Hi, I'm a first year student at Oxford who just did my A-levels last year. These are the notes I made on the challenge of secularism in the developments in Christian thought paper. They are extremely detailed and contain not only the content but also a whole range of relevant scholars, responses an...
Secularism is the theory that religion should be separated from political and social affairs.
Secularisation is the term used to describe a society disassociating itself from religion.
Casanova identifies three ways that secularisation can be understood:
1. The decline of religious belief and practice in modern society.
- In the most recent census the percentage of Britons who said they had ‘no religion’ rose
by 12 points to 37% and for the first time ever a minority of respondents claimed to be
Christian.
- However, as Christianity – particularly Church of England support - declines, there is a
growth in alternative spiritualities such as mindfulness – a practice based on Buddhist
techniques. Secularisation of Britain is not happening as other religions/denominations,
such as Islam, Hinduism, Evangelical Pentecostal Christian movements are increasing.
2. The privatisation of religion, where religion should not be seen in public.
- Major national events such as Remembrance day still involve religious organisations.
3. The separation of Church and State.
- The Queen is still the head of state and Church of England. Bishops sit in the House of
Lords.
By Casanova’s criteria, the UK is not undergoing secularization.
Freud
Religion as an ideology or moral philosophy
Sigmund Freud rejected the view that religious feelings and experiences come from God and instead
claimed that they are psychological in nature and come from within the individual's own mind.
He called religion a “universal obsessional neurosis” and a “mass delusion” spawned by an infantile
desire for care and security. Religion is the product of wish fulfilment to numb our uncertainty and
anxiety about matters outside of our control, to solve our existential crisis. We invent life after death
where the good are rewarded in order to compensate for the injustices of real life. We invent an all-
powerful and loving parental figure to protect us. God is a personification of our needs.
- Hume agreed. He saw religion as childish and said it was practiced by the uneducated.
- Keith Ward argues that such a reductionist view does not explain the spiritual side of our
existence. Not everything we feel and experience can be explained by the physical
scientific world.
o Practically everything we feel or experience can be explained by the physical
scientific world – even concepts like love. Scientists can even stimulate a religious
experience inside one’s brain.
- It could be argued that, if God did exist, he would likely create humans with the capacity
to perceive him or act in religious ways. What Freud perceives as wish fulfilment could
be actual fulfilment in humanity connecting with its creator.
Religion as a source of harm in society
He thought that religion was fundamentally unhealthy as it represses many of our human desires
and causes conflict. Christianity is rooted on the idea that humans were undeservedly saved by
Jesus’ sacrifice, and the subsequent obsession with sin is indicative both of wish fulfilment that his
death was not in vain and the human need to validate themselves for their guilt over Jesus’ death.
Freud believed that this obsession with sacrifice, sin and guilt was psychologically damaging,
, especially when it sits in the subconscious and often leads to unhappiness. We feel guilty that we
cannot reach the moral standards of Christianity for which Jesus sacrificed himself.
Freud did believe that religion had its place in earlier societies, where it served to calm the human
tendency towards violence, but could now be left in the past.
- Freud emphasises the destructive nature of religion, but it can often be a force for good
in the world. It can lead to rich culture and warm community. It promotes values like
charity and compassion, and may steer many people towards a more moral way of life.
- Jo Marchant argued that religious belief can be psychologically helpful. She suggests
there is compelling evidence that religious practices, such as meditation, social
gatherings and belief in a loving God, bring about measurable benefits for religious
believers allowing people to live happier and longer lives.
- Watts: “Religion is the transformation of anxiety into laughter.”
Dawkins:
Richard Dawkins, in the God Delusion, explains why belief in God is damaging for society and
intellectual progress.
Religion as an ideology or moral philosophy
He believes that life is already meaningful without any reference to religion. Science and empirical
study can, or he believes soon will be able to, answer all of life’s questions. Religion is not needed to
fill the gaps. “Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think.” The emphasis
on faith has allowed religion to spread as it makes it hard to reject. It discourages scientific enquiry
by allowing a lazy mindset that says 'it's a divine mystery' rather than looking for answers. Followers
are taught to abandon physical evidence and rationality to trust an external power. It is childish and
encourages children to be irrational.
Evolution replaces the need for God. The random nature of natural selection shows there is no
designer.
- Though the claims made by religions cannot be proven to be true, they also cannot be
proven to be untrue.
o It is the job of the theologian to prove religion exists, not for atheists to disprove
it. The claim that invisible undetectable unicorns roam the world cannot be
proven to be untrue. This does not give such claims worth.
- He does not take account of the many scientists who have held religious beliefs, e.g
Newton or Mendel.
- McGrath, in the Dawkins Delusion, believes that science and religion are not necessarily
in conflict. They can have a complementary relationship reflecting different aspects of
human experience.
Religion in society
Religion is responsible for division, war and conflict in society, both in the modern world and
throughout history. Religions are repressive e.g religious dress codes and often repress women.
Some ethical aspects of Christianity, e.g views on homosexuality, do not match with the views of our
modern society and can cause tension and problems.
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