JU ̈RGEN HABERMASzens,^10 enjoy in the political public a prima facie priority over competing ideological or
religious conceptions.
The ideological neutrality of state authority, which guarantees the same ethical free-
doms for every citizen, is incompatible with the political generalization of a secularistic
worldview. Secularized citizens, insofar as they act in their role as citizens of a state, may
neither deny out of hand the potential for truth in religious conceptions of the world nor
dispute the right of believing fellow citizens to make contributions to public discussions
that are phrased in religious language. Liberal political culture may even expect its secular-
ized citizens to participate in efforts to translate relevant contributions from a religious
language into a publicly accessible one.^11
—Translated by Anh NguyenPAGE 260260.................16224$ CH11 10-13-06 12:35:21 PS