Secularism

:This article concerns secularism, 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. For other forms of being secular, and perspective on the terminology underlying the word "secularism", see secularity.

The secular society

In studies of religion, modern Western societies are generally recognized as secular:

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• There is near-complete freedom of religion (one may believe in any religion or none at all, with little legal or social sanction);
• Religion does not dictate political decisions, though the moral views originating in religious traditions remain important in political debate in some countries, such as the United States; in some others, such as France (see Laïcité), religious references are considered out-of-place in mainstream politics.
• Religious influence is minimized in the public sphere.
• Religion is not as important in most people's lives as it once was.

Proponents of secularism have long held a general rise of secularism in all the senses enumerated above, and corresponding general decline of religion in so called 'secularized' countries, to be the inevitable result of the Enlightenment, as people turn towards science and rationalism and away from religion and superstition.

Related Topics:
Religion - Enlightenment - Science - Rationalism - Superstition

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Modern sociology, born of a crisis of legitimation resulting from challenges to traditional Western religious authority, has since 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 are Max Weber, Carl L. Becker, Karl Löwith, Hans Blumenberg, M.H. Abrams, Peter L. Berger, and Paul Bénichou, among others.

Related Topics:
Sociology - Legitimation - Durkheim - Authority - Secularization - Max Weber - Carl L. Becker - Karl Löwith - Hans Blumenberg - M.H. Abrams - Peter L. Berger - Paul Bénichou

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