In a forthcoming article, I make the following argument: "In
principle, the correlation between theological belief and behavior may
sound plausible: One could argue, for instance, that people who believe
that they'll be punished in Hell for evil behavior and rewarded in
Heaven for good behavior would be much better behaved than those who
lack such a belief. But I think that laws banning religious
discrimination generally rest in part on the empirical conclusion that
these correlations, while plausible in theory, end up being very weak in
practice."
I'm sure I'm not the first person to make this argument, and I'd
like to give credit to those who have made the argument before me, in
more detail than I have. Can anyone point me to such a source, please?
Please e-mail me off-list, at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Also, I know that a similar argument had been made in favor of
abolishing the rule that only people who believe in a future state of
rewards and punishments may be allowed to testify under oath. Can
anyone please point me to the classic case or treatise that may have
made that argument? Many thanks,
Eugene
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