secularism

Why has the Western world become more secular? 

• media – rise of liberalism and vehicle for rapid conveying of liberal ideas  

• Critique of religion – atheism, largely corrupt e.g. indulgences -> driven the rejection of the intuition e.g. sexual abuse  

• Introduction of the enlightenment:  

 scientifically – science used to provide explanations of religious beliefs/events e.g. the big bang was what caused the universe, not God 

• Politically – separation of the church and the state  

• Fear of death – people turn to religion due a an idealized idea of the world, eschatology – starts to be less relevant, decrease of fear of death is due to people having an increased quality of life, less need for an existential explanation  

• Religions may disagree with bodily autonomy and human rights  

what is secularism?

broadly the belief that religion should play no role in running the state, the affairs of the government and in public life -> not claiming religious belief are right or wrong but in the matter of state government religious beliefs should remain private 

what are the two forms of secularism?

• Procedural secularism: role of the state is to take into account the interests of all its citizens and their institutions -> it should not give priority/preference to religion but treat it equally along with all other institutions 

• Programmatic secularism: role of state in a plural society is to be purely secular – all religious views should be excluded from public institutions such as government and public events  

 

= procedural does not discount religion from the public square whereas programmatic does -> contradictory 

why does former archbishop of canterbury Rowan Williams favour procedural?

as views the states role of being a 'community of communities' which enables people to acknowledge both religious and state authority 

• Argues that procedural secularism has always been a Christian idea – role of church is to proclaim the gospel not govern , encourages people to engage as Christians with all aspects of society to challenge the assumptions of secularism as opposed to privatizing their beliefs 

what are two possible broad reasons for secularism?

° Sociological evidence has been used to justify removing religion from the public sphere – practiced by fewer people means it does not have a place in society 

° Religious harm: active secularization of society is beneficial because of the harm religion can cause e.g. opposition to human rights  

what is the secularisation thesis?

Controversial sociological term describing process of secularization 

• Over the past 100 years there has been a decline in church attendance in most industrial societies  indicating that people are rejecting religion in favor of non-religious beliefs  

why is it hard to define secularism?

• Measuring and defining secularisation: hard to measure secularisation because while many people identify as having "no religious preference," they may still hold spiritual beliefs or pray -> decline in attendance at religious institutions doesn't necessarily equate to a loss of spirituality. 

• Influence and authority: The power and influence of traditional religious institutions (e.g., the Church of England or the Catholic Church) have declined. However, more popular religious movements have gained acceptance, suggesting that society isn't entirely secular—just that traditional institutions are less dominant. 

• Religious commitment and historical evidence: Some argue society was more religious in the past because church attendance was socially expected. However - this doesn't mean people were more religiously committed. Today - people attend religious institutions by choice as opposed to obligation. 

 

what did Augustine argue?

civilized society develops from the theological view of the world to the metaphysical to the positive (scientific) view. He believed religion would give way to secular positivism and the power of scientific reasoning would rid society of all its false views of the world.  

what did Freud and Dawkins argue for?

• argued for the scientific method to decern truth from falsehood – religion is an indicator of a less civilized society  

Both argued for secularization of society as Christianity is infantile, repressive and major cause of physical and mental conflict  

what did Freud say about neuroses?

were the result of natural human instinctual fulfillments being repressed by tradition + conformity -> religion is a primary cause of psychological illness  

what was Freud’s central claim?

religion belongs to infantile/early stage of human social development before development of reason and therefore needs external support

how did Hume agree with Freud?

Hume had come to a similar conclusion that religion is childish and mainly practiced by uneducated people of the world – people who are mentally grown have no need for religious beliefs 

Hume further argues that only by employing reason and questioning beliefs can human societies live happy lives 

how did Freud decide religion was due to wish fulfillment?

American doctor wrote to Freud describing how as a medical student he has seen a dead old woman in a dissecting room which led him to lose his faith before he rediscovered it through a conversion experience -> doctor wanted to persuade Freud to rethink atheism  

Freud argued God had not revealed himself to him and therefore he has no good reason to believe in God's existence and that his analysis of the experience explained that the doctor's renewed faith in God and Christ as an example of the Oedipus complex 

-> argued that the woman must have reminded him of his mother and the longing for his mother was due to an unresolved Oedipus complex which was expressed through anger for his father towards God due to the mistreatment of his mother (the old woman) - voices were a hallucinatory psychosis warning him to be obedient to his father  

why does Freud argue that religion is due to infantile illusions?

