Creating a politically liberal, post-secular society: realising a pedagogical vision
Published: 24 March 2026
Commentary
Western societies are fracturing under the regression from political liberalism to that of comprehensive liberalism.
The former envisions a society in which persons from different traditions are open to changing their ways of thinking and acting in response to conversations with others, and this takes place in an environment supported by the values of freedom and tolerance. However, according to Wright (2013:110) this is being replaced by comprehensive liberalism in which:
…representatives of particular traditions must abandon their exclusive beliefs because they are deemed to undermine freedom and breed intolerance. Instead of imagining a genuinely open pluralistic society harbouring a range of different traditions and contradictory belief systems, we must imagine a closed monolithic society living in peace and harmony only because its members have abandoned their exclusive truth claims en masse.
This regression from the original ideals of the Enlightenment is widely attributed to the success of secularisation (Calhoun et al 2011, Moreland 2012, Parker and Reader 2016, and Taylor 2007). To redress this imbalance and reinstate political liberalism, an insightful triadic mode of societal analysis has been developed by Markus (2006) namely, society comprises three realms i.e., sacred, secular and profane. For everyone a limited range of views are held within the sacred and profane realms, however most views are held in the middle, secular realm and so people are open to persuasion.
This solution is reinforced by the renowned philosopher Jürgen Habermas (2006) who argues for a post-secular society in which both religious and secular views can be freely expressed. Indeed, his vision is echoed by the declaration of the Congregation for Catholic Education (2013) that:
Education contains a central challenge for the future: to allow various cultural expressions to co-exist and to promote dialogue so as to foster a peaceful society…
Schools have a great responsibility in this field, called as they are to develop intercultural dialogue in their pedagogical vision. This challenge was heightened when, upon receiving the Charlemagne Prize at the Vatican City, Pope Francis (2016) exclaims that ‘We are called to promote a culture of dialogue by every possible means and thus to rebuild the fabric of society…’
The proposed solution to this rebuilding challenge is truly radical i.e., radicalis, return to the roots. The roots of European society are twofold namely, Christian and liberal: Europe is born from Christendom and the Enlightenment. Post-Constantine, throughout the Holy Roman Empire and the Reformation, the middle, secular realm mostly failed to fulfil its function of a neutral space and was awash with Christian teaching. Post-Enlightenment, though, the roles reversed and Christian teaching was squeezed from the public arena. This is epitomised in the fascinating discussion and agreement between the leading light of liberal thinkers, Jürgen Habermas, and the pre-eminent Catholic theologian, Pope Benedict XVI who wonders aloud:
What, then, ought we to do? … I am in broad agreement with Jurgen Habermas remarks about a post-secular society, about the willingness to learn from each other, and about self-limitation on both sides. (Ratzinger 2006: 77)
So, for the three realms’ model to operate effectively it is necessary that the middle, secular realm adequately performs its function as a neutral, public space in which differing views are welcomed and debated – not arbitrarily excluded.
To build solid foundations for such a three realms’ model, it is incumbent upon Western societies that both cumulative talk (consensus building) and exploratory talk (constructive criticism) (Mercer, 1995) prevail within classroom pedagogy. After all, the society of the near future is built within the here and now of classroom practices, and whilst the success of such dialogic pedagogy has been attested by Luby (2021) it does require further elaboration across a range of educational settings.
Moreover, it requires teacher professional development such as with the visionary Flying High Trust and Ramsden primary school – both located in the East Midlands. The former spent the best part of two years co-constructing values across their thirty-five schools; and the latter is importing and implementing empowerment for teaching staff through the adoption of innovative Dutch practices such as leerkracht (i.e., learning power). Teacher professional development is most successful when initiated from the bottom-up and there is preliminary yet striking evidence emerging from schools in Rotterdam concerning its success (Luby, 2026).
Teachers are open to change with leerkracht, inherently politically liberal, as they are provided weekly opportunities to dialogue, engage with each other and participate democratically. This extends both inwardly and outwardly. Inwardly, classrooms become more democratic in practice and in speech. Outwardly, the school gates are opened as the school community engages with the local community in an area of very high immigration and blighted by socio-economic deprivation. A superb example is set by Hildegardis school in the district of Oude Noorden (Old North Rotterdam) as the principal, together with 30 network partners, co-constructs their local values for a pedagogic community district vision of autonomy, respect, creativity, and positivity. Hildegardis school is a member of the Rotterdam Catholic Association but follows the prompting of Pope Benedict to self-limit their Catholicity to serve the local, primarily Islamic community. According to Dunne (1997: 10) this is no less than the activity of praxis as mooted by Aristotle i.e. ‘…conduct in a public space with others in which a person, without ulterior purpose and with a view to no object detachable from himself, acts in such a way as to realize excellences that he has come to appreciate in his community as constitutive of a worthwhile way of life…’
For Sandra at Hildegardis, read Aziem at Imelda, Anke at Emmaus, Judith at Maria – for Rotterdam read Nottinghamshire with Lee at The Sir Donald Bailey, Chris at Ramsden, and Grant at Flying High. Perhaps, then, the realization of a pedagogical vision and the rebuilding of politically liberal European societies have already begun?
First published: 24 March 2026