After Civil Religion (Critical Essay‪)‬

Needless to say, I feel honored to be asked to respond to such a fine paper. To save time, I will not start by listing my many points of agreement but will concentrate on some points on which I may be able to make a distinct contribution to this conference. The thrust of Avery Dulles's paper is clear . As civil religion is eroding, pluralism goes unchecked. This, in turn, is causing a movement downward: Government, not being able to appeal to shared convictions, practices a method of avoiding divisive issues. I agree with both the premises and the conclusion of this argument. In fact, in the final part of my comments I shall add another illustration of this methodical avoidance, that is, the substitution of culture for religion in matters of so-called multiculturalism. Where I disagree is with respect to the conclusion that Dulles then draws, namely, that we should try to strengthen civil religion. I am less positive about civil religion. In this respect I allow for more pluralism.