Challenge of Secularism

Challenge of Secularism

1. A01: What is secularism?

   • Casanova's three ways
     • 1. The decline of religious belief in society
     • 2. Privatisation of religion, where religion should never be practiced in public
     • 3. The secular separation of economy, science and state from religion
   • The belief that society would be better off without one majority religion; a principle that no one religion should have a superior position in the state
     • Aims to benefit both religious and non-religious believers
       • Secularism is not atheism
   • Is Britain becoming a more secular society?
   • Procedural secularism
     • The Secular Society argues that in an age of multiculturalism, secularism best ensures religious toleration and freedom for all. They state, “It ensures religious groups don’t interfere in affairs of state, and the state doesn’t interfere in religious affairs”.
   • Programmatic secularism
     • Programmatic secularism as illustrated by Dawkins in his application of Darwinism, and Freud in his discovery of psychotherapy and concepts of psychic disturbance, take a more hostile view of religion.
       • The assumptions and practices of religion are fundamentally against the common good of humankind – either obstructing freedom of thought and speech, or creating neurotic feelings of guilt and self-hatred (Freud).

2. A02: Strengths of secularism

   • Richard Dawkins
     • Society would be happier without Christianity as it is infantile and causes conflict
       • Religion is a form of child abuse
         • The relationship between a parent and their child is one of trust and one that should not be taken advantage of
           • Parents should not indoctrinate their children with their religious views
       • The Creation Myth is harmful and unnecessary as an explanation for the origin of human beings and natural world. Evolution is a complete and adequate theory
       • Religion is a "meme"
         • "The bible should be taught, but emphatically not as reality."
   • Sigmund Freud
     • 'Wish fulfilment'
       • Satisfaction of a desire through an involuntary thought process.
     • Religion as an illusion
       • "the whole thing is so patently infantile"
     • Religious beliefs are a psychological invention that exist to protect us from nature and fate
       • Adults need a freedom from anxiety and the desire to play and be liberated remains strong.
         • The Father figure of God gives us permission to be infantile again – to be dependent, to know joy and wonder and be liberated from the responsibility of being like little gods ourselves
           • Could be argued that Freud is contradictory - how is feeling free from anxiety having a negative impact on people psychologically
             • However, Freud argues that religion was created by uncertainty and anxiety and it continues to repress us - we can feel like just because our ancestors have passed these teachings down to us we must believe them to be true
   • According to the NSS, Religion still enjoys significant privileges in the UK e.g. the CoE positions bishops in the House of Lords and a third of state-funded schools are faith schools
     • The NSS campaigns for religious freedom
       • Equal access to public services
         • Protection of free speech

3. A02: Criticisms relating to secularism

   • Jo Marchant
     • Religion has a positive psychological impact on people
       • Being part of a group = less lonely and an understandable place in the greater chain of things
       • "feeling part of something bigger not only helps to deal with daily hassles but to defuse our deepest source of angst: knowledge of our own mortality"
       • Taking time to pray and reflect can relieve a lot of stress
         • Meditation has psychologically and physiologically been proven to be beneficial
   • Scriptural reasoning movement as a tool for inter-faith dialogue

4. A01/ A02: Should secularism play a part in public life?

   • The separation of church and state in the UK
   • Education and schools
   • Government and state

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