Religious faith and social justice: on Hägglund’s incompatibility thesis

Abstract

ABSTRACT Is religious faith necessarily a barrier to the achievement of a just society? In This Life, Martin Hägglund answers ‘yes’, defending a form of political atheism based on the claim that a wholehearted commitment to social justice presupposes the recognition of humans as altogether finite, mortal beings. Hägglund’s thorough contribution offers a useful entry point for exploring widely perceived—but seldom articulated—obstacles to more conciliatory approaches for seeking radical social change. In this article I unpack and reject what I call Hägglund’s incompatibility thesis on religious faith and social justice. I argue that it ultimately rests on false oppositions that present no insurmountable obstacles to firm coalitions for social activism across secular and religious worldviews. While Hägglund’s arguments raise relevant questions and challenges for some theological views, his global rejection of theistic faith from coalitions for social justice turns out to be (1) unnecessary, (2) illiberal, and (3) counterproductive. Considering the possibilities and hindrances for stable alliances for liberal equality across groups, I contend that political philosophy and social justice activism cannot afford to cut off or alienate theistic believers from egalitarian political struggles.