Overview
Faith-based organizations play a major role in providing a host of health, educational, and social services to the public. Nearly all these efforts, however, have been accompanied by intense debate and numerous legal challenges. The right of faith-based organizations to hire based on religion, the presence of religious symbols and icons in rooms where government-subsidized services are provided, and the enforcement of gay civil rights to which some faith-based organizations object all continue to be subjects of intense debate and numerous court cases. In Pluralism and Freedom, Stephen V. Monsma explores the question of how much autonomy should faith-based organizations retain when they enter the public realm? He contends that pluralism and freedom demand their religious freedom be respected, but that freedom of all religious traditions and of the general public and secular groups be equally respected, ideals that neither the left nor the right live up to. In response, Monsma argues that democratic pluralism requires a genuine, authentic—but also a limited—autonomy for faith-based organizations providing public services, and offers practical, concrete public policy applications of this framework in practice.
Full Product Details
Author: Stephen V. Monsma
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Imprint: Rowman & Littlefield
Dimensions:
Width: 16.20cm
, Height: 2.10cm
, Length: 24.00cm
Weight: 0.508kg
ISBN: 9781442214309
ISBN 10: 1442214309
Pages: 238
Publication Date: 09 December 2011
Recommended Age: From 22 from 22
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Few scholars have thought harder or more productively than Steve Monsma about the role of faith-based organizations in our pluralistic democracy. Pluralism and Freedom brilliantly reflects his years of research and philosophical probing. Many conservatives will find his ideas attractive, but I especially recommend his book to liberals who may well disagree with him, but will find themselves challenged by Monsma's compassionate heart and searching mind. -- Dionne, E J., Jr. Our society counts on flourishing faith-based service organizations. However, the religious freedom--the autonomy--they need in order to play their important roles is not so well understood. Stephen V. Monsma's path-breaking book identifies key issues and controversies and recommends policies that will enable these vital groups to continue to make their uncommon contributions to our common good. -- Carlson-Thies, Stanley Monsma is the dean of scholars who study religion and politics in America. You don't need to agree with all or even most of his policy-relevant conclusions to marvel at the deep erudition, moral balance, and civic spirit that inform each and every page of Pluralism and Freedom. And you can't claim to have a truly informed and considered opinion on the most controversial church-state issues of our day unless you have read this latest gem of a book by Monsma. -- DiIulio, John J., Jr. In his previous seminal contribution Positive Neutrality: Letting Religious Freedom Ring, Stephen Monsma helped to establish the legal and philosophical grounding of today's much-debated faith-based initiatives. With Pluralism and Freedom: Faith Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma has advanced the debate again by probing the conflicting liberal and pluralist understandings of religion and religious communities at the heart of the constitutional and political struggle over the public role of faith-based organizations. Carefully and sympathetically, Monsma defines a reasonable policy balance between these conflicting worldviews, moving today's relatively more accommodating church-state framework one step closer toward consensus. -- Daly, Lew
In this book Monsma (emer., Pepperdine Univ.) examines the contentious issue of the proper place of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the public square in the US through the important lenses of freedom, pluralism, tolerance, and diversity. In particular, Monsma wants to determine how much religious autonomy FBOs should legally retain when entering into the public sphere, and how much religious diversity and pluralism should be willingly accepted in the public realm. Monsma correctly asserts that answering these questions is crucial given the large role that FBOs play in critical areas of US public life, and also convincingly argues that current thinking across the ideological spectrum is of little use in providing usable answers. In his attempt to address this dilemma, Monsma turns to western Europe, specifically to the Roman Catholic teaching of subsidiarity, the neo-Calvinist idea of sphere sovereignty, and the tradition of Christian Democracy to flesh out a solution he labels structural pluralism. Structural pluralism reserves an important place in the public realm for all intermediary institutions, religious and nonreligious alike. All will not agree with Monsma's take here, but all will benefit from considering his ideas. Summing Up: Highly recommended. CHOICE In Pluralism and Freedom: Faith-Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma looks beyond our borders for a fresh perspective on this most contentious