WHY TOLERATE RELIGION? WHY TOLERATE RELIGION? B r i a n L e it e r with a new preface by the author Princeton University Press Princeton and Oxford Copyright © 2013 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TW press.princeton.edu All Rights Reserved Fourth printing, and first paperback printing, with a new preface by the author, 2014 Paperback ISBN 978-0-691-16354-3 The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition of this book as follows Leiter, Brian. Why tolerate religion? / Brian Leiter. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. xxx) and index. ISBN 978-0-691-15361-2 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Religious tolerance. 2. Freedom of religion. I. Title. BL640.L45 2013 323.44’2—dc23 2012010977 British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Garamond Premier Pro Printed on acid- free paper. ∞ Printed in the United States of America 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 For Samuel who had to endure a “day in hell” with the intolerant Contents Preface to the Paperback Edition ix Preface and Acknowledgments xvii Introduction 1 Chapter I Toleration 5 Chapter II Religion 26 Chapter III Why Tolerate Religion? 54 Chapter IV Why Respect Religion? 68 Contents Chapter V The Law of Religious Liberty in a Tolerant Society 92 Notes 135 Selected Bibliography 175 Index 181 viii Preface to the Paperback Edition Internationally, this book has enjoyed a warm recep- tion, with French and Italian translations already forth- coming and appreciative reviews in newspapers in Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, and elsewhere. This is not wholly surprising since, as I note in chapter 1, the European countries typically recognize the equality of religious and non-religious claims of conscience in their foundational charters, if not in the cases actually litigated in the courts. But in the United States, with its high level of public religiosity (despite the absence of an established church), the idea that religious and non-religious claims of conscience should have equal moral standing has proved more controversial.