secularism

what is secularism

religion becomes either less important or privitatised in society

name 5 consequences of secularism

1. religion becomes less influential in politics
   → e.g. views on abortion would be based in sociological views rather than religious views
   

2. moral choice making
   → people make moral choices based on if it harms anyone else, not if god wants them to do it or not
   → e.g. utilitarianism
   

3. fewer people understand christian beliefs
   → may have vague understanding of christmas or easter, but not in depth
   

4. fewer people go to church
   → except maybe weddings or funerals
   

5. there’s a sense that nothing is magical or supernatural. all explained by science
   → called disenchantment by weber

what is programmatic secularism?

programmatic=tv programme= extreme/fantasy

• suggests religious should have no place in society

• religious views should be kept to yourself privately

• all religious views and practices should be excluded from public spaces
  → e.g. ban on wearing religious clothing in public

• like in france

what is procedural secularism?

procedural=more practical

• religion should be part of views people hold and should be considered in society

• christians have certain views, athiests have certain views, muslims have certain views

• gov’s job should be to take into account various religious views fairly and equally

what does the archbishop of canterbury say about secularism?

procedural secularism

• this allows people to obey state and their own beliefs

• procedural secularism has been the christian idea from the start

• church’s message was to proclaim jesus, not rule society (link to roman empire)

• christians should stand up for what they believe in and not privitise their faith or religion, and christians should take part in all parts of life
  → kate forbes

explain the roman empire forcing religion

• constantine legalised christianity and made life a lot easier for christians

• then later christianity was made official religion and non-christians were barred from high ranking gov roles, and social hierarchy was built around church

• especially vital as they spread christianity across the world when hey expanded and forced upon people

what does france do about secularism?

programmatic secularism

• 1905, french law separated church and state

• religion has no place at all in public life

• citizens are made to keep religious beliefs to themselves and are only for private life

• 2004, banned wearing any religious symbols in state schools and banned niqab in any public place

what is secularisation?

the active secularising of society by removing religion from all public institutions

name 2 reasons for secularisation

1. sociological evidence
   used to justify removal or religion from society since fewer and fewer people practice it
   

2. religious harm
   beneficial because of harm religion has caused especially in human rights
   some argue rise of militant islamism in western world poses risk to human life so society may be better off
   → or lots of wars being caused by religion

explain the influence of freud

• programmatic secularism

• freud felt that religion was more negative for humans

• it is no more than an illusion that needs to be taken away by scientific awareness

• saw rituals in church like taking sacraments as similar to neuroses like OCD

• as if some people are addicted to taking bread and wine which reflects mental illness

• religion is anti-rational and anti-scientific
  ‘religion is comparable to childhood neurosis’

name 3 aspects of freud’s theory

1. religion as infantile illusion

2. religion as wishful fulfilment

3. longing for a father figure

explain religion as an infantile illusion (freud)

• very common among strict secularists

• believe religion is a primitive belief system which we slowly grow out of

• just as we used to think thor controlled thunder, we will eventually grow out of christian teachings

  → just childish illusions with no scientific basis

• believing in god is like believing in fairies or santa

• people who believe are simple minded
  → need to embrace maturity which is represented by science

• freud believes that the story of humanity is one of progress towards enlightenment and religion will disappear

explain limitations of religion being infantile

1. belief in god and science doesn’t mean goodness
   athiest regimes are also cruel like stalin’s
   science was nt used for good in the 1900s and deadly technology was made:
   machine guns, nerve gases, atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, neutron bombs, experiments in auchwitz
   

2. contradicts intellegence of philosophy
   e.g. cosmological argument gives sophisticated view of existence. is that supposed to be infantile? or descartes?

explain wishful fulfiment (freud)

• there is no real evidence/proof for god yet sensible people believe it

• suggests god exists only because he contains wishes which are important to humans, which councils out any doubts about the truth of religion

• three things in our life which make us feel helpless but we wish to control:

