Secularism
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{{ otheruses4|secularism|secularity|secularity (disambiguation) }}
[[Image:Holyoake2.JPG|thumb|200px|[[George Jacob Holyoake]] (1817-1906), British writer who coined the term "secularism."]]
'''Secularism''' is generally the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from [[religion]] or religious belief. Alternatively, it is a principle of promoting [[secular]] ideas or values in either public or private settings over religious ways of thought.
In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, and freedom from the government imposition of religion upon the people, within a state that is neutral on matters of belief, and gives no state privileges or subsidies to religions. (See also [[Separation of church and state]] and [[Laïcité]].) In another sense, it refers to a belief that human activities and decisions, especially [[political]] ones, should be based on evidence and fact rather than religious influence.<ref>Kosmin, Barry A. "Contemporary Secularity and Secularism." '''Secularism & Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives'''. Ed. Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar. Hartford, CT: Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture (ISSSC), 2007.</ref> (See also [[public reason]].)
The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely. In European [[laicism]], it has been argued that secularism is a movement toward [[modernization]], and away from traditional religious values. This type of secularism, on a social or philosophical level, has often occurred while maintaining an official [[state church]] or other state support of religion. In the [[United States]], some argue that state secularism has served to a greater extent to protect religion from governmental interference, while secularism on a social level is less prevalent.<ref>Yavuz, Hakan M. and John L. Esposio (2003) ‘’Turkish Islam and the Secular State: The Gulen Movement’’. Syracuse University, pg. xv-xvii. ISBN 0815630409</ref><ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 147 ("But with the Second World War just ahead, secularism fo the antireligious type was soon to disappear from mainstream American society, to be replaced by a new complex of ideas that focused on secularizing the state, not on secularizing society.")</ref> Within countries as well, differing political movements support secularism for varying reasons.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 25 ("Together, early protosecularists (Jefferson and Madison) and proto-evangelicals (Backus, Leland, and others) made common cause in the fight for nonestablishment [of religion] -- but for starkly different reasons.")</ref>
{{wiktionarypar|secularism}}
==Definition==
The term "secularism" was first used by the [[United Kingdom|British]] writer [[George Holyoake]] in 1846.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). Divided by God. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 113</ref> Although the term was new, the general notions of [[freethought]] on which it was based had existed throughout [[history]]. In particular, early secular ideas involving the separation of [[philosophy]] and [[religion]] can be traced back to [[Averroes|Ibn Rushd]] (Averroes) and the [[Averroism]] school of philosophy.<ref>Abdel Wahab El Messeri. [http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/tvtk/ch21.htm Episode 21: Ibn Rushd], ''Everything you wanted to know about Islam but was afraid to Ask'', ''Philosophia Islamica''.</ref><ref>Fauzi M. Najjar (Spring, 1996). [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2501/is_n2_v18/ai_18627295/pg_13 The debate on Islam and secularism in Egypt], ''Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ)''.</ref> Holyoake invented the term "secularism" to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion, without actively dismissing or criticizing religious belief. An [[agnostic]] himself, Holyoake argued that "Secularism is not an argument against Christianity, it is one independent of it. It does not question the pretensions of Christianity; it advances others. Secularism does not say there is no light or guidance elsewhere, but maintains that there is light and guidance in secular truth, whose conditions and sanctions exist independently, and act forever. Secular knowledge is manifestly that kind of knowledge which is founded in this life, which relates to the conduct of this life, conduces to the welfare of this life, and is capable of being tested by the experience of this life."<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13676a.htm ''Secularism''], Catholic Encyclopedia. Newadvent.org</ref>
Barry Kosmin of the Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture breaks modern secularism into two types: hard and soft secularism. According to Kosmin, "the hard secularist considers religious propositions to be [[epistemological]]ly illegitimate, warranted by neither religion nor experience." However, in the view of soft secularism, "the attainment of absolute truth was impossible and therefore skepticism and tolerance should be the principle and overriding values in the discussion of science and religion."<ref>[http://www.trincoll.edu/NR/rdonlyres/9614BC42-9E4C-42BF-A7F4-0B5EE1009462/0/Kosmin_paper.pdf Kosmin, Barry A. "Hard and soft secularists and hard and soft secularism: An intellectual and research challenge."]</ref>
==State secularism==
{{see also|Secular state}}
[[Image:Secularmap.PNG|thumb|280px|Countries of the world with [[state religion]]s in red, those without in blue.]]
