Christianity and the challenge of secularisation Flashcards
Give three examples of how the
UK is becoming increasingly secular
Replacement of religion as the source of truth and moral values
Growth in science and empiricism as the authoritative source of truth –
epistemic imperialism. (Synoptic link: religious language – AJ Ayer).
Decline in Church attendance
Decline in the influence of the Church and religious leaders
Decline in the number of people identifying as Christian – in the 2021 Census,
less than half of the 16+ population identified as Christian for the first time (a
decline of 13% since the 2011 Census).
Explain two reasons why the UK is
becoming increasingly secular
Rise of science and the empirical method – epistemic imperialism.
Replacement of religion as the source of ‘truth’.
Less parents raising their child within a religion and/or are giving their children
more choice about their beliefs.
Exposure to alternative views and belief systems – for example, through books
and the internet.
Relegation of religion to the private sphere.
Individual autonomy and liberty – ‘over his own body and mind, the individual
is sovereign’ (JS Mill, On Liberty 1859).
Rise of new philosophical approaches such as existentialism – the idea that
‘existence precedes essence’ and so we have to give our lives purpose.
How was the authority of the Church
challenged by the Protestant Reformation?
Refer to Martin Luther in your answer
In 1517, Luther ‘protested’ against the Catholic Church, in particular against practices which he
thought were wrong – such as ‘indulgences’.
He produced a document called the ‘95 theses’, also known as the ‘Disputation on the Power of
Indulgences’.
Luther questioned the Catholic Church’s role as intermediary between people and God. In particular,
he questioned the indulgence system, which allowed people to purchase a certificate of pardon for
the punishment of their sins.
Luther argued against the practice of buying or earning forgiveness, believing instead that salvation is
a gift God gives to those who have faith (you don’t need a priest / the Church – it’s direct).
Luther believed that salvation was a gift from God (justification by faith) and that all people could
have a direct relationship with him (Priesthood of All Believers). He believed that people should be
able to read and make sense of scripture for themselves – they did not need to depend on the
Catholic Church. His questioning of the Church encouraged others to question as well.
This would obviously take away the power, authority and influence of the Catholic Church.
Key synoptic link: sources of wisdom and authority.
Give two examples of how religion
still plays a role in UK public life
The National Anthem is ‘God save the King’ (assumption God exists).
King Charles III is simultaneously Head of State and Head of the Church.
Royal events (e.g. coronations, weddings, funerals) take place in Christian
places of worship – Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral.
Major Christian festivals – Christmas and Easter – are national holidays.
1 in 3 state-funded schools are faith schools, the majority being Primary
schools.
What does it mean to say religion has been relegated to the personal sphere (individualisation)?
Religion and religious faith has become a ‘private’ or ‘personal’ matter.
Faith is seen as a personal choice or preference (not a public duty / requirement).
People do not feel they have to declare allegiance to Christianity and Britain’s traditional
and national religion – they make a personal choice, and practice faith relatively privately,
rather than public declaration.
People are given freedom of religion (UN Article 18) and religious belief is seen as an
individual choice. There are now many different religions – and denominations – to choose
from.
France is a notable example of a country where religion is excluded from public life – it is an
entirely personal matter.
However: Christianity plays a significant role in Britain. Church of England is the established
Church in England. The monarch is simultaneously Head of State and Church. The National
Anthem is ‘God save the King’.
Explain Ludwig Feuerbach’s
assertion that ‘man created God in
his own image’
German anthropologist. Author of ‘The Essence of Christianity’, which strongly
critiqued Christianity. Argued that religion is man-made delusion and redundant.
Inversion of the ‘imago dei’ doctrine (the idea that God created mankind in his own
image).
Instead, man created God in his image – God is a manmade concept.
Humanity has projected onto God.
What man needs he makes his God.
What man wishes to be he makes his God.
Feuerbach argued that religion is a projection of our hopes and desires. It is what we
create to deal with our fears about life and about death.
Synoptic links: God (anthropomorphic language). Gender (‘If God is male then male
is God’).
Why did Karl Marx describe
religion as the ‘opium of the
people’?
German philosopher, author of ‘The Communist Manifesto’. Critical of capitalism.
“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless
conditions”
“The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is the demand for their real
happiness”
Opium is a powerful and addictive drug.
Religion is used by the powerful to oppress and repress people, so that they can be exploited and
taken advantage of. Within the capitalist system of inequality, it keeps the ‘little people’ pacified.
By ‘drugging’ people with promises of eternal life after death, the powerful ensure that the masses
do not want to improve their lives in this lifetime – meaning that the masses remain enslaved to the
capitalist system, which ultimately benefits the rich and powerful. It maintains inequality.
Religious rules – including the promise of heaven and threat of hell – are used to control and oppress
the general population. These beliefs mean they do not think critically and do not want to bring
about social change (hence they have been ‘drugged’ – like a sedative).
Religion is therefore a social control ‘tool’ used by the powerful to oppress the masses.
Explain Freud’s assertion that ‘religion
is a universal obsessional neurosis’ – why
did he believe that religion is an illusion?
Austrian neurologist and founding father of psychoanalysis.
Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from its readiness to fit in with our instinctual wishful
impulses.
Religion is wish fulfilment – it has been created by humanity in order to cope with their greatest fears
and desires. For example, our fear of death.
Religion was once necessary in the development of early civilisation in order for us to restrain our
violent impulses. However, it can now be discarded in favour of science and reason.
Belief in God is the result of an infantile need for a dominant father figure (synoptic links: God –
anthropomorphic language and gender).
The ‘great mass of the uneducated and oppressed’ may have committed murder if not told that God
forbids it – but civilisation now has ‘little to fear’ from educated people.
