Terminology Tuesday: Public square
A metaphorical way of referring to the “space” in which citizens of a democracy discuss and decide issues of common concern. There is much debate over the place of religion in the public square in a pluralistic democracy. Classical liberals as well as such postmodernist thinkers as Richard Rorty argue that religion is a divisive conversation stopper that cannot offer reasons for action that are valid in the public square. Many religious believers reject this argument and claim that the supposed “neutral” standpoint of liberalism is actually a disguised naturalistic perspective. According to such a view, the debate in the public square cannot be divorced from questions of ultimate commitments and worldviews, and therefore religious convictions can have a positive public function in a pluralistic democracy. A more extreme position holds that the public square must be grounded in a specific religious commitment—a view that logically leads to an established form of religion.
Evans, C. Stephen, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002).