Religion and the Common Good: Catholic Contributions to Building Community in a Liberal Society
The term “common good” has often been ill-defined or undefined in political, philosophical, and theological discourses. Brian Stiltner seeks to repair this deficit in his study Religion and the Common Good. He explores the meaning of the common good and the prospects for pursuing it in a liberal society. Focusing on the conceptions of common good in liberalism and communitarianism—the former stressing individual rights and social tolerance, the latter stressing a community’s shared history and social practices—Stiltner argues that the two theories are not as irreconcilable as they seem, that they can be combined into a “communal liberalism.” Stiltner provides an outline of the twentieth-century Catholic common good theory as an example of such a synthesis. A fascinating study, Religion and the Common Good will be an invaluable volume for scholars of social ethics, religion, theology, philosophy and political science.
Chapter 1 The Enlightenment as Problem and Resource: Locke and
Mendelssohn on the Common Good
Chapter 2 Religion as a Source of Social Unity I: Rawls and
Sandel
Chapter 3 Linking Liberalism and Communitarianism Through Common
Good Theory: Maritain's Method
Chapter 4 Religion as a Source of Social Unity II: Maritain's
Public Philosophy
Chapter 5 Creating a Politic of the Common Good: A Case Study of
the Abortion Debate
Stiltner achieves a level of lucidity and clarity that untangles the complex philosophical issues surrounding the role of religion in promoting the common good. He provides an excellent layout of the essential terms and their lexical variants, as well as the competing philosophical claims and implications of the multi-faceted liberal-communitarian-Catholic dialogue of the common good. This book makes a significant contribution to the field of political philosophy by developing the unique resources within Roman Catholic social thought that can contribute to debates on religion's role in a contemporary liberal society.
This book can be highly recommended to anyone interested in the place of religious beliefs in today's public square.
There is much to admire here. Stiltner clearly accomplishes what he sets out to do—to indicate the availability for contemporary thought of an alternative approach to the common good that might address concerns about the loss of common life. And he does this with admirable clarity, detail, and nuance.
Product Details
- Title : Religion and the Common Good: Catholic Contributions to Building Community in a Liberal Society
- Author: Stiltner, Brian
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publication Date: 1999
- ISBN: 9781461641919
Brian Stiltner is assistant professor of religious studies at Sacred Heart University.