  • nature

  • human instincts

  • longing for father figure

explain nature and wishful fulfilment

nature: floods/earthquakes

• wish to defend themselves against nature and right wrongs that happen to us

explain human instincts and wishful fulfilment

• human instincts: incest/murder

  • every human being faces a conflict between what society expects and their own instincts

  • e.g., human instinct to have sex with family, yet society labels it as wrong

  • gives conscience which prevents us from acting on instincts to be rewarded after death

  • god will make up for our suffering and helplessness
    → encourages to love enemies rather than being aggressive to people

explain longing for a father figure and wishful fulfilment

• childhood is characterised by helplessnes

• in childhood, children are comforted by their father

• in adulthood, they no longer have this protection

• humans respond to helplessness by turning to god as father and seeking comfort they felt in childhood

• ‘infantile feeling of helplessness’

evaluate religion as wishful thinking

• believers do tend to have an optimistic view of the universe and typically think it was created with purpose

• optimism has good consequences which makes believer more fulfilled, happy and motivated to help others

• can be inspiring, productive and energising

• can also help people overcome neuroses

how does freud critique himself?

acknowledges in his own book that religion has done a lot of good
it provides people with safety and consolation in difficult times
not just a security blanket but allows people to actually overcome neuroses

name a general limitation of freud

• his theory is speculative and unfalsifiable

• human instincts → may say you’re repressing this because of religion

• athiesm could also be wishful fulfilment as a desire for independence or a rejection of authority

what does dawkins say about religion as a delusion?

• religion is based on blind faith and wishful thinking

• compares believing in god to believing in a teapot circling the sun

• no reason to believe in god’s existence as there is lots of evidence → like evil

• irrational and dangerous to believe in god
  → causes war, misery, death and prevents science

  → e.g. creationists often refuse to accept science when they think it conflicts with the bible, like evolution

• it is a delusion and it is physically and mentally dangerous

• no place at all in society → speculated it to be the root of all evil

what quote does dawkins say about religion? evaluate it

‘religion teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world’

→ father lemaitre came up with big bang theory showing it can work together

what example of religion being dangerous does dawkins give?

9/11 had people attack in the name of religion and kill themselves and non-believers

what does dawkins say about religion as indoctrination?

• morally wrong and abusive to raise children as religious believers as it is indoctrination, especially if the parent doesn’t teach science as a result

• damages people (especially children) psychologically

• threat of being judged by god and sent to hell impacts mental health severely

• uses quote from women recounting being abused by priest and being taught about hell as a punishment:

  • never lost sleep because of the priest but she did over worrying people she loved would go to hell

name 3 limitations of dawkins

1. selective
   any belief system can be open to abuse
   examples are the most extreme ways religions can inspire terrible things
   does not emphasise the way religious people set up hospitals, schools and worked to abolish slavery
   → e.g. red cross set up by christians
   much good has come due to it
   

2. rational arguments for god
   dawkins suggests its the same as believing a tea pot circling the sun
   however, rational arguments by extremely intellegent philosopers like aquinas and the cosmological argument
   not a leap in the dark, a rational choice
   also a poor representation of argument → mcgrath does ‘the dawkins delusion’ to go over mistakes he made
   → likely polemic (deliberately extreme) to push political agenda and get sales
   

3. science and religion can work together
   big bang by father lemaitre
   evolution can be explained through design argument
   plantinga: we have the ability to understand th e world and make sense of it, which suggests the human mind and universe were made by a rational mind
   leibniz: principle of sufficient reason
   

4. belief in god and science doesn’t mean goodness
   athiest regimes are also cruel like stalin’s
   science was nt used for good in the 1900s and deadly technology was made:
   machine guns, nerve gases, atomic bombs, hydrogen bombs, neutron bombs, experiments in auchwitz

what is secular humanism?

