Common Schools and Uncommon Conversations: Education, Religious Speech and Public Spaces

This paper discusses the role of religious speech in the public square and the common school. It argues for more openness to political theology than many liberals are willing to grant and for an educational strategy of engagement over one of avoidance. The paper argues that the exclusion of religious debate from the public square has dysfunctional consequences. It discusses Rawls's more recent views on public reason and claims that, while they are not altogether adequate, they are consistent with engagement. The outcome of these arguments is applied to three 'hot button' issues in US education: creationism, an issue of gay rights, and teaching the Bible in schools.