Liberty for All: Defending Everyone's Religious Freedom in a Pluralistic Age

2021 Book Award Winner, The Gospel Coalition (Public Theology & Current Events)Christians are often thought of as defending only their own religious interests in the public square. They are viewed as worrying exclusively about the erosion of their freedom to assemble and to follow their convictions, while not seeming as concerned about publicly defending the rights of Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and atheists to do the same.Andrew T. Walker, an emerging Southern Baptist public theologian, argues for a robust Christian ethic of religious liberty that helps the church defend religious freedom for everyone in a pluralistic society. Whether explicitly religious or not, says Walker, every person is striving to make sense of his or her life. The Christian foundations of religious freedom provide a framework for how Christians can navigate deep religious difference in a secular age. As we practice religious liberty for our neighbors, we can find civility and commonality amid disagreement, further the church's engagement in the public square, and become the strongest defenders of religious liberty for all. Foreword by noted Princeton scholar Robert P. George.From the Back CoverChristians are often thought of as defending only their own religious interests in the public square, but they can become the strongest defenders of religious liberty for all."Liberty for All delivers a robust treatment of the concept of religious liberty, a notion not merely political, merely modern, or merely American, but one, as Walker expertly shows, that gets at the heart of what it means to bear God's image, to exercise moral agency, and to live with love toward all neighbors."--Karen Swallow Prior, author of On Reading Well"In a time when the term 'religious liberty' has become a byword for bigotry among some, Walker pushes back against this narrow-minded prejudice and argues for why honoring and defending freedom of religious conscience is essential to the public good. This book appears as a lighthouse in a gathering storm."--Rod Dreher, author of The Benedict Option"Freedom of worship is indeed an inalienable right, not because of the substance of one's religious beliefs but because of the substance of one's status as God's image bearer. As hostility toward the Christian faith increases, few ideas are worth contending for with such urgency as the claim that liberty is indeed for everyone."--Katie McCoy, assistant professor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary"For a generation raised on the angry soundbites of Twitter and carefully curated news programs, this book will be challenging but, when read carefully and thoughtfully, transformative."--Carl R. Trueman, author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self"Walker explains how religious liberty makes sense as an authentic expression of a Christian worldview and is indelibly tied to the biblical story. He has established himself as one of the preeminent Baptist public theologians of our time."--Michael F. Bird, academic dean and lecturer, Ridley College, Melbourne, AustraliaAbout the AuthorAndrew T. Walker (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Christian ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and executive director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement in Louisville, Kentucky. He previously served as senior fellow in Christian ethics at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Walker is the author of God and the Transgender Debate, named the best book in public theology in 2017 by The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of Marriage Is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing, and coeditor of the Gospel for Life series. He has written for National Review, Time, The Gospel Coalition, Public Discourse, First Things, and Christianity Today and speaks frequently all over the country.