• the belief that humans can live a good life according to reason without need for religion
  → e.g. freud and dawkins

• believe that ethical and spiritual values are not derived from any higher power, and are just human values

• christian belief is personal and should play no part in public life especially:

  • education and schools

  • gov and state

name 4 arguments for religious schools

1. if parents want certain types of schools, then it is undemocratic to deny them of this offer

2. religious schools are popular and often perform better than secular counter-parts

3. reduces tax burden as state has duty to educate young people and the church takes some of that burden away by funding about 10% of school

4. non-religious schools will have their own set of values, not free of values. religious values shouldn’t be side lined

name 4 arguments against religious schools

1. dangerous place where radicalisation takes place

2. some are anti-science and teach evolution is a myth

3. can increase intolerance as they can teach all other faiths are mistaken and even evil → can promote hatred and mistrust and fear

4. state has no obligation to teach faith and taxes (from non-religious) shouldn’t have to fund religious schools

explain secularists and the government

• secular assumption is that faith should be private not public

• state matters should be decided by reason and law

• people could practice religion in private but beliefs should not impact → should not talk about it at all

• this makes politicans reluctant to talk about god. as shown by telegraph interview talking to the labour government stating:
  ‘we don’t do god’ multiple times

explain tim farron and government

• lib dem leader admitted to regretting he said he doesn’t believe gay sex is sinful

• as an evangelical christian, he was repeatedly asked about his beliefs

• he stated later after resigning, that he does believe it is a sin and he felt remaining leader of lib dems and a faithful christian was too incompatiable

explain kate forbes and government

• prominent scottish politican and part of strict church (which is against gay marriage and abortion, takes sabbath seriously and is joyless)

• says she feels she has to tiptoe around her faith and being christian would limit her position as an MP
  → concerned people will think she’ll ignore their views, e.g. about abortion

• secularists have a certain power over politics as it would be hard to elect and stay in power as openly religious

name 3 reasons christianity should play a part in public life

1. bonhoeffer
   details on bonhoeffer slide
   

2. archbishop of canterbury
   procedural secularism allows people to acknowledge their own religious belief as well as authority of state
   christian church is to proclaim message of jesus but not govern or rule society
   christians should stand up against programmatic secularism
   tony blair: leaders, whether they are religious or not, have to ‘do god’
   

3. freud’s critique of himself
   can be used as a way of improving lives of many people in society

name 2 reasons christianity should NOT play a part in public life

1. freud and dawkins
   

2. arguments against religious schools
   (as previously listed)

explain the issue of measuring secularisation in terms of church membership

• just because it’s declining in a certain area, doesn’t mean it is declining everywhere, or it may be replaced with another group
  → e.g. traditional church groups decline but pentecostal movement has flourished in South America

• young people who believe but don’t go to church

• secularisation is a good chance to revitalise religion and encourage new methods of getting people to believe

what would some sociologists say about the secularisation thesis

• world wide religion is gaining ground and getting stronger

• religion is declining in the west but the rest of the world is advancing

• known as the sacralisation thesis

• more and more areas are being re-enchanted

• berger (used to be defender or secularaisation thesis) argues ‘world is as furiously religious as ever’

name examples berger points to for the upsurge of religion

evangelical christianity is increasing in numbers and influene → especially central and south america

explain scientism

• issue of debating which branch of science gives us the most truth

• dawkins would opt for biology but a physicist might say physics
  → within physics itself there is a lot of disagreement

what do christians believe about procedural secularism?

• happy with it

• christ did not want to rule over state and made it clear he didn’t → shown by entering jerusalem on a donkey rather than a war horse (showed he had no interest in gov)

explain the issue with privitasation of religion?

• why should gov pick out certain religious views and ignore them?

• should athiests be listened to more than theists

• why should a christian not be able to argue about sanctity of life in parliament?
  → could have religious basis but political back up, e.g. slippery slope issue which does not mention God. we can make rational arguments according to the church, so debates don’t need god

• however, it seems undemocratic to disallow this argument, and since church believes belief in god is rational then it should be allowed to be discussed

what is rationality?

