Prelims

Bryan Fanning (University College Dublin, Ireland)

Public Morality and the Culture Wars: The Triple Divide

ISBN: 978-1-80455-725-9, eISBN: 978-1-80455-722-8

Publication date: 30 March 2023

Citation

Fanning, B. (2023), "Prelims", Public Morality and the Culture Wars: The Triple Divide, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-ix. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80455-722-820231013

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2023 Bryan Fanning


Half Title Page

PUBLIC MORALITY AND THE CULTURE WARS

Title Page

PUBLIC MORALITY AND THE CULTURE WARS

The Triple Divide

By

Bryan Fanning

University College Dublin, Ireland

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2023

Copyright © 2023 Bryan Fanning.

Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-80455-725-9 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-722-8 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-80455-724-2 (Epub)

Contents

Author Biography vii
Acknowledgements ix
1 Enforcing Morals 1
2 Theologies of Public Morality 11
Evil and Sin 12
Natural Law and Morality 17
Matters of Life and Death 19
Christian and Communitarian Public Moralities 24
3 The Sovereign Self 29
The Secular Self 32
Self-creation Without Religion 35
The Therapeutic Self 39
4 Liberalism, Free Speech and Intolerance 53
Liberalism and Liberty 56
Free Speech Versus Public Morality 61
The Limits of Tolerance 68
5 Religion, Prohibition and Censorship 77
Temperance and Public Morality 78
Movie Censorship 87
6 Civil Religions 99
Religion and Civil Religion 102
Heresies and Civil Liberties 110
Secularism and Civil Religion 112
7 Abortion Moralities 119
Criminalisation 121
Feminism and Abortion 124
Polarisations 127
Anti-Abortion and the Moral Majority 131
Conflict and Complexity 138
8 Sex Differences and Gender Identities 147
The Second Sex 149
Homosexuality and Public Morality 153
Transgender Identities and Rights 159
Conflicts and Contestations 166
9 The Future of Public Morality 183
Culture Wars and Moral Majorities 184
Understandings of Harm 189
Law, Language and Cancel Cultures 193
Benedict Options, Minority Rights and Cultural Pluralism 198
The Inevitability of Public Morality 201
Bibliography 207
Index 219

Author Biography

Bryan Fanning is Professor of Migration and Social Policy at University College Dublin. He teaches in UCD's School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice. His writings and research have focused on comparative social policy, intellectual history and the impact of immigration on Irish society. His previous books include Racism and Social Change in the Republic of Ireland (2002), Evil, God, the Greater Good and Rights: The Philosophical Origins of Social Problems (2006), The Quest for Modern Ireland: The Battle of Ideas 1912–1986 (2008), New Guests of the Irish Nation (2009), Immigration and Social Cohesion in the Republic of Ireland (2011), Histories of the Irish Future (2015), Irish Adventures in Nation-Building (2016), Migration and the Making of Ireland (2018), Diverse Republic (2021) and Three Roads to the Welfare State: Liberalism, Social Democracy and Christian Democracy (2022)

Acknowledgements

So many people including friends, academic colleagues and students have helped me directly and indirectly in writing this book by expressing their views and engaging in debates about the topics covered here. I am grateful to the School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice at University College Dublin for providing a supportive work environment and to the Newman Centre for The Study of Religions at UCD for giving me an opportunity to discuss some of the ideas and debates about viewpoint diversity which I address here. I especially thank Jim O’Brien for listening, Tim Mooney for feedback and my daughter Eilis Fanning for her insights. The book is dedicated to Eilis.