Abstract
In The New Religious Intolerance Martha Nussbaum argues strongly against that intolerance, which she sees as a pressing problem in Europe in particular. In particular, Nussbaum argues against the legal ban on the burqa which has been implemented in France, Belgium, and Italy. In this chapter I agree with Nussbaum that a legal ban on the burqa is unjustified, but not for the reasons she gives. I make two arguments to that effect: The Irrelevance of Conscience and The Importance of Context. General principles of liberty are enough to rule out a ban, but context may make it appropriate to criticise religious practices.
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Notes
- 1.
Martha Nussbaum, The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age (Harvard University Press, 2012) p. 136. Henceforth: NRI.
- 2.
NRI p. 107.
- 3.
NRI p. 132.
- 4.
NRI p. 136.
- 5.
NRI p. 142.
- 6.
NRI p. 148.
- 7.
NRI p. 223.
- 8.
NRI p. 61.
- 9.
NRI p. 104. I follow Nussbaum’s spelling and italicisation of burqa.
- 10.
Ben Quinn, “French police make woman remove clothing on Nice beach following burkini ban” in The Guardian (24th August 2016) at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/french-police-make-woman-remove-burkini-on-nice-beach
- 11.
I have various reasons for opposing a legal ban on the burqa , some of which are developed later in this piece. According to my own approach to practices that are culturally mandated but potentially harmful, developed in Clare Chambers Sex, Culture, and Justice: The Limits of Choice (Penn State University Press, 2008), the burqa is not a practice meriting justice-based prohibition since it is not sufficiently harmful to its wearer. In this chapter I also argue that ban on the burqa can be opposed merely by appeal to general liberal freedom, without reference to freedom of religion. Other considerations that support my opposition to a ban but which I do not discuss further here include a deep distaste for and objection to any legal requirement for women to reveal more of their bodies than they wish (except insofar as may be required in private for purposes of official identification and the like), and a concern that a ban on the burqa will have the unintended effect of confining some Muslim women to the home. For excellent and detailed discussion of the issue of Muslim veiling, see Cecile Laborde, Critical Republicanism: The Hijab Controversy and Political Philosophy (Oxford University Press, 2008).
- 12.
NRI p. 65.
- 13.
NRI p. 65.
- 14.
NRI p. 65.
- 15.
NRI p. 65.
- 16.
NRI p. 68.
- 17.
NRI p. 68.
- 18.
NRI p. 69.
- 19.
NRI p. 70.
- 20.
NRI p. 71.
- 21.
NRI p. 74.
- 22.
NRI p. 85.
- 23.
NRI p. 87.
- 24.
See, for example, Iris Marion Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton University Press, 1990); Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship (Oxford University Press, 1995); Brian Barry, Culture & Equality (Polity Press, 2001); Paul Kelly (ed.), Multiculturalism Reconsidered (Polity Press, 2002); Seyla Benhabib, The Claims of Culture (Princeton University Press, 2002); Chandran Kukathas, The Liberal Archipelago (Oxford University Press, 2003).
- 25.
NRI p. 90.
- 26.
NRI p. 110.
- 27.
NRI p. 125.
- 28.
See chapter one of my Sex, Culture, and Justice for a full discussion of the facts and arguments pertaining to male circumcision. As I write there, in contemporary societies, male circumcision “is justified by the somewhat paradoxical assertion of two beliefs: that the foreskin serves no function (so that there is no harm in removing it) and that the foreskin functions harmfully (so that it ought to be removed). Both sets of claims are highly controversial” (35). Nussbaum repeats both lines of argument but seems unaware of their controversial nature (by which I mean, the empirical claims are shaky). I develop this argument still further in Clare Chambers, “Cultural v. Cosmetic v. Clinical Surgery: Challenging the Distinction” (MS).
- 29.
There is a large literature on the ethics of male circumcision. Particularly relevant and useful sources include George C. Dennisten, Frederick Mansfield Hodges, and Marilyn Fayre Milos (eds.), Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem (Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2001); Leonard B. Glick, Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America (Oxford University Press, 2005); David Benatar (ed.), Cutting to the Core: Exploring the Ethics of Contested Surgeries (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006); Brian D. Earp, “Female genital mutilation (FGM) and male circumcision: Should there be a separate ethical discourse? Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, available at: https://www.academia.edu/8817976/Female_genital_mutilation_FGM_and_male_circumcision_Should_there_be_a_separate_ethical_discourse
- 30.
NRI p. 102.
- 31.
NRI p. 105. Emphasis added.
- 32.
NRI p. 241–2.
- 33.
NRI p. 112.
- 34.
NRI p. 104.
- 35.
NRI p. 106–7.
- 36.
NRI p. 112.
- 37.
NRI p. 104.
- 38.
NRI p. 115–6.
- 39.
See Clare Chambers, “Are Breast Implants Better than Female Genital Mutilation? Autonomy, Gender Equality, and Nussbaum’s Political Liberalism” in Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy Vol. 7 No. 3 (2004) and Chambers, Sex, Culture and Justice.
- 40.
Nussbaum makes this argument in Martha Nussbaum, Sex and Social Justice (Oxford University Press, 1999).
- 41.
NRI p. 116.
- 42.
Chambers, “Are Breast Implants Better than Female Genital Mutilation?” p. 27.
- 43.
NRI p. 118.
References
Barry, Brian (2001). Culture & Equality (Cambridge: Polity Press).
Benatar, David (ed.) (2006). Cutting to the Core: Exploring the Ethics of Contested Surgeries (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield).
Benhabib, Seyla (2002). The Claims of Culture (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
Chambers, Clare (2004). “Are Breast Implants Better than Female Genital Mutilation? Autonomy, Gender Equality, and Nussbaum’s Political Liberalism” in Critical Review of Social and Political Philosophy 7 No. 3.
Chambers, Clare (2008). Sex, Culture, and Justice: The Limits of Choice (University Park: Penn State University Press).
Dennisten, George C., Frederick Mansfield Hodges, and Marilyn Fayre Milos (eds.) (2001). Understanding Circumcision: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to a Multi-Dimensional Problem (Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers).
Earp, Brian D. (2014). “Female genital mutilation (FGM) and male circumcision: Should there be a separate ethical discourse? Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, available at: https://www.academia.edu/8817976/Female_genital_mutilation_FGM_and_male_circumcision_Should_there_be_a_separate_ethical_discourse
Glick, Leonard B. (2005). Marked in Your Flesh: Circumcision from Ancient Judea to Modern America (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Kelly, Paul (ed.) (2002). Multiculturalism Reconsidered (Cambridge: Polity Press).
Kukathas, Chandran (2003). The Liberal Archipelago (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Kymlicka, Will (1995). Multicultural Citizenship (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Laborde, Cecile (2008). Critical Republicanism: The Hijab Controversy and Political Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Nussbaum, Martha C. (1999). Sex and Social Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press).
Nussbaum, Martha C. (2012). The New Religious Intolerance: Overcoming the Politics of Fear in an Anxious Age (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press).
Quinn, Bn (2016). “French police make woman remove clothing on Nice beach following burkini ban” in The Guardian (24th August) at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/24/french-police-make-woman-remove-burkini-on-nice-beach
Young, Iris Marion (1990). Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton: Princeton University Press).
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Chambers, C. (2022). Conscience and Context. In: Brooks, T. (eds) Political Emotions. Palgrave Studies in Ethics and Public Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91092-1_5
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