AO2: Harold Bloom criticised Freud. Described his book ‘The Future of An Illusion’ one of the
‘greatest failures of religious criticism’. Bloom believed that Freud underestimated religion.
What does Freud mean when he writes that
‘The more the fruits of knowledge became
accessible to men, the more widespread is the
decline of religious belief’?
Religion was needed in early civilisations, when the majority of people were
uneducated – it was a way of ensuring people conducted themselves in a
civilised way.
However, increased levels of education have reduced (and even replaced) the
need for religion.
People think for themselves, access scientific texts & seek for evidence-based
explanations. Facts replace blind faith.
Furthermore, as people have gained more knowledge, they have questioned
articles of faith and discovered evidence-based alternative sources of truth.
‘God of the gaps’ – belief in God was used to fill in gaps in knowledge. Science
now provides evidence-based explanations – religious faith is redundant.
What is militant atheism?
The view that all religion is a bad thing that must be actively fought against.
Belief that religion is a dangerous phenomenon that should be annihilated on
the grounds that it is irrational and shows a lack of intelligence. Humanity
needs to outgrow religion.
Developed in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
The Four Horsemen: Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens and
Daniel Dennett.
Richard Dawkins – author of ‘The God Delusion’ and ‘Outgrowing God’.
What does Richard Dawkins argue in his book ‘The God Delusion’?
2006 book written by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
“We are all atheists about most of the gods that humanity has ever believed in. Some of us just go one god further.”
“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”
“Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is the belief in spite of, even perhaps
because of, the lack of evidence.”
“Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time.”
“There is no spirit-driven force…life is just bytes and bytes of information”.
The God hypothesis (belief in a supernatural being, miracles, life after death) is irrational and contrary to good science.
Religion is primitive, harmful and has spread like a virus (Dawkins was the inventor of the term ‘memes’!)
Religion encourages discrimination and is a major cause of conflict.
Teaching children religion is a form of mental abuse that threatens their development.
“Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.”
“Faith can be very dangerous, and deliberately to implant it into the vulnerable mind of an innocent child is a grievous wrong.”
People can be morally good without religion.
The God of the Old Testament is the ‘most unpleasant character in all fiction…jealous, petty, genocidal, misogynistic, homophobic, racist,
bully…’
How does Alistair McGrath respond to
Dawkins in ‘The Dawkins Delusion’? What
argument does he make in defence of
Christianity?
McGrath was an atheist, but became a Christian while studying chemistry at Oxford University. He
has expertise in both science and theology.
The Dawkins Delusion seeks to show that Dawkins’ arguments are fundamentally flawed.
He claims that Dawkins is wrong in his assumption that good science is bound to result in atheism.
McGrath cites examples such as Francis Collins, who is director of the Human Genome project and a
Christian.
He challenges Dawkins’ view that science disproves religion by claiming that they offer the world two
different – but equally valid – perspectives. They are mutually enriching (they compliment rather
than contradict one another). This is called the ‘non-overlapping magisteria).
He criticises Dawkins for his assumption that all Christians are fundamentalists – the views about
creation, God and the Bible that Dawkins refers to are held by a minority of Christians. This shows a
very limited understanding of Christianity.
He accuses Dawkins of fundamentalism himself in his unquestioning acceptance of some atheist
views. He accuses Dawkins of being biased in supporting evidence that agrees with his position – he
says this itself is a very unscientific approach.
How is wealth viewed in the Old
Testament of the Bible?
Wealth was often seen as a blessing/approval from God but there was a duty to help
others.
Abraham was counted amongst the ‘Righteous Rich’ – “And Abram had become
extremely wealthy in livestock and silver and gold” (Genesis 13:2)
“The LORD has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has
given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels
and donkeys” (Genesis 24)
King David saw God as the ultimate source of his wealth and power.
The Old Testament regards it as a fundamental duty of those who have wealth to be
willing to lend to the poor. “If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are
unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and
stranger, so they can continue to live among you…you must not lend them money at
interest or sell them food for a profit” (Leviticus 25)
How is wealth viewed in the New
Testament of the Bible?
Jesus had a radical position on wealth that contrasted with the view of his contemporaries. Wealth was
regarded as a good thing which signalled God’s approval, whereas Jesus taught that it was a barrier to entering
the Kingdom of God.
‘Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven’ (Matthew 19:21)
‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God’
(Matthew 19:24)
‘The last will be first, and the first last’ (Matthew 20:16)
Parable of the Sheep and the Goats: ‘Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me’ (Matthew 25)
Jesus showed a ‘preferential option’ for the poorest in society (synoptic link: liberation theology)
St Paul: ‘For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’ (Timothy)
Early Christians shared everything they had and supported those in need.
Today, Bruderhof Christian communities reject materialism and ‘pledge to give up all property and to live
simply, in complete freedom from all possessions’.
However, some evangelical preachers teach the ‘prosperity gospel’ – that wealth, power and status are a
reward from God for strong faith.
Explain the Prosperity Gospel as a form of
Christianity that values wealth. Include
reference to 21st century capitalism in your
answer.
The prosperity gospel is a form of evangelical Christianity that views wealth, power
and status as a reward from God for strong faith and good works.
This movement developed in the mid-twentieth century in the USA within the
Pentecostal tradition and is now an international movement.
Adherents are expected to donate generously, and are promised rewards from God
in return.
The Holy Spirit is called upon to help the believer achieve success and prosperity in
their lives.
Many ‘televangelists’ preach the prosperity gospel, inviting their viewers to purchase
books and make donations, promising great rewards in return.
Reflects the 21st century interest in wealth e.g. Law of Attraction, social media,
Keeping up with the Kardashians, designer brands, private jets, etc.