In The Future of an Illusion, Freud argues that religion is a psychological tool to overcome fears of death and suffering in human civilization, providing comfort as religion mirrors the structured discipline provided by parents to children.

how does Freud say religious practices perpetuate this?

 Religious practices, such as prayers and ceremonies, involve repetition, which Freud considers "obsessional." - repetition keeps the ego in control and prevents domination by irrational and sexual impulses. 

what does Freud quote about religion?

Freud concludes that religion is a "universal obsessional neurosis," substituting repressed instincts (e.g., sexual urges) with beliefs in an afterlife and moral rewards or punishments - beliefs are illusions, designed to compensate for pleasures sacrificed in life. 

how does Keith Ward criticise Freud?

argues reductionism is not an adequate explanation due to all the religious experiences people experience – mystical experiences are found in almost every tradition as the merging of self and sense of tother by imparting deep spiritual knowledge of existence.

However evidence demonstrates that Freud was not entirely critical of mystical experiences – in a response to his friends experience he does not reject its validity even though he has not experienced the feeling and says 'it is not easy to deal scientifically with feelings'  

what are some more criticisms of Freud?

• Truth claims – Freud may be right that some aspects of religion are a result of neurotic and obsessional behavior, these are emotional and psychological states of mind which do not disprove truth claims made by religion  

• Religion is enabling – argues that religion is an obsessional illusion which cuts a person off from the real world but it can be argued that it is enabling for some and gives one a richer appreciation of life + helps give people a sense of purpose/form communities 

• Guilt – religion can be a cause of guilt and can warn against religious traditions which are controlling but does not mean all religion is. Many traditions which are not hierarchical and dogmatic which provide a source of meaning and spiritual fulfillment is lacking from material existence  

• Wish fulfillment – is not always the source of illusion, wish fulfillment can be a source of creativeness and fuels the imagination  

what was Dawkin’s aim of writing the God Delusion?

aims to raise consciousness to the fact that to be an atheist is a realistic and brave aspiration  

what does the God delusion urge us to do?

• Imagine a world without religion  

• Accept that the God hypothesis is weak  

• Realize that religion is a form of child abuse 

• Accept atheism with pride  

 

why does Dawkins question why people believe in God?

why people believe in something which has no evidence – clearest explanation is Darwin's evolutionary theory which does not need a God hypothesis to make sense of it and as nature is not developing towards a goal it does not need God to lead it to perfection.  

what does Dawkins argue for instead of God creating the world?

Theory of evolution is supported by widely accepted body of evidence which such means it makes more sense to believe in an evolutionary process as opposed to a need for the supernatural and so belief in a divine creator is unnecessary and deluded.  

what is Dawkins' response to the view that science and religion overlap?

Those who try to reconcile the material and spiritual by arguing that religion and science belong to different categories are naive – e.g. Gould's notion of 'non-overlapping magisteria' attempts to distinguish the factual world from the supernatural world in religion – argue the supernatural world is different from material and so cannot be subjected to rational scientific enquiry 

• Dawkins would argue that all things must be subject to rational enquiry -> when reason applied to religion, all rational arguments for God's existence can do is demonstrate that the evidence is inconclusive  

The advancement of science only makes the 'God hypothesis' more an more implausible then the only rational position to hold is atheism  

why does Dawkins argue religious beliefs are not harmless?

deluded religious beliefs are not harmless as they create conflict and when they are taught to children are child abuse

what is an example of religion causing ‘child abuse’?

Religions deluded beliefs damage people and children psychologically e.g. Hell Houses in the USA where children are taught about the terrors of hell and how they can avoid this. Critical of the way that religions initiate their children into a religious mindset and label them before the child can understand what this means – it is a form of abduction/kidnapping.  

why does Dawkins criticise faith schools?

reject the teaching of evolution for creationism or the design argument – it is scandal to teach children that the world is only 6,000 years old because the Bible says so when scientific evidence suggests the universe is at least 14 billion years old.  

why can Dawkins be criticised?

