Challenge of Secularism

• Secularism 


  term that is used in different ways. It may mean a belief that religion should not be involved in government or public life. It may be a principle that no one religion should have 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 pubilc power
• Secularisation 


  theory developed in the 1950s and 1960s, from enlightenment thinking, that religious belief would progressively decline as democracy and technology advanced. Sociologists now doubt such a linear decline.
• Secular


  not connected or associated with religious or spiritual matters. Used colloquially in widely differing ways by atheists, pluralists and those who are anti-religion. Historically, the term was used to distinguish priests who worked in the world (Secular priests) frm those who belonged to religious communities such as monasteries
• Wish fulfilment

  according to Freud, wish fulfilment is the satisfaction of a desire through a dream or other exercise of the imagination
• Key info:

  • secularisation has increased in Western Europe
  • religion has become less of a public matter and more of a private matter
  • start of the 20th century - 80% of weddings took place in a church
  • end of the 20th century - 40% of weddings took place in a church
  • 2001 census - 71% Christian
  • 2011 census - 59% Christian
  • 2021 census - 46%
• Key info: cont'd

  • sociologist Steve Bruce - Christian affiliation will drop to less than 10% in the public soon
  • Writer Jose Casanova - norm for religion to be private, expectation in a liberal democracy to not wear religious clothing and or symbols
  • seen as inappropriate for religions to run state schools
• Is the UK a secular state?

  • religion still plays a big part in public life
  • King is Head of State and Head of the Church of England
  • 26 Bishops of the Church of England sit in the house of lords - so does the Chief Rabbi and other leaders
  • state funded religious schools
  • Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins -->> challenged what they see as the negative effect of Christianity especially in the past on moral decisions - laws against gay people
• Is Britain a Christian country: video

  • 2001 - 2011 -- figures of Christians dropped
  • some may have ticked the box on the census but not fully been a Christian
  • Christian pushed policy
  • Dawkins - acts as an atheist fundamentalist
  • too quick to dismiss Christianity
  • only 10% of Christians turn to their faith for guidance
  • beliefs should not influence legislation or politices
  • Christianity funds major charities
  • Britain still fascinated by the lord
• Christianity in decline:

  • Paule Heelas and Linda Woodhead - growth of alternative spirituality such as medication found in Buddhism
  • Religion ,specifically Christianity, has been under challenge since the 'Age of Reason' and new scientific/psychological developments
  • Karl Marx - believed that religion stops people seeing the class structure and so prevents the revolution thats needed for their real happiness
• Faith is a spent force

  Dawkins
• Religion is the opium of the people

  Karl Marx
• Secularisation of Western Europe:

  • predicted by sociologists in the 1960s
  • France has become increasingly secular
  • 2004 - France bans all religious symbols in grade schools
  • 2010 - France bans the Burqa and Niqab making it illegal for Muslim women to wear traditional face and body coverings - occured in other European countries like Austria
  • new religions - weaken Christianity
  • theocracies in the wider world - Iran
  • Islamic Terrorism - negativity
• Richard Dawkins:

  • shouldn't look to God to find meaning in our lives
  • religion is repressive - He argued the Burka was repressive
  • Religion causes division between people - Ireland with Protestantism and Catholicism
  • need for God is infantile - can't blame people for our wellbeings
• Dawkins - danger of religion

  • religion is something that everyone needs to escape from
  • he is particularly concerned about children being indoctrinated
  • 'When a mind is hijacked by a religious faith'
  • forcing a child to be Catholic is psychological abuse
  • forcing people to be fearful of hell is worse than sexual abuse of girls
  • Mark 9: 43 -44
• We should no more allow parents to teach their children to believe, for example, in the literal truth of the Bible or the planets rule their lives, than we should allow parents to knock their children's teeth to lock them in a dungeon.

  Nicholas Humphrey 'What Shall we tell the children' lecture - 1997
• Religion and Belief as a source for good:

  • Freud, Dawkins and Marx - humans in the end would be happier without religion
  • other scientists suggest there is compelling evidence for positive medical and psychological benefits from some beliefs
  • JO MARCHANT - range of religious practices have positive results (social gatherings, belief in God), community in religion makes people feel less lonely and live longer
• What was the name of Jo Merchants book?