In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government (often termed the [[separation of church and state]]). This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a [[state religion]], replacing laws based on scripture (such as the [[Ten Commandments]] and [[Sharia]] law) with civil laws, and eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion. This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 14 ("[Legal secularists] claim that separating religion from the public, governmental sphere is necessary to ensure full inclusion of all citizens.")</ref>
Secularism is often associated with the [[Age of Enlightenment]] in Europe, and plays a major role in [[Western culture|Western society]]. The principles, but not necessarily practices, of [[Separation of church and state in the United States]] and ''[[Laïcité]]'' in [[France]] draw heavily on secularism. As in the West, the idea of separation of religion and government has also existed in [[History of India|India since ancient times]]. An attempt was made (at least on paper and laws) to build the modern [[India]]n society on these values and to a certain extent, this attempt has been successful as well. Secular states also existed in the [[Islamic Golden Age|Islamic world]] during the later [[Middle Ages]].<ref>Ira M. Lapidus (October 1975). "The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society", ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' '''6''' (4), p. 363-385.</ref>
[[Image:Liberte-egalite-fraternite-tympanum-church-saint-pancrace-aups-var.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Motto]] of the French republic on the [[Pediment|tympanum]] of a [[church]].]]
Due in part to the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 6-8</ref> In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like [[abortion]], [[embryonic stem cell]] research, [[same-sex marriage]], and [[sex education]] are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations like, the [[Center for Inquiry]].<ref>Washington Post, November 15, 2006 [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401176.html "Think Tank Will Promote Thinking" ]</ref><ref>[http://www.cfidc.org/declaration.html "Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism"]</ref>
Most major religions accept the primacy of the rules of secular, democratic society but may still seek to influence political decisions or achieve specific privileges or influence through church-state agreements such as a [[concordat]]. Many Christians support a secular state, and may acknowledge that the idea has support in biblical teachings, particularly Jesus' statement, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."<ref>[[Gospel According to Luke|book of Luke]], chapter 20, verse 25.</ref> (See [[Render unto Caesar...|article]]). However, some [[Christian fundamentalist]]s (notably in the United States) oppose secularism, often claiming that there is a "radical secularism" ideology being adopted in current days and see secularism as a threat to "Christian rights"<ref name="christianpost-jerrys-kids">{{cite web
| url = http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070519/27517_'Jerry's_Kids'_Urged_to_Challenge_'Radical_Secularism'.htm
| title = 'Jerry's Kids' Urged to Challenge 'Radical Secularism'
| author = Bob Lewis
| publisher = [[The Christian Post]]
| date = 2007-05-19
}}</ref> and national security.<ref name="positiveatheism-foulwel">{{cite web
| url = http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/foulwell.htm
| title = Jerry Falwell - Quotations - Seventh quotation
| author = Rev Jerry Falwell
| date = 2001-09-15
}}</ref> The most significant forces of religious fundamentalism in the contemporary world are [[Fundamentalist Christianity]] and [[fundamentalist Islam]]. At the same time, one significant stream of secularism has come from religious minorities who see governmental and political secularism as integral to preserving equal rights.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). ''Divided by God''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, pg. 13</ref>
Some of the well-known [[constitution]]ally secular states are [[India]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, [[France]], the [[United States]], [[Turkey]] and [[South Korea]]{{Fact|date=June 2008}}, although none of these nations have identical forms of governance.