• Reason and faith: many Christians don't think faith is irrational and independent from reason – reason is necessary to test true and false beliefs but faith makes a leap to transcendent. Is also the case that however rational one is there are some things we believe without being able to prove them categorically   

• Complexity: Dawkins is right to criticize 'God of the gaps' argument but the alternative may not have to be atheism – fact that the universe is intelligible and can be described scientifically points to greater intelligence which is God  

• Metaphysics: Dawkins as a positivist argues that answers to metaphysical questions are meaningless as they are outside scientific investigation however many scientists reject this and consider that science alongside theology and philosophy can provide useful insights into important questions 

• Violence as a necessary condition of religion: although Dawkins gives examples of harm caused by religion, it is not a condition of religion – Jesus taught against the use of violence. Atheism has also largely caused human suffering e.g. communist regimes but Dawkins doesn't accept that violence is a necessary condition of atheism  

which two scholars object to the secularisation thesis?

• Terry Eagleton

• Charles Taylor

what does Taylor argue?

Questions why we find it easy in the modern Western society to not believe in God as this has been the historical norm -> due to 'subtraction stories': dominant stories we now use to demonstrate the truth of secularization by removing religion as that is the obvious thing to do  

We have outgrown religion and the explanations we now use to explain the world demonstrate that we can live full lives without a need for God or a dimension greater than nature -> leads to 'self-sufficing humanism'  

why does Taylor argue these stories are unsatisfactory?

• Failure of secular humanism is that it gives too much importance to the individual and their private experiences but this is undesirable as it breaks down the communal aspect of society 

• It is not that we have suddenly discovered that God dosen't exist but rather that this is a phase of Western history which is out of kilter with the dominant historical world narrative – majority of history the divine has been an essential aspect of life 

Taylor – until we steer ourselves out of this secular phase of history we won't experience the fullness of life which means having a sense of the divine as expressed in Christianity  

where does Eagleton’s suspicion of secularism stem from?

derived unusually from his Marxist and Christian beliefs – although Marxism is traditionally anti-religious, Eagleton considers that Marx was wrong to eliminate the religious imagination and what it contributes to human existence  

what does Eagleton argue about the importance of religion?

• True that religion has been harmful, this has to be weighed against the extraordinary contribution the religious imagination has made to human culture through art, architecture, literature etc.. - secularists think all these things can occur without religion, but only religion can capture the highest spiritual aspect of human experience  

Religions significance = touches deep truths about existence which people are prepared to die for  

• the root cause of secularism is the way in which Western secular capitalism has valued free competition by privatizing everything -> negative knock-on effect where morality and religion are also considered to be private in the public sphere 

what is secular humanism?

Describes all those who believe that humans can live good and noble lives according to reason and without the need for religion e.g. Freud and Dawkins  

Amsterdam declaration set out main aims of modern humanism through several statements  

Humanists are clear that ethical and spiritual values are not derived from any higher spiritual power but express human values and aspirations  

 

why does Dawkins reject faith schools?

Dawkins – largely criticises provision of faith schools in secular societies 

However, some argue that having many types of faith schools contributes positively to social diversity and social cohesion. 

Dawkins – considers this argument outmoded and confused -> 'Diversity may be a virtue, but thus is diversity gone mad.' (The God delusion).  

 

what are the arguments against faith schools?

• Faith schools create isolated communities and fail to integrate pupils into the wider secular society 

• Many faith schools fail to teach science properly especially those who have fundamentalist and conservative beliefs 

• Faith schools leave pupils open to radicalisation   

• State has no responsibility to teach faith – is a private matter and should be carried out by local faith communities 

• Religious education should be part of the school curriculum along with other subjects, as long as this includes teaching all of major world religions and non-religious belief systems. Children should be taught that there are diverse faith claims, that the Bible is one of many books of sacred literature and that some religious truth claims are no different than non-religious truth claims e.g. treat your neighbour with respect  

what are the arguments for faith schools?

• There are no value-neutral schools – faith and non-faith schools operate according to their religious or secular values, which together reflect the diversity of British culture 

• Faith schools offer a distinctive education based on moral and spiritual values – these enhance and do not detract from the wider curriculum  

• Faith schools aid social cohesion as they support and value the culture of local religious communities  

• They are popular with parents  

• Many faith schools do not make religious faith a requirement for entry but they are better able to foster religious and non-religious beliefs because they have a better understanding of faith than secular schools which may be suspicious of any faith  

what is the alternative to the separation of the church and the state?

belief that religion should play a role in public life and the governance of society -> programmatic separatists generally consider theocracies to be undemocratic and intrusive but there are some Americans today who argue for theocracy. 

what do dominionists argue?

argue America should be governed according to biblical laws – mostly protestant, evangelical and conservative. Dominion theology is based on Genesis 1:28 where God believe God's commands humans to have dominion over the earth. Dominionists believe God's command applies also to the stewardship of matters of state as well as the world as a whole.  

what do reductionists argue?