  Cure: A Journey into the Science of the Mind over the Body (2016)
• What did jo merchant say:

  ' It [religion] helps people deal with our morality and life's daily hassies'
• Secularism: Christianity should not play apart in public life

  • French Revolution saw the removal of the monarch and religion removed from all positions of power. France does not fund religious school like in the UK
  • Segregation of church and state also exists in the UK in response to the religious persecution suffered by many settlers from Europe
  • idea is that religion should not influence gov decisions
• Education and schools:

  • 1.8 million in England are educated in the Church of England and Roman Catholic Schools
  • 1/4 primary schools are Church of England - 200 secondary schools
  • 10% of all primary schools are Catholic
  • British Humanist Association - no state funding of religious schools
  • Dawkins - concerned about religious influence in schools
  • historically church was involved in education - education for the poor
• Faith Schools:

  • Catholic population often have greater proportion of poorer migrant families - more ethically diverse
  • gov guidance - no more than 50% of admissions be on the grounds of faith alone
  • claim that pupils in faith schools are less 'open' to diversity and more prejudiced is not backed up - disproved by the research at the uni of Warwick
• Eweida vs British Airways:

  • she was asked to cover the jewellery she was wearing which was a cross
  • she refused and was placed on unpaid leave
  • BA was accused of double standards as they would allow a Sikh and or Muslim to wear what was religious - the National Secular Society said she was trying to evangelize
  • She won - BA allowed for a badge to be worn on the lapel
• Lee v McArthurs: the gay cake

  • Lee was a gay activist who asked the McArthurs to make a cake saying to legalise gay marriage - went against their Christian beliefs
  • Lee won the frist ase and was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland whereas the McArthurs were supported by a Christian organisation
  • The McArthurs then won the Supreme Court - some gay people supported the McArthurs
• Critics of Dawkins' 'brainwash' view on faith in schools:

  • critics say his arguments against religion being involved in public life are based on a narrow view of religion as fundamentalist and extreme
  • Dawkins rejects liberal religion on the basis that it can lead to a literalist interpretation
  • CHARLES TAYLOR - suggests that tolerance of religious schools is a sign of a plural liberal secular society
• What book did Charles Taylor write?

  The Politics of Recognition
• Secular Education Systems:

  • Christopher Dawson pointed out that anti-religious ideology in communist countries resulted in a decline of religion
  • Professor James Conroy - religious schools serve as an alternative measure to state schools in that they consider 'human flourishing'
  • people are individuals not just cogs in a machine of the economy
  • Dawson - neutral approach to religion resulted in a loss of culture in society in the arts etc
  • deprives people of the means of outwards expression
• Freud - God an Illusion and wish fulfilment

  • according to Freud - wish fulfilment was satisfying a desire through a dream or exercise of the imagination
  • he believed that religious beliefs are a delusion to protect us from nature and fate
  • represses desires that are seen as destructive to society such as inappropriate sexual behaviour, theft and murder
• The religions of mankind mus be classed as among the mass delusions

  Freud
• (religious) writings are untrustworthy and full of contradictions they speak of factual confirmations (that) themselves unconfirmed

  Freud
• Freud on religion:

  • we invent purpose through God
  • fear and suffering caused by faith
• Is Freud right?

  • buried trauma can reappear in the from of religion
  • religion has been the human response to overcome inner conflict and fear - through it we understand our guilt and it helps us control our behaviour
  • religion needs to be withdrew so we can look to science and facts to deal with our issues so the less religion the better
• Critical evaluation:

  • Freud in relation to religion & its impact on society we need to consider how he came to his conclusions
  • Palmer said there is no evidence for the Oedipus Complex or primal horde theory so his views on religion should be treated with caution
  • Freud has a narrow selection of evidence
  • Jung - disagreed with him and believed that religion could play a positive role in harmonising our psyche
• Jung's alternative view on religion:

  • Karl Jung was a protege of Freud had a more positive view of religion - he replaced Freud's conclusions with the following observations:

  + religion is a natural process that stems from archetypes

  + performs the function of harmonising the psyche

  + beneficial phenomenon

  + removal of religion would lead to psychological problems
• It seems that the verdict must be not proven the Freudian theory of religion may be true but it has not been shown to be so

  Hicks view on Freud
• Kwame Appiah - Mistaken Identities: creed, country, colour

  • views -> scriptural passages can get new interpretations, if that are out dated beliefs then they are ignored. Good that scripture can be questioned as it allow for growth and this may be seen as a burden but it is a blessing
  • examples -> Psalms (dashing babylonian baby heads) + First Peter (how slaves should give themselves to their master)
  • response - Bible is the word of God so shouldn't be ignored, interpreting the Bible depends on the person
• David Martin - the evangelical upsurge and its political implications

  • views -> since the 1980s, there has been a steady increase in global conservative Protestantism and Islam
  • examples -> rise in Latin America and Sub Saharan Africa
  • criticisms -> extremist ideals