TY - JOUR T1 - Religion, secular medicine and utilitarianism: a response to Biggar JF - Journal of Medical Ethics JO - J Med Ethics SP - 867 LP - 869 DO - 10.1136/medethics-2015-102786 VL - 41 IS - 11 AU - Kevin R Smith Y1 - 2015/11/01 UR - http://jme.bmj.com/content/41/11/867.abstract N2 - Nigel Biggar has argued that religion ought to be given a seat at the negotiating table of medical ethics. I respond in broadly utilitarian terms, arguing that the flawed empirical basis, lack of rationality and non-universality inherent in religion disqualify it from ethical discourse. I conclude that while it would be unacceptable to attempt to debar religious individuals from the negotiating table, an exclusively secular approach is required for ethical decision making in medicine. ER -