Legal Pluralism and the Universality of Freedom of Conscience: A Comparative Historical Sociology of the Secular State in the Euro-American and Sinitic Worlds

法律多元主義與良心自由的普遍性：歐美與中文社會中世俗國家的歷史社會比較研究

The paper uses the framework of multiple modernity to present a robust defense of the universality of human rights, focusing on the idea of freedom of conscience. The normative stand that human rights are universal can be reinforced by a comparative historical sociology that shows concepts such as pluralism and respect for different worldviews are best explained as the result of endogenous evolution rather than an imposition from outside. The article also explains that the framework of multiple modernity is not a reification of different civilizations with fixed characteristics, but rather different historical trajectories that have each produced a variety of institutional forms. This last point will be emphasized by demonstrating the variety of approach to the relations between states and religions in East Asia, and even within the polities that claim a Chinese cultural identity.

本文以「多元現代性」為架構，並聚焦在良心自由這個概念，試圖為人權的普世性作有力的辯護。歷史社會學的比較研究顯示，諸如多元主義以及尊重不同的世界觀這些概念，多半不由外部輸入，而是由社群內部發展出來的。這樣的發現，更加強化了普世人權的規範性立場。本文也認為，所謂「多元現代性」的架構並非指稱僵化的不同文明，而是關注產生相異制度型態的各種歷史軌跡。在東亞，國家與宗教間的關係有許多不同的樣貌，甚至在追求中國文化認同的政體間亦是如此。這樣的現象正可說明上述對「多元現代性」架構的看法。