The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer George Jacob Holyoake in 1851. Although the term was new, the general notions of free thought on which it was based had existed throughout history. Holyoake invented the term "secularism" to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion, without actively dismissing or criticizing religious belief. As an agnostic himself, Holyoake argued that "Secularism is not an argument against Christianity; it is one independent of it. It does not question the pretensions of Christianity; it advances others. Secularism does not say there is no light or guidance elsewhere, but maintains that there is light and guidance in secular truth, whose conditions and sanctions exist independently, and act forever. Secular knowledge is manifestly that kind of knowledge which is founded in this life, which relates to the conduct of this life, conduces to the welfare of this life, and is capable of being tested by the experience of this life."
Barry Kosmin of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture breaks modern secularism into two types: hard and soft secularism. According to Kosmin, "the hard secularist considers religious propositions to be epistemologically illegitimate, warranted by neither reason nor experience." However, in the view of soft secularism, "the attainment of absolute truth was impossible and therefore scepticism and tolerance should be the principle and overriding values in the discussion of science and religion."
The term of secularism comes from Latin, Saeculum that has two connotations which are “time” and “location”. The “time” refers to present and the “location” refers to the world. Then Saeculum means the recent age or pres...
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...nish which ever applied inhospitable secularism toward religion. Nevertheless, in the development lately, both of those states have changed into more hospitable toward religion.
Works Cited
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Holyoake, G.J. (1896). The Origin and Nature of Secularism, London: Watts and Co. p.51
Secularism, Catholic Encyclopedia. Newadvent.org
Kosmin, Barry A. "Hard and soft secularists and hard and soft secularism: An intellectual and research challenge.".
The United States is commonly thought to be on an inevitable march towards secularization. Scientific thought and the failure of the enlightenment to reconcile the concept of god within a scientific framework are commonly thought to have created the antithesis of religious practice in the rise of the scientific method. However, the rise of doubt and the perception that secularization is increasing over time has in actuality caused an increase in religious practice in the United States through episodic revivals. Moreover, practice of unbelief has developed into a movement based in the positive assertion in the supplantation of God by the foundations of science, or even in the outright disbelief in God. The perception of increasing secularism in the United States spurs religious revivalism which underscores the ebb and flow of religious practice in the United States and the foundation of alternative movements which combines to form the reality that the United States is not marching towards secularism but instead religious diversity.
For more than a century, the concept of secularism and its boundaries has been widely disputed by secularists and non-secularists alike. English dictionaries define secularism as simply the separation of church and state, or, the separation of religion and politics. Michael Walzer, a true secularist, believes that this separation is an essential democratic value and ultimately fosters toleration of a plurality of religions (Walzer, p. 620). Wæver, an opponent of secularism, defines secularism as “a doctrine for how society ought to be designed”– that religion and politics ought to be divided in order to ensure religious liberty, as well as religious-free politics. However, he does not deem that such a principle exists (Wæver, p. 210). Based on these different viewpoints, I have established a unique concept of secularism: the principle that religion and politics be kept apart, that the state remains neutral in regard to religion, and that liberty, equality, and fraternity be upheld in an attempt to successfully promote religious toleration and pluralism.
17Kili, Dr. Suna. ?Islam and Secularism in Contemporary Turkey.? Voice of Ataturk: Ataturk Society of America. Web. Dec. 10 2013.
Fundamentalism can be widely defined as the utmost strict obedience towards distinct religious policies and guidelines which is usually understood as a reaction against Modernist Theology. It is also known to be associated with a forceful attack on outside threats to their own religious culture and beliefs. (George M. Marsden. 1980.) Fundamentalism first began as a movement in the United States in the late 19th century, early 20th century. It originally started within American Protestantism as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Soon after it spread to other religions generating quite a large following, including some fallen away Catholics. The term fundamentalism derives a religious affiliation in coherence to a set of very complex beliefs. Fundamentalists argued that many modern theologians had misinterpreted certain doctrines and stressed the infallibility of the bible. They selectively choose what they are against and what they accept in modern culture. What started out as a refined organisation quickly grew and spread throughout the use of media, press and academia. Nowadays there not only exists Protestant Fundamentalists but Islamic Fundamentalists, Buddhist Fundamentalists, Hindu Fundamentalists and many more from various religions and creeds.
Secular Humanism and Biblical Worldview are beliefs with different worldview meanings. Secular Humanism is a belief that doesn’t believe in the God. Biblical worldview is a belief in God and his word. Secular humanism worldview believes that man exist and found only nature. In secular humanism world science is source for knowledge and existence. In the Christian worldview has belief in everything that existence such as man, God, and other things. Christians also believes there will be eternal life and secular humanism believes when man dies life is over.
