Dr. John W. Ray of Montana Tech’s Liberal Studies Department has had a paper accepted for the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association Convention to be held in mid-October in Vancouver, BC. The title of the paper is: Religion and Liberal Democracy: Are They Philosophically Compatible?
American government is based on liberal democratic political theory as reflected in the political philosophies of John Locke, John Stuart Mill and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. American society has also been overtly religious. Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in Democracy in America: “the religious atmosphere of the country was the first thing that struck me on arrival in the United States.” Since colonial times, religion and politics have intermingled in the United States, not always happily or tolerantly. Religion is still a potent force in American politics. What Leo Strauss called the “theologico-political problem” still exists.
Dr. Ray teaches classes at Montana Tech in political science and public policy. He holds his PhD from the University of Wisconsin—Madison in political science/political philosophy.