issue. Christianity Today Few scholars have thought harder or more productively than Steve Monsma about the role of faith-based organizations in our pluralistic democracy. Pluralism and Freedom brilliantly reflects his years of research and philosophical probing. Many conservatives will find his ideas attractive, but I especially recommend his book to liberals who may well disagree with him, but will find themselves challenged by Monsma's compassionate heart and searching mind. -- E J. Dionne, Jr., author of Why Americans Hate Politics and They Only Look Dead Our society counts on flourishing faith-based service organizations. However, the religious freedom-the autonomy-they need in order to play their important roles is not so well understood. Stephen V. Monsma's path-breaking book identifies key issues and controversies and recommends policies that will enable these vital groups to continue to make their uncommon contributions to our common good. -- Stanley Carlson-Thies Monsma is the dean of scholars who study religion and politics in America. You don't need to agree with all or even most of his policy-relevant conclusions to marvel at the deep erudition, moral balance, and civic spirit that inform each and every page of Pluralism and Freedom. And you can't claim to have a truly informed and considered opinion on the most controversial church-state issues of our day unless you have read this latest gem of a book by Monsma. -- John J. DiIulio, Jr., former director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives In his previous seminal contribution Positive Neutrality: Letting Religious Freedom Ring, Stephen Monsma helped to establish the legal and philosophical grounding of today's much-debated faith-based initiatives. With Pluralism and Freedom: Faith Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma has advanced the debate again by probing the conflicting liberal and pluralist understandings of religion and religious communities at the heart of the constitutional and political struggle over the public role of faith-based organizations. Carefully and sympathetically, Monsma defines a reasonable policy balance between these conflicting worldviews, moving today's relatively more accommodating church-state framework one step closer toward consensus. -- Lew Daly, Senior Fellow at Demos and author of God and the Welfare State
Few scholars have thought harder or more productively than Steve Monsma about the role of faith-based organizations in our pluralistic democracy. Pluralism and Freedom brilliantly reflects his years of research and philosophical probing. Many conservatives will find his ideas attractive, but I especially recommend his book to liberals who may well disagree with him, but will find themselves challenged by Monsma's compassionate heart and searching mind. -- E J. Dionne, Jr., author of Why Americans Hate Politics and They Only Look Dead Our society counts on flourishing faith-based service organizations. However, the religious freedom--the autonomy--they need in order to play their important roles is not so well understood. Stephen V. Monsma's path-breaking book identifies key issues and controversies and recommends policies that will enable these vital groups to continue to make their uncommon contributions to our common good. -- Stanley Carlson-Thies Monsma is the dean of scholars who study religion and politics in America. You don't need to agree with all or even most of his policy-relevant conclusions to marvel at the deep erudition, moral balance, and civic spirit that inform each and every page of Pluralism and Freedom. And you can't claim to have a truly informed and considered opinion on the most controversial church-state issues of our day unless you have read this latest gem of a book by Monsma. -- John J. DiIulio, Jr., former director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives In his previous seminal contribution Positive Neutrality: Letting Religious Freedom Ring, Stephen Monsma helped to establish the legal and philosophical grounding of today's much-debated faith-based initiatives. With Pluralism and Freedom: Faith Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma has advanced the debate again by probing the conflicting liberal and pluralist understandings of religion and religious communities at the heart of the constitutional and political struggle over the public role of faith-based organizations. Carefully and sympathetically, Monsma defines a reasonable policy balance between these conflicting worldviews, moving today's relatively more accommodating church-state framework one step closer toward consensus. -- Lew Daly, Senior Fellow at Demos and author of God and the Welfare State In Pluralism and Freedom: Faith-Based Organizations in a Democratic Society, Monsma looks beyond our borders for a fresh perspective on this most contentious issue. Christianity Today
Author Information
Stephen V. Monsma is a senior research fellow at the Henry Institute at Calvin College and professor of political science emeritus at Pepperdine University. He is the author of numerous works for faith-based organizations and church and state relations, including Faith, Hope, and Jobs and Putting Faith in Partnerships.