Humanity is made in the image of God. Therefore, all people have unique and valuable gifts to contribute to society. Every individual is also a sinner in need of redemption through Christ’s death and resurrection. Developing a relationship with Christ is the foundational purpose of my Christian educational practice. Instruction must be differentiated because each student is a unique creation. Effective differentiation is impossible without the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the use of research-based instructional methods and formative evaluation. Powerful teaching constantly modifies instruction to best address the needs of the each student and provides a foundation of love that recognizes each child as a gift from God.
Secularism has been around for over five hundred years and the process of science and psychology is slowly picking up speed along with development. Science and psychology play a big role in how we view things including our religious beliefs and our views of God. God created this beautiful world around us, and he watches over us and speaks to us. Unfortunately, science has become very popular and scientists are constantly searching for the “truth”. God created the world and put Adam on it with Eve, yet science will state that the Big Bang created the world and constantly search for inconsistency in everything from Jesus to the Bible. Science is distorting our view of the modern world. This has become a big problem because it seems as though secularism has become a political movement, instead of a philosophy or religious belief. It is more serious because our view of the world has changed as well as our view of God and what he did and didn’t do. The scientific move towards the world develops into a problem because it is now a philosophy or ideology that contradicts the truth of morality and faith.
However, aside from the apparent lengthiness of such an analysis, the emphasis of this book is how to practically respond to the secular mindset in the marketplace.
The following three articles examine the different effects secularization has had on society. Firstly, Swezey & Ross (2012) discuss what potential implications secularization may have on faculties’ perception of religious institutions who appear to be abandoning its religious mission to bolster academic creditability. On a similar note, Stallones (2011) discusses the implications that secularization has on the development of progressive educators. The takeaway of this article is that progressive educators need to be reminded that education should be student-centered. Stallone states: “[T]his value arose from a conviction each child has dignity, which in turn has its roots in the theological concept [. . .] that people have intrinsic value because they bear the image of God. [. . .] that the school is a community derives from the ecclesiological idea that the Church is actually an expression of the Body of Christ” (p.
Moore, Kathleen M. “Muslims in the United States: Pluralism under Exceptional Circumstances.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 612, Religious Pluralism and Civil Society (July 2007). 116-132.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
“One of the most marked characteristics of the new secular intellectuals was the relish with which they subjected religion and its protagonists to critical scrutiny. How far had they benefited or harmed humanity, these great systems of faith? To what extent had these popes and pastors lived up to their precepts, of purity and truthfulness, of charity and benevolence? The verdicts on both churches and clergy were harsh. Now, after two centuries during which the influence of religion has continued to decline, and secular intellectuals have played an ever-growing role in shaping our attitudes and institutions, it is time to examine their record, both public and personal. In particular, I want to focus on the moral and judgmental credentials of intellectuals to tell mankind how to conduct itself.”
A person must not want to learn about secularity to be able to teach “secular people.” Followers of God think all a secular person believes is nothing. Taylor and different people think “Secularism is its own web of beliefs that should be open to examination.” Next up is the study of secularism.
..., this paper will talk about the forms and structure of fundamentalism specifically in Christianity and Islam. To begin the inquiry of what fundamentalism is it’s pertinent to understand how it is structured, how it responds to mainstream religions and why it exists. To define fundamentalism, fundamentalism is a reaction, whether it be religious or political, against current societal mainstream dogma or ideology. With this reaction against any set of mainstream ideology politically and religiously, what makes a group fundamentalist are define through these characteristics as Richard T. Antoun of State University of New York at Binghamton. These Antoun defines fundamentalism as, “Fundamentalist movements are defined ideologically, by their opposition to and reaction against the ideology that suits the permissive secular society, the ideology of modernism” (Antoun, 3)
Many complain that religious views should not be excluded from politics since a secularism would then be more dominated in this country and would have a high chance of winning by default. For instance, he/she might argue that secularist beliefs are more rationals and rationally superior whereas religious belief are not rational and they are based on faith, authority and traditions. One might also confront that God created all people equally and therefore, racial segregation is wrong and encourage others to start supporting social welfare programs. These kind of people wouldn’t just assert the existence of God, but also think that it is rational to believe in God. When approached by one of these secularists, all you can do is use texts from the holy book or use facts and that’s the only way to be proven wrong. Also, the reason behind the separation of church and state is secularism. The separation of church and state explains that you should have your own particular ideas of worldview can’t force anyone into thinking the same as you; religious or secularist. The separation of church and state will only occur if the state has no religion. A secularist or someone whose religious can’t force anyone into conversion, it takes place when one is happily persuaded by you and decides to convert on their own with the feeling of being welcomed and