Calvinists who share the Dominionist notion of society but also justify theocracy according to the law in Old Testament where Isreal's life was ordered and governed by the laws God gave to Moses.  

do Christians typically prefer procedural or programmatic secularism?

Christians view programmatic secularism is anti-democratic as it actively removes the historic place of Christianity from all public institutions.

Procedural secularism, is not anti-democratic as it offers the Church the opportunity to be fully engaged in society and contribute to its secularism by offering the widest set of opportunities to all citizens – both religious and non-religious.  

what does Rowan Williams argue?

the Church has a key role to play in resisting the anti-democratic fundamentalist elements of religions which regard secularism as a threat.  

• Challenge of secularism is therefore not a threat to Christianity – right that it should give a reasonable account of itself and justify its place in society where there are many different belief systems, which in a democracy need to live harmoniously together.  

what is militant atheism?

the view that religion is harmful even as a private belief and thus society would be better off without it. People should be legally free to believe it in their private lives, but there should be social and cultural pressure against holding religious beliefs.

why does Freud argue religion offers people comfort?

caused by the psychological fear of a chaotic, unpredictable world and a fear of adult life and its responsibilities.

During childhood, order is represented by the father. So, religious people find comfort by projecting an order-providing eternal father – God – onto reality. “Religion is the process of unconscious wish fulfilment” without which some would be in danger of mental harm due to being “unable to cope with the idea of a godless, purposeless life”.

what does Freud argue this should be replaced by?

this childish state of mind should be replaced by a scientific understanding of the world which will provide order and predictability but without illusion.

“religion may be altogether disregarded … It’s doctrines carry with it the stamp of the times in which they originated, the ignorant childhood days of the human race”. – Freud.

why does Dawkins argue religion is infantile in terms of giving people meaning?

critical of what he describes as the infantile way that religion provides meaning and purpose to people, rather than enabling them to create it for themselves:

“There is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point”

how does McGrath respond to Dawkins?

many reasonable people have converted to religion long after childhood, such as himself and the philosopher Antony Flew, who changed his mind due to modern design arguments that were based on modern scientific discoveries. So, religion cannot just be an irrational belief caused by indoctrination of children.

“a recurring atheist criticism of religious belief is that it is infantile – a childish delusion which ought to have disappeared as humanity reaches its maturity.” – McGrath

Dawkins and Freud could be right that there are some infantile reasons that some people believe in God, but it is an overgeneralisation to think that is true of all religious believers.

Freud and Dawkins ignore other obvious and important motivations for religious belief such as the need for moral and spiritual guidance/direction

why else does Dawkins argue religion is bad for society?

encourages irrational thinking → encourages people to take things on faith instead of reason and evidence.

Dawkins points to the story of the doubting Thomas, Jesus’ disciple who didn’t believe he had risen until being shown the evidence of his wounds from the crucifixion. Jesus implied that his other disciples was better than Thomas because their faith was so strong that they didn’t need evidence. This encourages an unscientific mindset.

“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence”

why does McGrath argue religious belief is rational?

McGrath points to Aquinas’ 5 ways, explaining that they were meant to show the “inner consistency of belief in God”.

McGrath points out that Aquinas never speaks of his ways as being ‘proofs’ of God’s existence. Dawkins doesn’t understand that a posteriori arguments are only meant to show that there are logical reasons to believe in God. They are not meant to be absolute a priori proofs of faith.

McGrath’s point is that Aquinas’ 5 ways may not prove the truth of God, but they do show that a logical rational argument for God’s existence can be made and believed in. Belief in God can therefore be rational.

what is the response to McGrath?

just because something is internally consistent and reasonable, that doesn’t justify belief in it. To justify belief, especially to the degree religious people do such that they base the meaning and purpose of their lives on it, arguably requires evidence that supports the belief.

what is the God of the gaps argument?

• claims that religion is irrational and unscientific.

