De rol van religieuze argumenten in het abortusdebat in Nederland; een filosofische analyse

Abstract

This thesis examines the philosophical debate concerning what role religion should have in the public sphere. Jürgen Habermas’ theory, considered to be on the basis of this debate, is centralized in this thesis. Other important voices heard are those of John Rawls, Charles Taylor, Joseph Ratzinger and Simone Chambers. The philosophical debate is linked to the case study of the abortion discussion in the Netherlands. This thesis studies what role religion plays in the abortion discussion on three different levels: organizations, media and politics. When arguing against abortion, in what way do Christian pro-life organizations, Christian newspapers and Christian political parties appeal to their religion? For example, religious metaphors, bible references or appeals to religious authorities are studied in this thesis and compared between the three different levels. My own position regarding the philosophical debate concerning what role religion should have in the public sphere is based on Simone Chambers’ theory and on the results of the case study.