Religion & Law

Michael P. says, "I have expressed skepticism, in much of my work over the past several years, that the claim that every human being has inherent dignity and is inviolable can be embedded in a secular world view."  I too am similarly skeptical. 

Which bring us to Steve Shiffrin's thought provoking comment and question: "I wonder about the utility of arguing that Catholic social thought is politically (as opposed to theologically) superior to all forms of secular liberalism. Does such a claim contradict the claim of Catholic social thought to appeal to all human beings?"  Some initial thoughts.  First, the various forms of secular liberalism will have kernals of truth (otherwise they wouldn't be attractive), and the Catholic ought to be open and willing to learn from the secularist.  Second, to the extent that the Catholic Church has a realistic anthropology, the claims of CST and Catholic legal theory ought to be accessable to non-believers through freflection and experience whether or not we assert its superiority.