the challenge of secularism Flashcards
(12 cards)
what is secularisation
theory linking a decline in religon to modernisation.
a secular view of life seperates public life and private life
religon and belief reside in the private space leaving the public space free for views and practices that can be judged by reason alone.
jose casanova identifies 3 ways in which people talk about secularisation
1. decline of religous belief and practice in modern society
2. the privatisation of religion
3. the secular seperation of spheres of state , economy, science which are set free from religous institutions
religion as an illusion
freud is regarded as having contributed to the change in western thinking about religion. he offered an explanation for religion that differs from philosphy, ethics and theology
freud denounced religion as a lie - ‘the whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality’ - civilization and its
discontents 1930.
‘the religions of mankind must be classed as among the mass delusions’
according to freud religion is a product of wish fulfillment. the experience of vunerablity and helplessness that humans experience as children is made more tolerable by the invented belief that there is a purpose to life. humans personify the things they want to influence, so a deity or divine force is invented to replace the sense of uncertainty with something uncontrollable.
religion also represses human desires, particularly those destructive to society such as sexual violence, theft and murder - the commandments emphasis not to
freud argues that religous ideas are highly prized because they provide information that humans crave about things that cannot be found through study of reality. this affects how religous people look on those who do not share their ideas ‘ anyone who knows nothing of {religous ideas} is very ignorant; and anyone who has added them to his knowledge may consider himself much the richer’ - future of an illusion 1927
he argues that there are many problems with the claims made in the name or religion - ‘the proofs they have left us are set down in writings which themselves bear every mark of untrustworthiness, they are full of contradictions, revisions and falsifications’
freud thought religion was unhealthy. it is a cultural carrier for negative information, dividing people and causing conflicts’
he is also concerned about the psychological impact that religously framed ideas have on the mind. he can see that religion is produced by uncertainty and anxeity but it creates something unrealiable and unhealthy.
religion as something for children to escape
richard dawkins
‘there is something infantile in the presumption that somebody else (parents in the case of children, god in the case of adults) has a responsibility to give your life meaning and point.’
dawkins thinks that life should be meaniful without referance to religion. the human need for god is infantile and an adult should be able to find meaning in life from sources other than religion.
religion is repressive, he suggests, identifying how religious dress codes are a way in which religion represses women. the burka not only ensures female submission, it is also a metaphor for the impact that religion has on reducing our ability to perceive and understand things. religion narrows our preception while science widens it
religion not only dims our view of the world but is also the cause of conflict. dawkins suggests that conflicts between catholics and protestants in Northern Ireland and those between sunni and shi’a muslims in the middle east shows this problem.
dawkins is particularly concerned about the indoctrination of children by religion. he is concerned that in bringing children up a religous, by labelling them as it, harm is being done, he used extreme examples to illustrate these
cites instances in 19th century of children of jewish parents being kidnapped by preists and raised as catholics after secret baptisms. in ‘the god delusion 2006’ he uses these examples to illustrate ‘the religous mind’, a mind in which the sprinkling of water over the head of a baby can totally change the babys life in a way that takes precedence over the consent and wishes of the parents or child. he argues that the idea that an uncomprehending child can be referred to as jewish or christian is absurd, something that comes about when a mind is ‘hijacked by religous faith’.
he also refers to the sexual abuse of children by christian ministers and identifiies the abuse and brutality of the christian brothers in ireland and the sadistic cruelty of nuns in many of irelands girls schools - Stephen fry would agree - ‘the celibacy, the nuns, the monks the priesthood. This is not natural and normal.”
however dawkins concerns is not just with specefic examples like these but with the general practice of religous parents bringing up their children as religous. for dawkins bringing up a child catholic is a form of long- term psychological abuse. he describes conversations with a woman who was a victim of sexual abuse as a girl but found the abuse of the fear of going to hell was an even greater harm than the sexual violence.
the power of belief to abuse is far greater than the impact of physical violence - he cites the example of a hell house, devised by a pastor in Colorado, where children were scared witless by what might happen to them after they die. actors played out the sins of abortion and homosexuality and then the sinners were tortured by a devil like figure
- ‘children, ill argue, have a human right not to have their minds crippled by exposure to other peoples bad ideas’ and ‘we, as a society have a duty to protect them from it’
Religion and belief as a source of well-being
freud and dawkins both argue that religion harms the human mind however some scientists argue that it is actually good for people
jo marchant. a science journalist, suggests there is compelling evidece for positive medical and physchlogical benefits arising from some beliefs. in ‘cure a journey into the science of mind over body 2016’ she does not seek to defend religion but explores how a range of parts of religions bring about physiologically measurable benefits to the participants. for example, she cites a scientist who studied loneliness and found that social connections and a belief in the transcendant were important features for living happier and longer lives and that these features are prominant in religous believers.
