As the USA continues to legally and culturally recognise lifestyle choices that conflict with the teachings of the world’s major religions, religious institutions have had to think seriously about their mission and employment policies.

Is firing a teacher who enters into a same-sex marriage pastorally insensitive, or a matter of moral consistency? What about teachers in Catholic institutions who divorce and remarry without an annulment, or who indulge in more private sins like fornication or using artificial contraception? In order to deal with this divisive matter with more nuance, it might help to consider the shifts in what philosopher Charles Taylor...