| American Supreme Court jurisprudence in the area of religious freedom is, for the most part, predicated upon a form of liberal democratic theory commonly known as "procedural liberalism." A close analysis of this jurisprudence reveals that because of this theoretical basis, the Supreme Court has been unable to craft a consistent jurisprudence that adequately addresses the reality of religion as a pluralistic social institution. Based upon the detailed critiques of procedural liberalism by such thinkers as Charles Taylor and Iris Marion Young, and drawing upon a concept known as "deep diversity" suggested by Taylor, a new general political theory, identified as the theory of deep diversity, is developed to answer these critiques. This theory is then used to reconceptualize Supreme Court jurisprudence and to demonstrate how the theory can be applied in a practical way to resolve the many problems inherent in existing religious freedom jurisprudence so as to support and advance religious pluralism. |