Many atheists, including Dawkins, make this argument.

claims that religion is irrational because it is the result of scientific ignorance→ science is replacing religion and one day will completely replace it.

People used to explain all sorts of natural phenomena by attributing them to God. Diseases, thunder and lightning, rainbows, volcanic eruptions, the success of harvests and so on, were all explained by divine providence or punishment in ancient times

As scientific knowledge develops, these natural processes became explained, thereby progressively filling in the gaps where the God explanation had existed. Dawkins criticises “the worship of gaps”

how does Hitchens agree with Dawkins?

argues that religion is unable to remain just a private belief because of the belief in converting others. Religion is therefore a threat to freedom

“[Religious people are] totally miserable until they can get everyone else to believe it too. This is why it’s sinister. This is why it’s always dangerous …

how does McGrath respond?

anti-theists like Dawkins unfairly criticises religion for its fundamentalists, as if they were representative of all religious people. This works for Dawkins’ audience who are not properly educated in religion.

how does Harris respond to this?

Harris argues that the number of fundamentalists is worryingly high, for example a quarter of Americans think Jesus will come back in their lifetime.

Harris further responds that even moderate religious belief deserves criticism. They dignify the idea of having faith, which makes it harder to criticise with those who have faith in a fundamentalist view of religion.

how does McGrath argue that Dawkins argument is fundamentalist and the other extreme?

In the God Delusion, Dawkins quoted Martin Luther’s concerns about reason, trying to imply that Luther was against reason. McGrath points out the context that Luther was referring to salvation resulting from ‘faith alone’, not the power of human reason.

McGrath concludes that Dawkins’ engagement with Luther is ‘inept’ and not ‘evidence-based scholarship’ but merely selective ‘trawling’ of the internet for quotes that can be taken out of context. Dawkins “wants to write a work of propaganda”, not academic scholarship. The truth and making an accurate representation of religion is not required for his agenda, which is the destruction of religion.

McGrath worries that secularists will merely force their own dogmas on their children if they listen to Dawkins’ misrepresentations of religion.

how does Dawkins argue religion causes prejudice and violence?

Religion causes prejudice in the form of homophobia, anti-semitism and sexism.

“The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction … [a] bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser … misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal” – Dawkins.

• Dawkins believes that religion has an intrinsic tendency to divide people into groups that are defined by their adherence to specific doctrines. He argues that this can lead to hostility, discrimination, and even violence toward those in the out-group, who are seen as "other" or "inferior."

• He cites examples such as religious wars, sectarianism (e.g., between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland), and interfaith conflicts as evidence of how religion accentuates divisions.

why does Freud argue a non-secular society used to be useful?

Maintaining social order depends on people repressing their anti-social instincts (e.g. for sex and violence). Religion encourages repression and for that Freud thought it had done “great services for human civilization” in the “taming of the asocial instincts”. Nonetheless, Freud thought that the Christian belief system had long passed its usefulness because a secular society would be far superior at enabling self-control. So, society would be better off outgrowing religion.

what example does Freud use to show religion is a method to control instincts?

belief in and propagation of the idea that human nature is corrupted by original sin is really just a method of dealing with our natural instincts, but a primitive and childish method that actually causes as much immorality and unhappiness as it prevents.

Viewing humanity as inherently sinful and only God as good, who easily forgives sins, does not provide the proper motivation for following religious social rules, causing frequent “backslidings into sin” and seeking of penance.

why does Freud argue for autonomy?

People can rationally understand that repressing their instincts is for the good of social order, making them capable of choosing autonomously to follow social rules. This makes them more likely to happily accept and follow them. Furthermore, this would also introduce flexibility into the rules. If it were accepted that the social rules of human origin with the intention of improving society, then they could be continually improved, further encouraging adherence to them.

how can Christian ethical theories overcome Freud’s critique?

adopting Liberal theologies like Fletcher’s and Hick’s, or neo-orthodox theologies like Bonhoeffer’s.

This is because such theologies attempt to adapt Christian theology to the modern world while also encouraging and making use of the autonomy that humanity has developed in its now more civilised state, ‘come of age’, to use Bonhoeffer’s description. Hick encouraged soul-making which requires autonomy, as does Fletcher’s situation ethics.

why can Freud’s approach be criticised - unscientific?

