Pluralism and Christian Conviction: The Moral Theology of Roger Williams

Team Members/Contributors

James Calvin Davis University of Virginia Contact Me

About this dissertation fellowship

This dissertation examines the theological ethics of Roger Williams, in the context of the contemporary debate between radical religious communitarians and the requirements of political liberalism. For the radical communitarian, participation in moral projects within the confines of political liberalism threatens a religious community’s fidelity to its distinctive identity, because liberalism requires that religious vocabulary be translated into neutral concepts before it will be taken seriously in public moral discourse. Roger Williams, an influential figure in both religious history and the tradition of American democracy, envisioned Christian ethics in a way contrary to the radical communitarian’s abdication of a constructive role in public discourse, without succumbing to the universalist’s rejection of confessional roots. Williams believed that Christian participation in public conversations and policy-making could be justified from within a decidedly religious perspective. He also believed that the Christian faith contained moral concepts (e.g., the conscience) and norms that were themselves understandable to a wider audience with minimal translation. Thus, Williams’s thought is instructive for today’s debate over the relationship between religious conviction and public conversation, offering an ethic that takes seriously its religious confession while theologically commending participation in public moral discourse with persons affiliated with different (or no) religious communities.

Image Title Year Type Contributor(s) Other Info
  Christian Conviction and Public Moral Discourse: The Pursuit of Civility in the Moral Theology of Roger Williams 2001 Dissertation James Calvin Davis
  The Moral Theology of Roger Williams: Christian Conviction and Public Ethics 2004 Dissertation Book James Calvin Davis