Secularism Flashcards
What is secularism
Secularism is the view that the state should play no role in the running of the state, government and public life
What are the two forms of secularism
- Procedural secularism argues that the state should take into account the interests of all citizens and show no preference or prioritise a religion but treat it equal to other institutions
- Programmatic secularism believes that the role of the state in a plural society should be comepletely secular, all religious beliefs should be steerage from public institutions
What probelms does the notions of prOcedural and programmatic secularism pose
- when does procedural secularism become programmatic secularism?
- Which form of secularism is favourable?
What does archbishop rowan Williams prefer
- rowan Williams argues that procedural secularism is more favourable is it portrays the role of the state as “community of communities” and allows people to acknowledge both the authority of their own religion and the state
- procedural secularism is a very Christian idea, the role of the church was always to spread the gospel, not govern society
What does France argue for
- programmatic secularism
- 2004 no rleIGiosu wearing in schools
What is secularisation
Secularisation is the active secularising of society by removing religion from all public institutions , also the erosion of all religions significance
What is the two broad reasons for secularisation
Sociological evidence - fewer and fewer people practice religions, iT has now nto got a space in provelaged society
- religious harm
What si the secularisation thesis
A sociological term deserving the process of secularisation, to is defined as a growing number of people who no longer have religious affiliation
What si a probelm with defining and measurinG terms
- people who show no religious affiliation has doubled but many people still be,ieve in a bid or higher power
- lack fo attendance to church may be due to a decline in beleifs in traditional religion but there is still a large majority which beleiev in spirituality
What is the problem fo authority
There is a decline in influence of religions and is benign replaced by new movements
- society isn’t becoming more secular
Who are two scientist whuch argeud for secular positivism
- idea scientific religions will take over religions
- Freud and dawkins
What was Freud view on religion
- the main cusse of mental illnesses
- argues religion only has a place in early stages of human development and is not necessary once man has developed the power of reason
What view did Hume support proposed by Freud
- he agreeed that there is no need for religion in a developed society
- he argued religious is childish and for uneducated people, there is no space for religion in developed society
How does Freud argue religion is a result of wish fulfilment
- doctor wrote to Freud about hwo he saw a dead sweet faced old woman in a dissecting room which led him to lose faith but regained in conversion experience. This was to Freud to reassess his atheism
- reasons for Freud atheism was due to his prayers never being answered and more importantly becuase he could rationally explain the doctors renewed faith and was a case of the Oedipus conflict
What does Freud argue is teh rational explanation for the doctors faith
- the sweet faces woman reminded the doctor of his mother, this experience roused a longing for his mother from his Oedipus conflict, he was also mad at god the father for treating his mother wrong
- the religious experience was an experience fo him feeling guilt as he did for disobeying his father when he was younger. So the religious conversion was no more than a wish fulfilment to restore his childhood sense of security