Popper: not falsifiable and therefore not scientific; lack of evidence; poor record keeping; male dominated.

why does Dawkins argue that religion involves indoctrination?

child is raised in a religious tradition and labelled as ‘Catholic, Muslim, Jewish’ before it is able to understand these beliefs and able to make a rational judgment.

This cripples their developing mind with superstitions and delusions; it is a form of abduction or kidnapping.

Teaches violent, dehumanising moral behaviour.

To do all this before the age of consent is long-term child abuse.

how does Marchant criticise Dawkins?

in Cure: A journey into the Science of Mind over Body, 2016, discusses compelling evidence for measurable mental and psychological benefits of ‘feeling part of something bigger’ ( less loneliness, cope with existentialist fears, stress).

This in turn contributes to physical well-being and longevity.

why can it be argued that spiritual values are just human values?

Compassion, forgiveness, justice and peace are fundamental values of being human and flourishing in human society.

Belief in God and the after-life is not necessary to endorse these values and therefore these values cannot be inherently religious.

Overlap of values in Bible/Sermon on Mount and Human Rights Declaration, 1948, and Amsterdam Declaration, 2002.

how does Pojman agree with this?

value of individual originates in Christian teaching; it is assumed, not justified nor protected, on the basis of secular principles of greatest happiness to greatest number. (Dawkins on aborting disabled Down’s children.)

Nor is the ultimate worth and dignity of humans justified on basis of empirical evidence (human nature is violent; untruthful; capable of cruelty and genocide of ‘outgroups’).

why can it be argued Britain is not a secular state?

king – Head of Church of England, the national Church.

26 Bishops of Church of England automatically sit in House of Lords as ‘Lords Spiritual.

Church of England Parish Churches can be used for marriages, funerals and baptisms, regardless of faith. Teaching of RS and performing an act worship are compulsory in schools.

what does Rowan Williams say about secularism?

Programmatic secularism assumes public expression of religion is offensive and an attempt to take control.

Removing religion is intolerant, discriminative and silences critical voices in favour of a particular ideology.

Procedural secularism is better: sees the state as a ‘community of communities’.

Allows people to express differences; inclusive of all voices without favouring any one; creates a crowded and argumentative public sphere united by the rule of law and the authority of the state.

Encourages Christians not to ‘privatize’ their faith instead to engage with all aspects of society and challenge.

why does Dawson argue for faith schools?

Religion threatened by secular, consciously anti-religious narrative.

Neutrality often covers intolerance and programmatic intention to remove religions.

Religion adds depth to secular life; ‘higher’ spiritual experience can be seen in art, architecture, literature etc.

Removing religious  from public sphere of education deprives people from ability to make sense of their own culture.

what core values does the 2002 Amsterdam Declaration by Humanists International list?

• Ethics

• Rationality

• Human rights

• Personal liberty

• Social responsibility

why do secular humanists argue for secularisation?

argue that society can thrive and flourish based on human, rather than specifically spiritual, values.

Most secular humanists would argue that religious belief is personal and should not be part of public life.

• typically oppose faith schools and argue for separation of church and state.

is England a Christian country?

technically (de jure) a Christian country: the Anglican Church is the official state religion. However, in practice (de facto), most people in modern Britain are not Christian, and the Church of England has little influence on the state.

how many schools in England are faith schools?

Around 1/3 of state-funded schools in the UK are faith schools¹, i.e. schools that identify with and to some extent teach a particular religion. Of these 1/3 of schools, the vast majority are Christian (Church of England or Catholic).

how is Britain in the process of secularisation?

• Britian – UK process of secularization e.g. in 2001 72% of people were Christian, 2011 - 59%  and in 2021 it dropped down to 46%  

• 2001 – 15% were non religious and 2021- 37%  

what is the Amsterdam declaration?

a statement of the core principles of humanism. It was created at the first congress of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) in 1952.

what principles does the Amsterdam declaration affirm?

• Human worth: Humanists believe that all people have worth, dignity, and autonomy. 

• Human rights: Humanists support democracy and human rights. 

• Human development: Humanists believe that all people should have the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. 

• Human well-being: Humanists believe that the welfare of humankind is the most important thing. 

• Human morality: Humanists believe that morality is an intrinsic part of human nature, and that it's based on understanding and a concern for others. 

how prevalent are religious groups in europe?

