuroscience has also evidenced how kindness fosters a healthy brain (Galante et al 2014) and leads to relationships characterized by pleasure and desire (Racionero-Plaza et al 2020).…”