In defence of proselytizing

In Ethics in the Sanctuary, Margaret Battin argues that traditional evangelism, directed to promoting religious belief, practice, and affiliation, that is proselytizing, is morally questionable to the extent that it involves unwarranted paternalism in the interests of securing other-worldly benefits for potential converts. I argue that Christian evangelism is justified in order to make the this-worldly benefits of religious belief and practice available to everyone, to bring about an increase in religious affiliation for the purpose of providing a more supportive social environment for Christians, and to promote the survival of the institutional Church, which benefits Christians and nonChristians alike by maintaining church property, providing access to church buildings and doing liturgy visibly and publicly for the sake of all people. Preliminaries: Battin’s dilemma In her discussion a study of ethical issues that arise from the practices of organized religion, Margaret Battin notes that doing the professional ethics of religious institutions raises special methodological difficulties to the extent that religious groups espouse specifically religious doctrines which may be cited in support of the moral propriety of their practices. Battin notes that, for the purposes of discussing the ethics of organized religion, we must adopt a s tance of neutrality as regards these doctrines. An approach that accepts religious claims generally as true would also accept as true precisely those religious claims that appear to settle (or disguise) the very kinds of moral problems within religious institutions that are to be examined...it would simply precluded recognition that there is an issue. Alternatively, a metaphysically sceptical approach would reject religious claims altogether as without foundation in reality, counting them all false... . However, whether or not this latter approach is metaphysically correct, it too is unable to distinguish between various kinds of religious claims and, by dismissing all religious claims generally, makes it impossible to see how religious structures generate genuine moral dilemmas... .