Any fruitful contribution by the Christian community to the common good will be one that is faithful to essential Christian religious convictions and also affirms that non-Christians are full members of a civic community of freedom. The discussion of the previous chapter shows that such a Christian contribution is entirely possible from a theological point of view. We now turn to an examination of what realizing this possibility will require more practically. This chapter will explore how Christians should bring their vision of the good life into the public sphere in a spirit of solidarity with their non-Christian fellow citizens. It will also address the question of how non-Christian citizens ought to respond to the presence of religion in the public sphere. The shared good of a community of freedom is incompatible with all forms of domination or exclusion of one group of persons by another, whether on religious or secular grounds. For this reason, an inclusively free community makes demands on both those inside and outside the church. This chapter will suggest what some of those demands are and why we should try to meet them.

A religiously pluralistic community, by definition, does not already share a common vision of the good life. Moving toward such a shared vision, even in outline, will take intellectual work. This common pursuit of a shared vision of the good life can be called intellectual solidarity.