Public and Faithful: On the Liberal State and Ethics of Citizenship

Abstract This paper provides an alternative to Rawlsian public reason liberalism and the constraints it imposes on religious reasoning in debates on public bioethics: the conscientious engagement model from the Reformational tradition. First, it explains the Rawlsian concept of liberal restraint on religious public reasoning for coercive laws and discusses objections to this concept. Using this as a frame, it then presents a case study of euthanasia and assisted suicide ( eas ) in the Netherlands and the advocacy of faith-based organizations ( fbo s) to prevent a new legal framework for eas for nonmedical reasons through the Completed Life Bill (2020). Lastly, it examines the Christian imperative and explores the anthropological notion of embodiment as a basis for bioethical policy. The paper’s leading question is this: How may fbo s participate in public debates over bioethical issues to influence coercive laws in liberal democracies in a way that respects pluralism but rejects relativism?