One of the smartest young philosophers working in the area of law and religion is Kevin Vallier, who has just published his first book, Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation. It is an important and distinctive argument,with which even those who disagree will need to engage. Here is the jacket description:
In the eyes of many, liberalism requires the aggressive
secularization of social institutions, especially public media and
public schools. The unfortunate result is that many Americans have
become alienated from the liberal tradition because they believe it
threatens their most sacred forms of life. This was not always the case:
in American history, the relation between liberalism and religion has
often been one of mutual respect and support. In Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation,
Kevin Vallier attempts to reestablish mutual respect by developing a
liberal political theory that avoids the standard liberal hostility to
religious voices in public life. He claims that the dominant form of
academic liberalism, public reason liberalism, is far friendlier to
religious influences in public life than either its proponents or
detractors suppose. The best interpretation of public reason, convergence liberalism, rejects
the much-derided “privatization” of religious belief, instead viewing
religious contributions to politics as a resource for liberal political
institutions. Many books reject privatization, Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation is unique in doing so on liberal grounds.
Vallier discusses the book in a podcast interview at New Books in Philosophy, here.