==Secular society==
In studies of religion, modern [[Western culture|Western societies]] are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete [[freedom of religion]] (one may believe in one religion, many religions or none at all, with little legal or social sanction), as well as the general belief that religion does not ultimately dictate political decisions. Nevertheless, the moral views originating in religious traditions remain politically important in many of these countries, such as [[Canada]], [[France]], [[Turkey]], [[United States]] and others (see [[Laïcité]]). In some, religious references are considered out-of-place in mainstream politics.
Modern [[sociology]], born of a crisis of [[legitimation]] resulting from challenges to traditional Western religious authority, has since [[Émile Durkheim|Durkheim]] often been preoccupied with the problem of [[authority]] in secularized societies and with [[secularization]] as a sociological or historical process. Twentieth-century scholars whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters include [[Max Weber]], [[Carl L. Becker]], [[Karl Löwith]], [[Hans Blumenberg]], [[Meyer Howard Abrams|M.H. Abrams]], [[Peter L. Berger]], and [[Paul Bénichou]], among others.
Secularism can also be the social ideology in which [[religion]] and [[supernatural]] beliefs are not seen as the key to understanding the world and are instead segregated from matters of governance and reasoning. In this sense, secularism can be involved in the promotion of [[science]], [[reason]], and [[naturalism (philosophy)|naturalistic thinking]].
Secularism can also mean the practice of working to promote any of those three forms of secularism. As such, an advocate of secularism in one sense may not be a secularist in any other sense. Secularism does not necessarily equate to [[atheism]]; many secularists are religious, while atheists often accept the influence of religion on government or society. Secularism is an essential component of a [[secular humanist]] social and political ideology.
Some societies become increasingly secular as the result of social processes, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement; this process is known as [[secularization]].
==Secular ethics==
{{main|Secular ethics}}
[[George Holyoake]]'s 1896 publication ''English Secularism'' defines secularism as:
<blockquote>
Secularism is a code of duty pertaining to this life, founded on considerations purely human, and intended mainly for those who find theology indefinite or inadequate, unreliable or unbelievable. Its essential principles are three: (1) The improvement of this life by material means. (2) That science is the available Providence of man. (3) That it is good to do good. Whether there be other good or not, the good of the present life is good, and it is good to seek that good.<ref>Holyoake, George J. (1896). ''English Secularism.'' Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company.</ref></blockquote>
Holyoake held that secularism and [[secular ethics]] should take no interest at all in religious questions (as they were irrelevant), and was thus to be distinguished from strong [[freethought]] and atheism. In this he disagreed with [[Charles Bradlaugh]], and the disagreement split the secularist movement between those who argued that anti-religious movements and activism was not necessary or desirable and those who argued that it was.
==Arguments for and against secularism==
Proponents of secularism have long argued that the general rise of secularism in all the senses enumerated above, and corresponding general decline of [[religion]] in [[secular state]]s, is the inevitable result of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], as people turn towards [[science]] and [[rationalism]] and away from religion and [[superstition]].<ref> [http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571679_2/Age_of_Enlightenment.html MSN Encarta, Age of Enlightenment]</ref>
Opponents argue that secular government creates more problems than it solves, and that a government with a religious (or at least not a secular) ethos is better. Some Christian opponents contend that a Christian state can give more freedom of religion than a secular one. For evidence, they cite [[Norway]], [[Iceland]], [[Finland]] and [[Denmark]], all with constitutional links between church and state and yet also recognized as more progressive and liberal than some countries without such a link. For example, Iceland was among the first countries to legalise abortion, and the Finnish government provides funding for the construction of Mosques. Some cite the counterexample of the Netherlands and, more recently, Sweden, it being both a secular state and socio-politically progressive although having [[disestablishmentarianism|disestablished]] its state church in 2000.
