Why Tolerate Religion, Again? A Reply to Michael McConnell

Abstract

This essay discusses a lengthy review by Professor Michael McConnell of the Stanford Law School in the Yale Law Journal to my 2013 book WHY TOLERATE RELIGION? (Princeton University Press). I identify two important objections that Prof. McConnell raises, but also identify eight different mistakes or misunderstandings that mar other parts of the review. I conclude by taking Prof. McConnell to task for several rhetorical cheap shots that, together with the other errors, suggests that his essay was more a partisan brief than a scholarly evaluation of the arguments. Most surprisingly, the fact that Professor McConnell, in his lengthy review, never actually responds to my book's central thesis -- namely, that the inequality between religious and non-religious claims of conscience is not morally defensible -- suggests that there may really be no serious argument on the other side.