Conscience and the Common Good: Reclaiming the Space Between Person and State PDF
Preview Conscience and the Common Good: Reclaiming the Space Between Person and State
This page intentionally left blank conscience and the common good Our society’s longstanding commitment to the liberty of conscience has become strained by our increasingly muddled understanding of what conscience is and why we value it. Too often we equate conscience with individual autonomy, and so we reflexively favor the individual in any contest against group authority, losing sight of the fact that a vibrant liberty of conscience requires a vibrant marketplace of morally distinct groups. Defending individual autonomy is not the same as defending the liberty of conscience because, although conscience is inescapably personal, it is also inescapably relational. Conscience is formed, articulated, and lived out through relationships, and its viability depends on the law’s willingness to protect the associations and venues through which individual consciences can flourish: these are the myriad institutions that make up the space between the person and the state. Conscience and the Common Good reframes the debate about conscience by bringing its relational dimension into focus. Robert K. Vischer is associate professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis. Professor Vischer’s scholarship explores the intersection of law, religion, and public policy, with a particular focus on the religious and moral dimensions of professional identity. Conscience and the Common Good reclaiming the space between person and state ROBERT K. VISCHER University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521113779 © Robert K. Vischer 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published in print format 2010 ISBN-13 978-0-511-72900-3 eBook (NetLibrary) ISBN-13 978-0-521-11377-9 Hardback ISBN-13 978-0-521-13070-7 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. for Maureen Contents Acknowledgments page ix Introduction 1 PART I: THE RELATIONAL DIMENSION OF CONSCIENCE 1. Conscience in Law 15 2. Conscience and the Person 48 3. Conscience’s Claims 73 4. Conscience and the Common Good 98 PART II: IMPLICATIONS 5. Voluntary Associations 125 6. Pharmacies 155 7. Corporations 179 8. Schools 206 9. Families 239 10. The Legal Profession 269 Conclusion 303 Index 311 vii
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