• church believes there are shared human values and ways of thinking that apply to everyone regardless of religion (e.g. natural law)

• early secularists thought rationality was just mechanical and focused on efficency
  → weber argued this is dehumanising and treats people like machines

what does weber say about rationality

• modern society is like an iron cage

• people are trapped in systems based on calculation, efficency and control

• leads to human freedom and individuality being reduced (link to alienation)
  

• without god weber feared rationality can be purely utilitarian and people are just judged on usefulness

name 3 ways spiritual values are just human values

1. amsterdam declaration 2002
   lists 7 core values which religious believers would identify as spiritual values:
   ethics, rationality, human rights, social responsibility, fulfilment and creativity
   10 commandments are universally recognised as good ethical standards not just faith/tradition
   

2. key values promoted
   forgiveness, love, peace, justice and compassion for marginalised are key values promoted by christianity (link to liberation theology)
   same values can be created without belief in afterlife or god
   human belief not christian beliefs
   

3. impossible to separate human and spiritual values
   they are the same as a result of the incarnation
   god reclaims and reasserts value of humanity
   no divide between spiritual and human values as jesus represents them both

name 3 ways spiritual values aren’t just human values

1. distinctive christian values
   e.g. euthanias and sanctity of life, loving your enemy and self sacrifical/unconditional love are christian ideals seen as irrational in secular world
   

2. different reason
   divine authority behind choices and there is an ultimate purpose/reason to these values
   

3. human values devised by humans
   declaration of human rights is part of a morally corrupt human world and are presented as an alternative to religion
   spiritual values by god are perfect, untainted and pure
   

name 3 reasons christianity is a major cause of social and personal problems

1. christianity is partiarchal
   men taking on leadership roles in christianity
   evidenced by catholic church now allowing women to become priests or hold significant roles in the church
   

2. unscientific
   dawkins states it provides unscientific views of the world
   links to criminalising homosexuality and evangelical christians who see AIDs as god’s punishment to homosexuals
   faith systems think their ideals are absolute truth and do not mix with science
   → father lemaitre- big bang
   

3. ‘pay-back’ expected from charity
   traditonally, expected to pay back in charity
   salvation army would provide food/shelter for homeless on condition that they would attend their church services
   western missionary groups often more concerned about saving souls than lives

name 3 ways christianity hasn’t caused social or personal problems

1. access to education
   19th century- religious groups set up schools for poor when government wasn’t prepared to do so
   → e.g. xaverian brothers
   schools still flourish today and have education thousands of people and helped flourish
   

2. criticism of dawkins as anti-gay
   anglican bishops were helpful in decriminalising homosexuality in 1960s when other parts of the gov were resisting
   many civil rights activists like MLK were religious and devout
   

3. major focus of jesus’ ministry was helping poor
   jesus went to help poor and needy and oppressed
   this is reflected in the Acts of the Apostles
   has lived on in christian institutions
   → e.g. christian aid, SVP and CAFOD
   foodbanks and assistance to asylum seekers are common christian projects

name 2 ways secularism gives chances for christians to develop new ways of thinking/acting

1. evil
   evils of secular world which prompts christian reponses
   papacy responds to poor working conditions, nuclear warfare and unfair trading practices which church has seen and responded to
   

2. world events prompt new understanding of scripture
   babylonian exiles inspired the reaction to oppression of people in latin america
   first christians saw themselves as marginalised in a secular society, and so did catholics post reformation
   shrinkage of christinaity is not new
   however, this had led to the development of new and great thinking
   

name 3 ways secularism doesn’t give chances for new ways of thinking and acting as a christian

1. secularism has silenced christianity
   communism and nazism were secular systems and completely paralysed religious debate and development
   (bonhoeffer, new thoughts came out of this)
   

2. scientific developments
   scientific developments has shrunken tradtional aspects of christianity and has resulted in people moving away from religious belief
   

3. removal of christian elements marginalises them
   removal of queen as head of church or church schools or christian influence in parliament would minimise christian influence
   british humanist organisation would welcome this and say limiting this influence would make britian more democratic

what is sacralisation?

growth of religion