Is Religious Conviction Special?

Abstract

Religious convictions are not special when it comes to their 1) cultural trappings, 2) epistemic pedigree, or 3) epistemic status within the communities that hold them. This chapter defends the claim, however, that both religious and non-religious moral convictions are worthy of toleration and accommodation where possible, when they meet certain conditions. Many non-religious convictions are both deeply held and community-embedded, and although many religious convictions differ from many non-religious convictions regarding cultural trappings, epistemic pedigree, and epistemic status, the chapter argues that neither type of conviction differs categorically from the other in any one of these respects.