Title: Liberal Equality And The Politics Of Religion
Abstract: According to the traditional conception of liberal egalitarianism, the state should be neutral on religious issues and the rights granted to citizens to practice their religions should be universal, and thus blind with respect to religious differences between people. In this paper, I critically examine both components of the traditional view. I argue: (1) state neutrality is compatible with much more religion in the public sphere than it is usually thought, (2) liberal egalitarians should in any case abandon their commitment to state neutrality, and (3) they should likewise abandon the view that all (legitimate) religious rights are difference-blind, and so make room for groupdifferentiated religious rights as well. 1