Public Religion and the Limits of Secularism

Abstract

This article examines Jose Casanova's theory of public religion which first appears on his Public Religion in the Modern World, and the reorganization of liberal secularism that Charles Taylor discussed in his Secularism and the Freedom of Conscience.
  In Casanova's theory, public religion was expected to complement politics of liberal democracy. This theory affects many political thinkers including Charles Taylor. Then, Taylor set forth the ‘liberal and pluralistic’ secularism which assigns important political roles on (public) religion. But Casanova himself now criticizes his theory of public religion and ‘liberal’ secularism. This article would articulate why and how he criticizes his original position and liberal projects of reorganizing secularism.
  In conclusion, I specify some limits of liberal and pluralistic kinds of secularism. They cannot flee from their inherent tendency to ‘violence’ and treat secular (or Christian) arguments and non-Western religious arguments, e.g. Islam, equally.