marchant writes that ‘feeling part of something bigger may help us not only to deal with lifes daily hassels but to defuse our deepest source of angst: knowledge of our own morality’
belief has a positive effect on peoples mental and physical well being - ‘there are powerful evolutionary forces driving us to believe in God…the irony is that although those beliefs might be false, they do sometimes work: they make us better’
christianty should play no part in public life
idea of seperation between the private and the public is essential in some secular traditions like the french from the french revolution
french secularity (laicite) means the abscence of religion in government and the state. in france this resulted in the removal of state funded christian schools. it has also led the french government to ban people from wearing religous symbols or clothing in public spaces
this is also found in other places like turkey and USA. the key idea is that religion should have no influence in the public world.
not all secular forms of government follow the french model eg the netherlands adopted a policy of pillarisation. this refers to the politico-denominationa, segregation of a society. throughout much of the 20th society was divided ‘vertically’ into different christian denominations and social and education services were provided according to denomination. each pillar had own newspapers, parties, trade unions, schools. this formal structure is no longer as evident but its effects can be seen in society in which different groups have strongly different attitudes.
the separation of church and state in the UK
debates about the place of religion In public are present
which has even led to legal disputes
in england, churches are by far the biggest sponsors of schools. more than 1.8 million children are educated in church of england and catholic schools. some organisations like british humanist association (bha) campaign against schools with religous character - there website - ‘we aim for a secular state guaranteeing human rights, with no privilege or discrimination on grouds of religion or belief and so we campaign against ‘faith’ schools’
for BHA, a secular state should not fund schools with a religous character. it should not give schools permission to recruit students based on religion or hold acts of worship in school as they argue it segregates students into different religous groups creating sense that people of different religions live parallel lives and increasing intolerance.
dawkins is likewise worried about the involvement of religion in school. he suggests that religous fundamentalism subverts science, replacing evidence based approaches. ‘fundamentalist religion is hell-bent on ruining the scientific education of countless thousands of innocent, well meaning eager young minds’ - the god delusion 2006.
he is also concerned that religous schools are teaching children that ‘from their earliest years, that unquestioning faith is a virtue’
however some people argue the ‘heritage argument’ in favour of religous schools - churches built schools for the poor in england and continue to own a lot of school property so removing schools from church control would be an act of robbery.
another argument is that these schools give parents who want an education framed by religion to have it and that a plural and diverse society should have plural and diverse kinds of schools.
furthermore not clear that religous schools are less diverse- catholics often have a greater proportion of poorer migrant families. religion is also not the only factor that segregates school pupils in england. socio economic and cultural factors can also result in poor integration.
the claim that seperate schools produce children who are more prejudice is not backed up by empirical evidence. professor leslie francis of the university of warwick suggests there is evidence that young people who are themselves committed to christianty are more open to people from other religions.
critics of dawkins note that his arguments against religious schools stems from a view of religion that is narrowly fundamentalist and extreme. however if religion is viewed as a cultural phenomenon that is associated as much with identity and cultural practices as with belief then dawkins argument is weakened. dawkins reject this critique suggesting that ‘liberal’ religion simply makes way for religion and literal belief is actually what is as the heart of religion.
charles taylor argues in ‘the politics of recognition’ that there should be recognition that societies are increasingly multicultural. no culture inc an athiest one should impose itself on another. in this context schools with a religous character could nurture cultural diversity and prevent identities from disappearing.
Government and state
the british monarch, King Charles, is also the head of the Church of England and by ancient tradition defender of the faith (fidei defensor) title awarded to Henry VIII . there are also anglican bishops in the house of Lords
some argue that the continued involvement of anglican christianty in the law making process is not in keeping with the times and does not represent the diverse nature of the population. religion and government should be seperated entirely because, continuing place COE at the heart effectively excludes citizens who are not anglican. however supporters of the status quo argue that other faiths are not excluded - the chief Rabbi has a seat in the HOL, representing british jews.
both France and USA have a formal seperation between religion and government for example although catholicism has a strong cultural tradition in france marriages take place in civic institutions and any religous ceremony that takes place is entirely separate. this is very different than in the uk where a religous service can fulfil the states legal function.
prince charles has said that now he is king he would like to become ‘defender of faith’ rather than the faith in recognition of the diversity and plurality of religion and belief that UK embraces all religions. this kind of secularism keeps religion at the heart of the state but embraces all religions.
the inclusive secularity is also evident in NHS -doctors may refuse to participate in medical procedures like abortions or transplants - ‘you may choose to opt out of providing a particular procedure because of your personal beliefs as long as this does not result in direct or indirect discrimination’ - general medical council ‘personal beliefs and medical practice’ 2013
in democracies the relationship between religion , government and state is also affected by the publics appetite for political leaders expressing their beliefs. when tony blair was PM his special advisor alasdair campbell told a reporter ‘we dont do religion’ to ensure the PM was not questioned on his religous beliefs. however in contrast theresa may commented that her faith helped her make difficult decisions.
