Pragmatism in Action (post 30)

You can be a pragmatist and a Christian.
You can be a pragmatist and a Muslim.
You can be a pragmatist and a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jew, Pagan, Atheist, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, etc.

The beauty of pragmatism is that it is something that can be agreed upon even by people who hold very different moral, religious or political beliefs.

And when groups of people with different beliefs find themselves fighting over public policy, pragmatism can provide a peaceful means for a solution.

For example, imagine a town where groups of Christians and atheists are fighting over a sex education program in public schools.

A pragmatist would say, OK - is there a comprehensive body of peer-reviewed research on sex education programs and their results?

If not, the pragmatist would advocate for a democratic solution where the larger group would have a greater say -  while ensuring some compromises and allowances for the minority group.

If there is a body of rigorous research, then what does it say about the consequences of the different programs? If it reveals that there are certain kinds of programs that have reliably led to lower rates of teen pregnancy and STDs (which everyone agrees is positive), then both the Christians and atheists should seriously consider modifying their proposals to be more in line with the ones that have worked.  If such programs contain lessons that some people find truly morally reprehensible, then a pragmatic compromise would be to allow some individuals to have their children opt out.

Pragmatism isn't complicated.
It is our best means for preventing societies from splintering apart.