Legislators and Religious-Based Reasoning

Authors

Diana Ginn, Dalhousie UniversityFollow
David Blaikie, Dalhousie University Schulich School of LawFollow
Micah Goldstein

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2012

Keywords

religious-based reasoning, freedom of religion, religious arguments

Abstract

In a secular, multicultural, liberal democratic society founded on the rule of law, is it appropriate for legislators (or political candidates) to refer to religious beliefs or texts when discussing a government initiative or urging action on a particular issue? Such references might be used for various purposes: to explain the speakers’ own beliefs; to emphasize that an issue has been around for a long time and therefore should be taken seriously; to elucidate historical influences on a particular law; or to give weight to a particular argument by buttressing it with religious authority. In Canada today, do ethics, law, or political theory offer persuasive reasons to limit any such references to religion in parliamentary debate or political campaigning?

Comments

First published as: "Legislators and Religious-Based Reasoning", Diana Ginn & Micah Goldstein, Constitutional Forum constitutionnel 21/2, Copyright © 2012, University of Alberta. https://doi.org/10.21991/C95T0S

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Diana Ginn, David Blaikie & Micah Goldstein, "Legislators and Religious-Based Reasoning" (2012) 21:2 Const Forum Const 1.

Publication Abbreviation

Const Forum Const