rowan Williams ,former archbishop of canterbury, distinguishes between programmatic secularism and procedural secularism. programmatic - assumes any public expression of faith is offensive - williams thinks this ‘neutrality’ is false as it ultimately silences certain voices in favour of a particular ideology. in contrast procedural - permits as many public voices as possible - this ensures a plural and diverse public square
the failure of the secularisation thesis
many people have concluded that secularisation theory (the theory that religous belief would progressively decline as democracy and technology advanced) is based on some mistken assumptions that the change was inevitable.
luke bretherton offers a visual depiction of an ordinary london journey that illustrates the complexity of trying to describe the modern world as ‘secular’ - ‘here is the reality of multi cultural, multi faith London in full bloom’ - so many different religions are seen throughout a normal trip through London.
peter berger, an earlier contributer to the secularisation theory has since retracted his earlier conclusions: ‘modernisation has some secularising effects, more in some places than others. but it has also provoked powerful movements of counter secularization’
in other words, a secular state is not necessarily atheistic but may be filled with believing people eg the USA remains just as religous now as it did a century ago , even though it is officially a country in which church and state are separated.
berger thinks that the assumption that we live in a secularised world is false and says that the world is as furiously religous as it ever was and even more in some places.
david ford suggests we need to stop thinking about the development of the world in linear terms that are bound to start from one point (religous life) to finish at another (atheistic). he thinks the ‘unpredictability of a drama’ is a better metaphore as we do no know what is going to happen.
David ford and jose Casanova are both critical of the idea that secular atheism is good and point to how atheist ideologies like fascism, communism and capitalism have often sought to write religion out of human civilisation and in some cases have brutal methods to eradicate religous populations.
are spritual values just human values
do the values that christianty offers anything more than human values?
strong case can be made that compassion, forgiveness, justice and peace are all essential human values. To advance a moral code based on these values keeps a society from falling into brutal chaos. such a code can be articulated without the belief in a religion.
however, not all christian values are so easily explained in this way. self sacrifice and unconditional love (motivates nurses to travel to ebola stricken regions of the world to help) are less eay to explain in purely rational terms
the christian value of loving your enemy contradicts feelings of self interest and safety - it is easier to reject rather than welcome them. loving your enemy expresses a commitment to a greater vision, something beyond the self.
perhaps therefore spritual values are better than human values in that human values are part of the morally corrupt human world and spritual values are pure, perfect and untainted
human values are founded on the belief in the ultimate worth of human beings. yet human beings can behave immorally - kill, steal, ruin the earths resources. this suggests that the universal declaration of human rights is based on an unfounded belief that human beings have some kind of ultimate worth.
perhaps it is not possible to seperate human and spiritual values - spiritual values are just human values.
is christianty a major cause of personal and social problems ?
Christianty can be seen as having a negative influence - it can be seen as patriarcle and sexist in the way it depicts women. for example, traditionally only men have been allowed to take on leadership roles with christian churches and women have just been defined in terms of motherhood.
christinty can encourage infantile and unscientific views of the world. eg dawkins points to the role christianty has played in the criminalisation of homosexuality - he points to the ‘american taliban’ (evangelical christians who say that aids is gods punishment on homosexuals) as an illustration of upsetting ideas caused by religion (god delusion).
an absolutist faith also has a negative influence on society in the area of the sanctity of human life and the attempts to restrict a womens access to abortion. dawkins points to george w bush where he oversaw more than a third of the executions that took place in the US at the time while simultaneously preventing medical research on embroyonic life. dawkins sees allowing the death penalty while preventing scientific research that might alleviate suffering as an example of the damage religous absolutism causes on society.
however religion has been good for society and speared social change -
in 19th century christian churches established schools for the poor
anglican bishops were instrumental in the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1960s
many prominant civil rights activists were christian eg martin luther king
many foodbanks were and are set up and run by christians/churches
christianty provides sense of community and emotional support
do secularism and secularisation offer opportunities for christianty to develop new ways of thinking and acting
in ‘the future of christian theology 2011’ david ford argues that the beginning of secularism led to an important development in western europe thinking - the idea of a state of tolerance
FINISH
is christianty a significant contributor to societys culture and values and should it be
the head of the state (the king) is the head of the Church of England and national holidays are linked to christian festivals (easter and Christmas)
most oaths taken in court are taken over the bible
nations flag has a cross in the centre
dawkins while a critic of religion is a strong defender of the study of the bible in school ‘religous education as a part of literary culture’. it has a strog influence on art, music and language. many common phrases can be traced back to the king james bible eg ‘i wash my hands of it’, ‘good samaritan’, ‘lost sheep. biblical literacy is therefore essentail to a full appreciation of english literature and an athiest world view is no justification for cutting the bible or other sacred books out of education.
calling the UK a christian country often gets critics due to the evidence whereby 2001 – 71.7% Christian
2011 – 59.3% Christian however if by christian country we mean a country with a christian infused culture rather than a believing society then these criticisms can be tempered
