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136-624: Laïcité ( [la.i.si.te] ; ' secularism ') is the constitutional principle of secularism in France . Article 1 of the French Constitution is commonly interpreted as the separation of civil society and religious society. It discourages religious involvement in government affairs, especially in the determination of state policies as well as the recognition of a state religion. It also forbids government involvement in religious affairs, and especially prohibits government influence in

272-441: A theory and as a political process. Karl Marx (1818–1883), Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), Max Weber (1864–1920), and Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) postulated that the modernization of society would include a decline in levels of formal religiosity . Study of this process seeks to determine the manner in which, or extent to which religious creeds , practices, and institutions are losing social significance. Some theorists argue that

408-592: A church (2019). Similarly, divorce was legalized in 1981, as was abortion and same-sex marriage soon after. Like other European countries, Germany has recorded a decrease in religiosity (in terms of proportion of individuals affiliated to a Church and baptisms for example) but the trends in East and West Germany are significantly different. In East Germany, the process of secularization has been significantly quicker. These differences are explained by sociologists ( Jörg Stolz , Detlef Pollack and Nan Dirk de Graaf ) by

544-419: A complete blanket separation. The latter in the case of India, is termed as interventionist secularism, wherein the state intervenes to abolish practices of religion which it considers against constitutional principles, although this equidistance has been constitutionally understood to not exclude the concept of a God. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it

680-405: A cultural group's religious holiday). The United States Supreme Court has also banned any activity in public schools and other government-run areas that can be viewed as a government endorsement of religion . The French philosopher and Universal Declaration of Human Rights co-drafter Jacques Maritain , a devout Catholic convert and a critic of French laïcité , noted the distinction between

816-540: A debate on laïcité as desired by the French President. On 30 March 2011, a letter appeared in La Croix signed by representatives of 6 religious bodies opposing the appropriateness of such a debate. A law was passed on 2011 April 11 with strong support from political parties, as well as from Sarkozy, which made it illegal to hide the face in public spaces, affecting a few thousand women in France wearing

952-481: A different name. The secularization thesis expresses the idea that through the lens of the European enlightenment modernization , rationalization , combined with the ascent of science and technology, religious authority diminishes in all aspects of social life and governance. In recent years, the secularization thesis has been challenged due to some global studies indicating that the irreligious population of

1088-421: A dominant role in public life or in other aspects of decision making. Jack David Eller (2010) outlined Peter Glasner's 10 different institutional, normative, or cognitive versions of secularization, most of which do not lead to irreligion or atheism: C. John Sommerville (1998) outlined six uses of the term secularization in the scientific literature. The first five are more along the lines of 'definitions' while

1224-530: A global context, and starts with this sentence: "Secularism is a beleaguered doctrine." Secularization Secularism's origins can be traced to the Bible itself and fleshed out throughout Christian history into the modern era. " Secular " is a part of the Christian church's history, which even has secular clergy since the medieval period. Furthermore, secular and religious entities were not separated in

1360-457: A legal domestic partnership available regardless of the sex of the partners, quickly became the butt of late-night comedy jokes. Many find that being discreet with one's religion is a necessary part of being French, which has led to frequent divisions with some non-Christian immigrants, especially with part of France's large Muslim population . As such, the debate has taken place over whether any religious apparel or displays by individuals (e.g.,

1496-478: A legal hierarchy on the basis of religious belief or lack of religious belief. It is also associated with a separation of church and state, considering these to be two distinct entities that should be treated separately. State supremacy is a secular principle that supports obedience to the rule of law over religious diktat or canon law, while internal constraint is a secular principle that opposes governmental control over one's personal life. Under political secularism,

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1632-475: A major role in public life, while in Europe the impact of the church on public life is declining. Most societies become increasingly secular as the result of social, economic development and progress , rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement. Modern sociology has, since Max Weber , often been preoccupied with the problem of authority in secularised societies and with secularisation as

1768-840: A means of defending their rights against the majority. State secularism is most often associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and it plays a major role in Western society . Some of the most well known examples for states considered "constitutionally secular" are the United States, France, Turkey, India, Mexico, and South Korea, though none of these nations have identical forms of governance with respect to religion. For example, in India, secularism does not completely separate state and religion, while in France, secularism precludes such mutual involvement. Separationist secularism enforces

1904-417: A means to curb tensions in the religiously diverse nation. The Indian model of secularism stressed equality of citizens regardless of faith before the law, along with some separation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948, protecting freedom of religion in international law. In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government, often termed

2040-441: A member of the clergy, and to deconsecration , removing the consecration of a religious building so that it may be used for other purposes. The first use of "secular" as a change from religion to the mundane is from the 16th century that referred to transforming ecclesiastical possessions for civil purposes, such as monasteries to hospitals; and by the 19th century it gained traction as a political object of secularist movements. In

2176-465: A periodic fluctuation or a larger trend toward long-term adoption of secularism. The principle of Laïcité , the French notion of strict separation, was enshrined into law in 1905. After the rise to power of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923, Turkish secularism, or laiklik , became a state ideology under Kemalism , aiming to modernise the country. Turkey 's secular tradition prior to Atatürk's reforms

2312-535: A philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns. There are distinct traditions of secularism in the West, like the French, Benelux-German, Turkish, and American models, and beyond, as in India , where the emphasis is more on equality before law and state neutrality and equidistance from all religions rather than

