Justice in Exemptions

Abstract

When (if ever) does justice require that individuals have exemptions from general laws on grounds relating to religion? In Liberalism’s Religion, Cécile Laborde argues that the focus ought not to be ‘religion’ but ‘integrity’, an interest shared by religious and non-religious people. Integrity-protecting commitments (IPC s) include commitments expressive of the individual’s sense of what they are obligated to do (‘obligation-IPC s’) and commitments that, while not a matter of obligation, are nevertheless crucial to the individual’s identity (‘identity-IPC s’). Laborde argues that justice permits and requires exemptions from general laws so as to secure these commitments and, thereby, the individual’s underlying interest in integrity. This paper considers whether there is a class of integrity-related commitments which Laborde's approach fails to accommodate - a class of commitments related to ideals of ‘self-transcendence’.