On Sun, 9 Jul 2000 14:19:39 -0400 Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu> wrote:
> Marx says...
> Man emancipates himself politically from religion by banishing it from the
sphere of public law to that of private law.
What can I say? Marx was totally wrong about this. This kind of approach establishes a pre-political ethic regarding what is and what is not acceptable in public discourse. Leaving religion in the private real is precisely what makes religion operative in the political sense. Religion has become, in private law, the public trump card. This split gives religion its power in the public sphere. I'd rather have religion solidly in the public sphere, that way at least it becomes the subject of debate (as religion - not as a private interest) and not an empowering assumption. Let Bill Clinton field questions about foreign policy *and* theodicy, rather than letting some unquestionable theological imperative function as the driving force behind international relations. What? Jesus Christ is your personal Lord and Saviour? Let me ask you some questions about the synoptic problem... Of course we all know this won't happen - because religion is not open to criticism in the public sphere because it's protect by private law.
ken