Proponents of secularism also note that the [[Scandinavia]]n countries are socially among the most secular in the world, with particularly low percentages of individuals who hold religious beliefs.<ref> [http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2005/2005-11.html Paul, Gregory S. (2005). "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies, A First Look". ''Journal of Religion and Society'' 4]</ref> Recently this argument has been debated publicly in Norway where movements sought to disestablish the state's [[Lutheran]] church.<ref>
The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo; Norway Daily No. 238/02; 16 December 2002. </ref>
Some modern commentators have criticized secularism by conflating it with anti-religious, [[atheistic]], or even satanic belief systems. The word ''secularism'' itself is commonly used as a [[pejorative]] by [[Christian right|religious conservatives]] in the [[United States]]. [[Pope Benedict XVI]] has declared ongoing secularization to be a fundamental problem of modern society, and has made it the [[Pope Benedict XVI#Tone of papacy|goal]] of his papacy to counteract secularism and moral relativism. Though the goal of a secularist state is to be religiously neutral, some argue that it is repressive of some aspects of religion. Ostensibly, it is equally repressive toward all religions in order to equally protect all from interference by others.
Some political philosophies, such as [[Marxism]], generally hold that any religious influence in a state or society is negative. In nations that have officially embraced such beliefs, such as the former [[Eastern Europe]]an [[Communist Bloc]] countries, the religious institution was made subject to the secular state, in the public interest. Freedom to worship was subject to licensure and other restrictions, and the doctrine of the church was monitored to assure conformity to secular law, or even the official public philosophy. In the [[Western world|Western]] [[democracy|democracies]], it is generally agreed that these policies contravened full freedom of religion.
Some secularists believe that the state should be kept entirely separate from religion, and that religious institutions should be entirely free from governmental interference. Churches that exercise their [[authority]] completely apart from government endorsement, whose foundations are not in the state, are conventionally called [[free churches|"Free" churches]].
Some secularists would allow the state to encourage religion (such as by providing exemptions from taxation, or providing funds for education and charities, including those that are "faith based"), but insist the state should not establish one religion as the [[state religion]], require religious observance, or legislate [[dogma]]. [[Classical liberalism|Classical liberals]] would assert that the state cannot rightfully 'exempt' a religious organization from [[taxation]] since it has no authority to tax or regulate it in the first place. This reflects the view that temporal authority and spiritual authority operate in complimentary spheres and where they overlap such as in [[moral value]]s or [[property rights]], neither should take authority over the other but should offer a framework in which society can work these issues out without subjugating a religion to the state or vice versa.
==Secularist organizations==
{{main|List of secularist organizations}}
Groups such as the [[National Secular Society]] (United Kingdom) and [[Americans United]] campaign for secularism and are often supported by [[Humanism (life stance)|Humanists]]. In 2005, the National Secular Society held the inaugural "Secularist of the Year" awards ceremony. Its first winner was [[Maryam Namazie]], of the [[Worker-Communist Party of Iran]].
Another secularist organization is the [[Secular Coalition for America]]. While it is linked to many secular humanistic organizations and many secular humanists support it, as with the Secular Society, some non-humanists support it.
Local organizations such as [http://www.freethoughtassociation.org Freethought Association of West Michigan] work to raise the profile of secularism in their communities and tend to include secularists, freethinkers, atheists, agnostics, and humanists under their organizational umbrella.
Student Organizations, such as the [[Toronto Secular Alliance]], try to popularize nontheism and secularism on campus. The [[Secular Student Alliance]] is an educational nonprofit that organizes and aids such high school and college secular student groups.
In Turkey, most prominent and active secularist organization is [http://www.add.org.tr Atatürk's Thought Association] (ADD), which is credited for organizing demonstrations in four largest cities in Turkey in 2007, where over 2 million people, mostly women, defended their concern in and support of secularist principles introduced by [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]].
[[Leicester Secular Society]] founded in 1851 is the world's oldest secular society.
