Pluralism and Freedom

Stephen V. Monsma is a senior research fellow at the Henry Institute at Calvin College and professor of political science emeritus at Pepperdine University. He is the author of numerous works for faith-based organizations and church and state relations, including Faith, Hope, and Jobs and Putting Faith in Partnerships.

• PrefaceChapter 1: The Issue that Will Not Go AwayDiversity, Pluralism, and AutonomyTwo Sets of QuestionsA Conflict of Theoretical ConceptsThe Plan of the BookChapter 2: Faith-Based Organizations and the Network of Human ServicesFaith-Based Organizations in the Nonprofit and Voluntary SectorInternational Emergency Relief and Long-Term DevelopmentFaith-Based Organizations in International Relief and DevelopmentThe Added Value of Faith-Based and Other Nongovernmental Organizations.The Role of Faith in Faith-Based Organizations.Adoption and Foster Care ServicesFaith-Based Organizations in Adoption and Foster Care ServicesThe Added Value of Faith-Based Organizations.The Role of Faith in Faith-Based Organizations.The Michigan Prisoner Reentry Initiative (MPRI)Faith-Based Organizations in the MPRI.The Added Value of Faith-Based OrganizationsThe Role of Faith in Faith-Based Organizations.ConclusionsChapter 3: The Seedbeds of Attitudes towards Faith-Based OrganizationsThe Liberal Enlightenment, the Founding Era, and the Young NationThe Eighteenth Century Enlightenment in Europe The Eighteenth Century Enlightenment and the American FoundersReligion in the Founding Era and the Young NationThe Legacy of the Founding Era and the Young NationThe Supreme Court, Church-State Relations, and Faith-Based OrganizationsThe Strict Separation, No-Aid-to-Religion StandardThe Equal Treatment, Neutrality StandardThe Accommodationist StandardThe Continuing Strength of the Strict Separation, No-Aid-to-Religion StandardThe Inadequacy of the Strict Separation, No-Aid-to-Religion StandardThe Supreme Court and Freedom of AssociationSummaryNondiscrimination Measures and Faith-Based OrganizationsThe 1960s Nondiscrimination Civil Rights LawsThe Legacy of Nondiscrimination LawsConclusionsChapter 4: The Partisan-Political Landscape TodayFaith-Based Organizations and the LeftThe Left’s Mindset towards Faith-Based Organizations in the Public RealmApplications of the Left’s Mindset towards Faith-Based Organizations in the Public RealmFaith-Based Organizations and the RightThe Right’s Mindset towards Faith-Based Organizations in the Public RealmApplications of the Right’s Mindset towards Faith-Based Organizations in the Public RealmChapter 5: Structural Pluralism in Christian Democratic ThoughtReligious Freedom in the Context of Church-State SeparationStructural Pluralism and Christian DemocracyOrigins in Nineteenth Century Events and Political CurrentsPersonalismThe Pluralism of Structural PluralismSubsidiarity in Roman Catholic Social Thought.Sphere Sovereignty in Dutch neo-Calvinist Thought.Common Ground between Catholics and Protestants:Contemporary Structural PluralismStructural Pluralism and the American Polity.Chapter 6: Faith-Based Organizations a Pluralistic Public Square: ApplicationsThree Basic PerspectivesA Respect for Religion and Its Role in the Public Policy WorldFaith-Based Organizations Possess Religious Freedom and Autonomy RightsSubstantive Religious Neutrality as the Key to Freedom of ReligionSpecific Issues: Government Funds and Religious Hiring RightsStructural Pluralism’s AnswerObjections to the Structural Pluralist PositionSpecific Issues: Religious Elements in Government Subsidized ServicesStructural Pluralism’s AnswerObjections to the Structural Pluralist PositionSpecific Issues: Nondiscrimination and Hiring and Membership StandardsStructural Pluralism’s AnswerObjections to the Structural Pluralist PositionSpecific Issues: Requiring Faith-Based Organizations to Provide Services They Find Religiously ObjectionableStructural Pluralism’s AnswerObjections to the Structural Pluralist PositionBibliography

In this book Monsma (emer., Pepperdine Univ.) examines the contentious issue of the proper place of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the public square in the US through the important lenses of freedom, pluralism, tolerance, and diversity. In particular, Monsma wants to determine how much religious autonomy FBOs should legally retain when entering into the public sphere, and how much religious diversity and pluralism should be willingly accepted in the public realm. Monsma correctly asserts that answering these questions is crucial given the large role that FBOs play in critical areas of US public life, and also convincingly argues that current thinking across the ideological spectrum is of little use in providing usable answers. In his attempt to address this dilemma, Monsma turns to western Europe, specifically to the Roman Catholic teaching of subsidiarity, the neo-Calvinist idea of sphere sovereignty, and the tradition of Christian Democracy to flesh out a solution he labels structural pluralism. Structural pluralism reserves an important place in the public realm for all intermediary institutions, religious and nonreligious alike. All will not agree with Monsma's take here, but all will benefit from considering his ideas. Summing Up: Highly recommended.