The Challenge of Secularism:
Secularism is a belief that religion should not be involved in government
or public life. It may be a principle that no one religion should have a
superior position in the state. It often entails a belief in a public space
and a private space, and that religion should be restrained from public
power
The role of religion in Western Europe has changed and continues to
change. Christianity used to pervade British culture in ways that are no
more. At the start of the 20th century, 80% of UK marriages were
solemnised in church, but by the end of the century, that figure dropped
below 40%. The number of people belonging to a church shows dramatic
reductions
Steve Bruce, a sociologist of religion, describes Christianity in Britain as a
pale shadow of its former self. Bruce thinks religious belonging as a
majority process has drained away, and religious belief is following. In
the early years of the 21st century, a growing number of British people
declare themselves of no religious belief. Within a few years, Bruce
thinks that total Christian membership will have dropped below 10% of
the total population. This questions the place of religious institutions in
public life and culture
In western Europe, religion has become a largely private matter, an
expression of individual preference – ‘secularisation’, a theory linking a
decline in religion to modernisation
Secularisation – a theory developed from Enlightenments thinking, that
religious belief would progressively decline as democracy and
technology advanced
Secular - not connected or associated with religious or spiritual matters
A secular view of life separates public life and private life
Religion and belief reside in the ‘private space’, leaving the public space
free for views and practices that an be justified by reason alone
Public refers to the people as a whole, to what is common to our local
and national communities, including government decisions and the law
Jose Casanova identifies 3 ways in which people talk about
secularisation:
Secularism is a belief that religion should not be involved in government
or public life. It may be a principle that no one religion should have a
superior position in the state. It often entails a belief in a public space
and a private space, and that religion should be restrained from public
power
The role of religion in Western Europe has changed and continues to
change. Christianity used to pervade British culture in ways that are no
more. At the start of the 20th century, 80% of UK marriages were
solemnised in church, but by the end of the century, that figure dropped
below 40%. The number of people belonging to a church shows dramatic
reductions
Steve Bruce, a sociologist of religion, describes Christianity in Britain as a
pale shadow of its former self. Bruce thinks religious belonging as a
majority process has drained away, and religious belief is following. In
the early years of the 21st century, a growing number of British people
declare themselves of no religious belief. Within a few years, Bruce
thinks that total Christian membership will have dropped below 10% of
the total population. This questions the place of religious institutions in
public life and culture
In western Europe, religion has become a largely private matter, an
expression of individual preference – ‘secularisation’, a theory linking a
decline in religion to modernisation
Secularisation – a theory developed from Enlightenments thinking, that
religious belief would progressively decline as democracy and
technology advanced
Secular - not connected or associated with religious or spiritual matters
A secular view of life separates public life and private life
Religion and belief reside in the ‘private space’, leaving the public space
free for views and practices that an be justified by reason alone
Public refers to the people as a whole, to what is common to our local
and national communities, including government decisions and the law
Jose Casanova identifies 3 ways in which people talk about
secularisation:
