Social Science and the Public Interest

Excerpt

The term secularization is not one that is often spoken in the broad public discourse about social and political life, and so its use is generally confined to academic and scholarly debates. Yet its significance for understanding the nature of a variety of present conflicts should not be ignored simply because it does not regularly appear in the editorials or opinion pieces in such papers of record as The New York Times and The Washington Post. Recently, the term has acquired some new traction among opinion makers who have reacted strongly on all sides about a specific requirement that religious organizations (other than churches) pay for their employees’ access to contraception. The ensuing political fallout was (as of mid-February) substantial and has already produced a fascinating and important range of responses, both thoughtful and complicated. (See, for example, http://​www.​washingtonpost.​com/​blogs/​post-partisan/​post/​contraception-rule-compromise-white-house-bungling/​2012/​02/​07/​gIQA5wDFxQ_​blog.​html) …