Religious Liberty In A Lockean Society (palgrave Studies In Religion, Politics, And Policy)
by Elissa B. Alzate /
2017 / English / PDF
1.9 MB Download
This book assesses the concept of religious liberty in the United
States according to the political theory of John Locke.
Protecting the individual freedom of religion without infringing
on the rights of others or on legitimate political authority
requires delicate balance. The work analyzes Locke’s concept of
religious liberty and, from it, derives nine criteria for
locating that balance. The most important of these criteria
requires government neutrality and equality before the law. The
United States has historically struggled with providing this
balance, particularly through Supreme Court decisions, resulting
in the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Application of Locke’s criteria for balancing religious liberty
and government authority to three recent cases―a government
employee, an employer, and a small business owner―reveal that
RFRA legislation threatens this balance by undermining neutral
government action and treats citizens unequally before the
law.
This book assesses the concept of religious liberty in the United
States according to the political theory of John Locke.
Protecting the individual freedom of religion without infringing
on the rights of others or on legitimate political authority
requires delicate balance. The work analyzes Locke’s concept of
religious liberty and, from it, derives nine criteria for
locating that balance. The most important of these criteria
requires government neutrality and equality before the law. The
United States has historically struggled with providing this
balance, particularly through Supreme Court decisions, resulting
in the passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Application of Locke’s criteria for balancing religious liberty
and government authority to three recent cases―a government
employee, an employer, and a small business owner―reveal that
RFRA legislation threatens this balance by undermining neutral
government action and treats citizens unequally before the
law.