==See also==
{{MultiCol}}
* [[Agnosticism]]
* [[Anticlericalism]]
* [[Atheism]]
* [[Concordat]]
* [[Freethought]]
* [[Humanism]]
* [[Ignosticism]]
* [[Laïcité]]
* [[Naturalism (philosophy)|Naturalism]]
* [[Nontheism]]
{{ColBreak}}
* [[Pseudo-Secularism]]
* [[Rationalism]]
* [[Secular humanism]]
* [[Secularism in Iran]]
* [[Secularism in Turkey]]
* [[Separation of church and state]]
* [[Secularism (South Asia)]]
* [[Secularity]]
{{ColBreak}}
* Other related topics include:
** [[civil religion]]
** [[secular state]]
** [[secularization]]
** [[Six Arrows]] of [[Kemal Atatürk]]
{{EndMultiCol}}
==References==
<!--
2 [http://odin.dep.no/odinarkiv/norsk/ud/2002/eng/032091-991607/dok-nn.html The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo; Norway Daily No. 238/02; 16 December 2002.]
3 Siddiqui, Hannana (2000). "Black Women's Activism: Coming of Age?". in ''Feminist Review'', No. 64, Spring 2000, pp.83-96.
-->
{{reflist}}
==Bibliography==
===The secular ethic===
*Jacoby, Susan (2004). ''Freethinkers: a history of American secularism''. New York: Metropolitan Books. ISBN 0-8050-7442-2
*Boyer, Pascal (2002). "Religion Explained: The Evolutionary Origins of Religious Thought" ISBN 0-465-00696-5
*Nash, David (1992). ''Secularism, Art and Freedom''. London: Continuum International. ISBN 0-7185-1417-3 (paperback published by Continuum, 1994: ISBN 0-7185-2084-X)
*Royle, Edward (1974). ''Victorian Infidels: the origins of the British Secularist Movement, 1791-1866''. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-0557-4 [http://www.secularism.org.uk/uploads/3542a971e965ac1647844952.pdf Online version]
*Royle, Edward (1980). ''Radicals, Secularists and Republicans: popular freethought in Britain, 1866-1915''. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-0783-6
*Taylor, Charles (2007). "A Secular Age". Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-02676-6
===The secular society===
''See also the references list in the article on [[secularization]]''
*Berger, Peter L. (1967) ''The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion''. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.
*Chadwick, Owen (1975). ''The Secularization of the European mind in the nineteenth century''. Cambridge University Press.
*Cox, Harvey (1996). ''The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective''. NY: Macmillan.
*Kosmin, Barry A. and Ariela Keysar (2007). ''Secularism and Secularity: Contemporary International Perspectives''. Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture. ISBN-13: 978-0-9794816-0-4; ISBN-10: 0-9794816-0-0
*Martin, David (1978). ''A General Theory of Secularization''. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-18960-2
*Martin, David (2005). ''On Secularization: Towards a Revised General Theory''. Aldershot: Ashgate. ISBN 0-7546-5322-6
*McLeod, Hugh (2000). ''Secularisation in Western Europe, 1848-1914''. Basingstoke: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-59748-6
*Wilson, Bryan (1969). ''Religion in Secular Society''. London: Penguin.
*King, Mike (2007). ''Secularism. The HIdden Origins of Disbelief''. Cambridge: James Clarke & Co. ISBN 9780227172452
===The secular state===
*Adıvar, Halide Edip (1928). "The Turkish Ordeal". The Century Club. ISBN 0-830-50057-X
*Cinar, Alev (2006). "Modernity, Islam, and Secularism in Turkey: Bodies, Places, and Time". University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-816-64411-X
*Juergensmeyer, Mark (1994). ''The New cold war?: religious nationalism confronts the secular state''. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-08651-1
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* [http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/religion/blrel_sec.htm?terms=go Secularism 101: Religion, Society, and Politics]
* [http://www.secularsites.freeuk.com SecularSites]
* [http://www.trincoll.edu/secularisminstitute/ Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture]
* [http://www.secularstudents.org The Secular Student Alliance]
* [http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/immanent_frame/ SSRC Blog on Secularism, Religion, and the Public Sphere]
{{enlightenment}}
[[Category:Secularism| ]]
[[Category:The Enlightenment]]
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