christian + normal world Flashcards
secularism
- separating religion and the state
importance of christian based laws
- they feel that the laws have a moral justification
- many laws stem from the bible eg you shull not murder/ steal from the 10 commandments
- many have a basis in chrsitan traditions but re disaproved of; homosexuality was illegal, justification of womens lack of rights and slavery all came from chrsitian ideas
importance of chrisitan based festivals
- festivals are a chance to celebrate their faith and also to share their morals with non religious people
- halloween falls day before all saints day, catholics dont eat red meat on fridays hence fish and chips and mothers day was made to return to your mothers church for worship
secular laws against christian laws
- wrong for chrisitans to have an influence over what is deemed moral
- chrisitan ideas are the reasons for negative laws such as laws against homosexuals until 2014, womens rights and justification of slavery
- same sex marriage is not recognised by catholics
- despite 2010 equality act women can’t hold roles of lead ship in the Catholic Church
- Catholic Church does not accept divorce or remariage
links between the church and the monarch
- monarchs are crowned in a curch
- cofe vicars all plege to the monarch
- the monarch always appoints a senior position as archbishop of canterbury
- title is ‘defender of faith’ which means protecting the interest of the church and making sure poeple can worship
percent of chrisitans currently in the uk and reason for the drop
- currently just uder 50%, a 13% drop in one decade
- theres been a huge immigration of people from other countries to the uk
- they have spread out over cities and the tolerance for foreign groups means that they have the confidence to retain and spread their traditional customs
- a lot of faith in science makes chrisitans seem outdated
controversy/ involvement of religion in parliment
- laws have to be passed in both the commons and lords- but those in lords have not been democratically voted in
- 26 members of the 800 lords are reserved for the lord spirituals meaning the cofe gets an autonomic say in all uk laws
pros of the lord spirituals in the house of lords
- they have to follow jesuses teachings of agape and so will likely stand up for disadvantaged members of society
- they are not tied to any parties so will have a more objective/ less influenced view of topics
- in 2012 the lord spirituals got enough support to have a law reviewed that meant families on benefits could still claim money above the benefit cap if they had children- aiding the poor
cons of lord spirituals in the house of lords
- they have not been elected, undeomocratic
- gives christianity a miuch bigger influence them all other uk religions
- humanists feel it promotes a relgiion that is not held by the majoirty of the uk
uk beliefs around religious festivals for other religions
- equality act 2010 protects people who want religious time off
- employers who canot give a good reason for why theyre not allowing the person time off can be persecuted
contraversy towards having to be chrisitan to get into schools
- some ask you to prove you go to church
- many high performing schools are chrisitan
- some parents cheat the system and go to church for a short period of time
opinions on state funding faith schools- secular society vs cofe
NSS; they should fund themselves, unfait that children may have a lower education or be unable to be with local friends/local school due to religion, doesnt represent proprtionally a local community
religious response; parents should be able to choose schools taht represent their own values, religious families contibute more if wealthier
features in chrsitian schools
- religious assmeblies
- regular eucharist service and prayer
- can set their own rs curriculum
- some schools try and teach creationism as a science
- teach sex ed differently eg promote no sex pre marriage
secularist beliefs
- religion has no involvement in public life, state, monarchy and politics
- monarch should not run the state and the church
- religion should be kept separate from law making
- secularists can still be relgiious people
- religion should be a very private worship
- may argue religious people are not tolerant towards people w differing beliefs eg same sex relationships
example of a secularist country
- france
-in schools they have no religious symbolism, no chaples or worship areas and no religious events eg easter or a nativity - in work they cannot wear religious symbols or discuss their religion
negative impact of secularisation on religion
- churches will have less attendees, less money and will face closure as the word will be less spread
- as society noramlises non religion less people feel pressure to attend church
pos impact of secularisation on religion
- it is a test of faith like the parable of job
- those who genuinley choose to maintain their religion will be more committed to the faith
- people who have been brought up in religious areas and entrenched w beliefs of anti homosexuality will see a wider range of opinions
socioligists and their processes that ahve lead to a decline in religion
- wilson and bruce
- rationalisation; people now have the rational aspect of science that proves the universe and humans place, there is no proven backing for religion
-differenciation; church has not at all as much control on public life as it did
-decline of community; people no longer live in small tight knit communities
humanism summery
-a way of seeing the world that focuses on logic and science
- focus on human beings welfare because of reason not because of the divne
-interest in meaning in your present life without thinking of the rewards of the afterlife
