Public Reasoning in a Post-Secular Society

From the new issue of "Polity" (January 2015), an article by Mark Redhead on Habermas's view on public reasoning in a post-secular society:

"Reasoning between Athens and Jerusalem" [pdf]

Abstract
"Jürgen Habermas, in his recent work on post-secular public reasoning, attempts to craft a model of democratic deliberation in which theistic and non-theistic selves can learn from each other and develop bonds of democratic solidarity. His proposed model raises questions about the abilities of democratically oriented individuals in the twenty-first century to reflect critically upon their own cherished beliefs, to comprehend the beliefs of others, and then to engage critically with the beliefs of others during deliberations about matters of common concern. I argue that these questions are best addressed by focusing on how individuals reason from within and through (rather than independently of) the cultural and ethical forces that make the subjects what they are. The work of many grassroots organizers today illustrates this lesson."

Mark Redhead is Associate Professor of Political Science at California State University. He is the author of "Charles Taylor: Thinking and Living Deep Diversity" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2002) and "Reasoning with Who We are" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).

See also Jürgen Habermas's "Notes on Post-Secular Society" (pdf, 2008) and "A Post-Secular World Society?" (pdf, interview).