Notes on Secular Ethics and Cosmopolitanism

Secular Ethics and Secularization

• Secular derives from a meaning of being based in this world or this age; opposed to an eternal or otherworldly focus of religion.
• A secular ethic is an ethical idea or theory divorced from religious sources.
• Secular ethics can develop out of religious conflict, as members of different religious groups agree to coexist despite differences.
• The Western secular system evolved through centuries of religious wars, beginning with the Protestant Reformation.
• By the end of the seventeenth century, European Enlightenment philosophers argued that public toleration of religious diversity was necessary.
• A hallmark of secularism is the idea of freedom of religion and toleration of religious diversity.
• Secularization is often linked to modernization: as cultures and polities modernize, they tend to become more secular.
• The secularization thesis describes a trend toward a world in which religion matters less and secular reason and secular institutions matter more; it has gained quasi-scientific status in sociological studies arguing for this trend.
• While the secularization thesis has critics, the idea helps explain much recent history, including the spread of secular cosmopolitan ideas such as those found in UN documents discussed in this chapter.
• Religious fundamentalism remains a potent force across Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, and other communities, with some leaders arguing for subordinating women, opposing scientific naturalism, and defending traditional ideas from earlier centuries.
• Overall, secular ethics interacts with religious differences to foster coexistence and public order in plural societies.

Key Figures and Foundations

• John Locke is a foundational Western source for thinking about secularism; discussed in greater detail in Chapter 7.
• Locke published a Letter Concerning Toleration in the 1680s, which serves as an important touchstone for toleration.
• Locke argues that religious belief must be a matter of inward persuasion, not subject to coercive force.
• He contends that force is ineffective at producing genuine religious belief.
• If coercion were used to enforce conformity of belief, it would be ineffective.
• Spiritual and civil authorities operate in wholly different spheres: the former through persuasion and conversion; the latter through laws backed by coercive power.
• Religions should be left to deal with spiritual issues; the state should focus only on civil issues.
• Locke's ideas influenced later political thought in the United States and global human rights discourse (including the UN Declaration of Human Rights).

Locke, Jefferson, and Human Rights

• Locke’s toleration principles significantly impacted Thomas Jefferson and other American founders.
• Locke’s ideas have influenced ethical and political thought beyond the United States, including the framing of human rights concepts in international instruments like the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

Rawls, Overlapping Consensus, and Political Liberalism

• John Rawls argued that societies should work toward an overlapping consensus among people who hold divergent religious and moral worldviews.
• Rawls calls deeply held worldviews comprehensive doctrines.
• The aim is agreement in the political realm rather than forcing deeper agreement about fundamental moral or religious ideas.
• This leads to a theory of political justice Rawls calls political liberalism and a basic conception of human rights emphasizing toleration for religious diversity.
• The goal is peaceful coexistence in a just society among people who disagree about the highest good.
• An overlapping consensus on political issues would yield something like a secular ethic: a system of values and fair rules that can be agreed upon by people from different religious backgrounds.
• This approach underpins the constitutional doctrine often called separation of church and state.
• Note: Rawls’s theory of justice is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 14.

Separation of Church and State and Political Liberalism

• The overlapping consensus idea contributes to the notion of separation of church and state as a constitutional principle.
• This separation aims to ensure that public order and political life are not determined by any single religious doctrine, enabling pluralism within a just society.

Secularism, Atheism, and Secular Humanism

• Some interpret secularism as equivalent to atheism; this is a radical understanding held by some religious thinkers.
• Secular humanism is often denounced by some religious groups as atheistic or anti-religious.
• Paul Kurtz is a prominent advocate of secular humanism and clarifies that it can remain open to religious believers while grounded in a nonreligious ethical framework.
• Kurtz has introduced neo-humanism, which seeks to reconcile atheists and religious believers around a global ethics.
• Kurtz’s Neo-Humanist Manifesto proposes a planetary civilization in which every person has equal dignity and value, transcending national, ethnic, religious, racial, or linguistic boundaries.
• Quote from Kurtz’s Neo-Humanist Manifesto (paraphrased): every person on the planet has equal dignity and value as a person, transcending boundaries and identities; this idea harks back to Enlightenment cosmopolitan ideals and resonates with religious cosmopolitanism associated with the Parliament of the World's Religions.

Neo-Humanism, Cosmopolitanism, and Global Ethics

• Kurtz’s neo-humanism echoes Enlightenment cosmopolitanism: a cosmopolitan world grounded in shared ethical values.
• The approach aligns with religious cosmopolitanism as seen in movements like the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
• This cosmopolitan thread underpins broader global governance ideas, including those found in UN documents mentioned earlier.

Connections to History, Theory, and Practice

• The secularization process is historically linked to periods of religious conflict, social contract developments, and the emergence of liberal political theory.
• The combination of toleration, separation of church and state, and human rights provides a framework for pluralistic modern democracies.
• Ethical and political debates about religion and the state balance freedom of belief, public order, and universal rights.
• The discussion integrates foundational principles from Enlightenment thought with contemporary global ethics and cosmopolitan aspirations.

Practical and Philosophical Implications

• Practical: fostering peaceful coexistence in diverse societies entails toleration, protection of religious diversity, and institutional separation of religious and political authority.
• Philosophical: debates about the nature of religion, secularism, and moral reason—whether morality can be grounded independently of religion and how to reconcile diverse comprehensive doctrines.
• Ethical: the push toward universal human dignity and planetary ethics that cross national or religious boundaries, as advocated by neo-humanists like Kurtz.
• Policy relevance: constitutional design, education, international law, human rights protections, and global governance reflect these ideas.

Summary of Core Concepts

• Secular ethics: ethics independent of religious authority.
• Secularization: modernization trend toward diminished religious influence in public life.
• Toleration and freedom of religion: accepting diverse beliefs as a political and moral principle.
• Locke’s toleration framework: inward conviction, non-coercive belief formation, separate spheres for church and state.
• Rawls’s political liberalism and overlapping consensus: political agreement across diverse comprehensive doctrines without requiring deep consensus on all worldviews.
• Separation of church and state: constitutional mechanism supporting pluralism and rights.
• Secular humanism and neo-humanism: nonreligious ethical systems that seek inclusive, universal moral commitments; open to dialogue with religious believers.
• Global cosmopolitanism: shared ethical principles transcending borders; linked to Enlightenment ideals and modern international ethics.

Key Terms to Remember

• Secular ethics
• Secularization thesis
• Freedom of religion
• Toleration
• Comprehensive doctrines
• Overlapping consensus
• Political liberalism
• Separation of church and state
• Secular humanism
• Neo-humanism
• Planetary civilization
• Cosmopolitanism
• Parliament of the World’s Religions