• 26% of Christians live in Europe -> highlights Europe’s historical association with Christianity, which includes denominations such as Catholicism, Protestantism, and Orthodox Christianity. 

Countries like Italy, Poland, and Spain have particularly high proportions of Christian populations. 

10.8% of overall people live in Europe = UK – 71.1% Christian, 4.4% Muslim, 21.3% unaffiliated 

• unaffiliated is significant in countries with growing secularization, such as France, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom. 

what are some of Dawkins’s views outlined in the God delusion?

• Believes there is a lack of evidence and therefore science and faith contradict. Science is more strong as based on empirical evidence and rationality whereas faith is more weak. 

• Evolution should be accepted as a fact and criticises a pastor of the evangelical church.  

• Rasing children in religion is indoctrination and child abuse. Prevents children from being rational, autonomous and developing intellectually.  

• Religion and violence can cause people to form in group and out group mentalities which may lead to sectarian violence and division between people. E.g. Northern Ireland  

• The illusion of miracles and sites of pilgrimage – are irrational and just provide shallow comfort and enable us to not use our reason.  

-> because there are so many people who believe in religion this leads in further delusion and strengthens this.  

what did the Van Straunbenzee report state about the prime minister?

"Senior Church Appointments," which examined the process of appointing senior positions within the Church of England.

The report recommended removing the Prime Minister's role in advising the monarch on these appointments, thereby reducing political influence in ecclesiastical matters.

Additionally, it suggested that vacancies for bishoprics should be advertised to promote transparency and openness in the selection process. However, these recommendations were not implemented, as they were quickly dismissed by senior members of the episcopate.

why does religious pluralism suggest Britain is a secular state?

• Multifaith Society: Britain is a multicultural and multifaith society, with large populations practicing Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, and other religions, alongside those who are non-religious. This diversity discourages the state from favoring one religion over others in practice.

• Legal Protections for All Beliefs: The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, including atheism and agnosticism, which reflects a secular approach to governance.

how does the weakening of the established church present Britain as a secular society?

• Marginal Role of the Church of England: While the Church of England remains the established church, its influence on governance is limited. For example:

  • The number of bishops in the House of Lords is small and their role is largely symbolic.

  • The monarchy, while holding the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England, operates as a largely ceremonial and politically neutral institution.

• Disestablishment in Wales and Northern Ireland: The Church in Wales and the Church of Ireland have been disestablished, and the movement for disestablishment in England also has support from some quarters.

what is aggressive secularism?

a form of secularism that goes beyond the separation of religion and state and actively seeks to remove religious influence from public life and institutions.  

what is Laïcité?

1905 law passed in France which ensures the government maintains neutrality towards religion and does not endorse any specific faith, allowing individuals the freedom to practice any religion while keeping religious expression out of public affairs. 

what are secular ethics?

moral principles which are based on human reason and empathy as opposed to religion governing rules of right and wrong.  

how has proportion of Christianity changed between census’s?

proportion of people who said they were Christian was 46.2%, down from 59.3% in the last census in 2011.

how does differences in census indicate that society is becoming more pluralist?

the number who said they had no religion increased to 37.2% of the population, up from a quarter.

Those identifying as Muslim rose from 4.9% in 2011 to 6.5% last year.

what are the issues with the census?

Ticking "no religion" does not mean having no beliefs, says Prof Linda Woodhead, from King's College London.

"Some will be atheist, a lot will be agnostic - they just say, 'I don't really know' - and some will be spiritual and be doing spiritual things." she said

what does Andrew Copson say about the significance of these census results?

Chief executive of Humanists UK Andrew Copson added the figures should be a "wake-up call which prompts fresh reconsiderations of the role of religion in society".

why does Dawkins argue that we are good?

Dawkins argues in this chapter that because cultures around the world share general traits of moral behavior, this supports the claim of a common evolutionary source.

He concludes with an attack on religions stating that we only exhibit good behavior because a God is watching over us.

what are some of the examples Dawkins says that demonstrates violence?

Dawkins points out more examples of the dangers of religion. He includes “fundamentalists” who believe they are right all the time, abortion-clinic bombers, punishment of homosexuals, and the pro-life movement as examples. He concludes that faith fosters fanaticism and supersedes a rational, scientific approach to the world.

how does Cacioppo support the role of religion?

We have an innate biological need to be apart of something bigger.