Glossary - Secularism

Secularism

a term that is used in different ways.

• belief that religion should not be involved in government or public life

• principle that no one religion should have a superior position in the state

• often entails a belief in a public space and a private space, and that religion should be restrained from public power

Secularisation

a theory developed in the 1950s and 1960s - developed from enlightenment thinking that religious beliefs would progressively decline as democracy and technology advanced

• sociologists now doubt such a linear decline

Secular

not connected or associated with religious or spiritual matters

• used colloquially in widely differing ways by atheists, pluralist and those who are anti-religious

• historically, term used to distinguish priests who worked in the world (secular priests) from those who belonged to religious communities, such as monasteries

Wish Fulfilment

According to Freud, wish fulfilment is the satisfaction of a desire through a dream or other exercise of the imagination

Infantile

childish

• Freud - referred to the earliest stage of a person’s development

Neurosis

a mental illness with systems of stress, such as anxiety and obsessive behaviour

Secularism Humanism

belief that humans can live positive good lives without religion

Censorship

suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc, that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security

Facism

a political system based on a vey powerful leader, state control, and being extremely proud of country and race, and in which political opposition is not allowed

Communism

the belief in a society without different social classes in which the methods of production are owned and controlled by all its members, and everyone works as much as they can and receives what they need