2448-408: A process of functional differentiation and emancipation of the secular spheres—primarily the state, the economy, and science—from the religious sphere and the concomitant differentiation and specialization of religion within its own newly found religious sphere". Casanova also describes this as the theory of "privatization" of religion, which he partially criticizes. While criticizing certain aspects of

2584-532: A religion, but who now identify as having no religion, so-called "non-verts", had different rates of leaving the religion of their upbringing, namely 14% for Jews, 10% for Muslims and Sikhs, and 6% for Hindus. The proportions of the non-religious who convert to a faith are small: 3% now identify as Anglicans, less than 0.5% convert to Catholicism, 2% join other Christian denominations, and 2% convert to non-Christian faiths. In 2018, Pew Research Center that large majority (89%) of those who were raised as Christians in

2720-535: A religion, still hold religious beliefs and participate in religious practices, thus complicating the situation. Secularization, in the main, sociological meaning of the term, involves the historical process in which religion declines in social and cultural significance. As a result of secularization the role of religion in modern societies becomes restricted. In secularized societies faith lacks cultural authority, and religious organizations have little social power. Secularization has many levels of meaning, both as

2856-523: A sign of modernity [...] has ironically left China for centuries without a powerful and stable source of morality and law. All this simply means that the pursuit of wealth or power or simply the competition for survival can be and often has been ruthless without any sense of restraint. [...] Along with the early secularization of Chinese society which was equally early, the concomitant demise of feudalism and hereditary aristocracy, another remarkable development, transformed China earlier than any other country into

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2992-406: A sociological or historical process. Contemporary ethical debate in the West is often described as "secular", as it is detached from religious considerations. Twentieth-century scholars, whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters, include Carl L. Becker , Karl Löwith , Hans Blumenberg , M. H. Abrams , Peter L. Berger , Paul Bénichou and D. L. Munby , among others. There

3128-516: A strong stance of secularism ( Turkish : laiklik ) has held sway since Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 's Turkish revolution in the early 20th century. On March 3, 1924, Turkey removed the caliphate system and gradually after that, all religious influence from the state. Sunni Islam , the majority religion, is now controlled by the Turkish government through the Department of Religious Affairs , and

3264-891: A unitary system politically, with one single power centre. It also rendered Chinese society much more egalitarian than Western Europe and Japan. In this arguably secular setting, the Chinese Communist Party régime of the People's Republic of China (in power on the Chinese mainland from 1949) promoted deliberate secularization. Many countries in the Arab world show signs of increasing secularization. For instance, in Egypt , support for imposing sharia (Islamic law) fell from 84% in 2011 to 34% in 2016. Egyptians also pray less: among older Egyptians (55+) 90% prayed daily in 2011. Among

3400-455: A virtue. Secularists also support freedom from religion as an extension to freedom of religion. Secularism in practice has existed since ancient times. In societies such as Ancient Greece , a limited secularism was practised in which religion was not involved in governance, though it was still prevalent in public life. In Europe, secularism emerged in the early modern period . Due to functional differentiation , religion changed from being

3536-717: Is a loanword from the Greek lāïkós ( λᾱϊκός , 'of the people'), itself from lāós ( λᾱός , 'people'). The French suffix -ité is equivalent to the English -ity . Secularism is a concept rooted in the French Revolution , beginning to develop since the French Third Republic after the Republicans gained control of the state. While the term was originally the French equivalent of

3672-447: Is a crucial element of modernization , or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to the claim that it is the only guarantor of free religious exercise. Secularism takes different forms with varying stances on where and how religion should be separate from other aspects of society. People of any religious denomination can support a secular society, or adopt the principles of secularism, although secularist identity

3808-469: Is a total ban on religion. Under this system, the state enforces laws that do not allow religious practice or the expression of religious beliefs in society. Unlike other secularist frameworks, state atheism does not permit freedom of thought or the separation of government from personal belief. Because of this distinction, state atheism may or may not be considered a form of secularism. It is typically associated with Marxism and Communist states , in which it

3944-483: Is best described as a belief that government and political issues should be kept separate from religious organizations and religious issues (as long as the latter do not have notable social consequences). This is meant to both protect the government from any possible interference from religious organizations and to protect the religious organization from political quarrels and controversies. Proponents argue that laïcité itself does not necessarily imply any hostility of

4080-456: Is compatible with religion since most versions of secularity do not lead to atheism or irreligion. The term "secularization" also has additional meanings, primarily historical and religious. Applied to church property , historically it refers to the seizure of church lands and buildings, such as Henry VIII 's 16th-century dissolution of the monasteries in England and the later acts during

4216-476: Is described as " scientific atheism ". In studies of religion, modern democracies are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (religious beliefs generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that surveys done by Pew Research Center show Americans as generally being more comfortable with religion playing

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4352-717: Is legally prohibited from recognizing any religion (except for legacy statutes like those of military chaplains and the local law of Alsace-Moselle ). Instead, it recognizes religious organizations , according to formal legal criteria that do not address religious doctrine: French political leaders , though not by any means prohibited from making religious remarks, mostly refrain from it. Religious considerations are generally considered incompatible with reasoned political debate. Political leaders are not allowed to practice any religion and are expected to differentiate whatever religious beliefs from their political arguments. Christine Boutin , who openly argued on religious grounds against

4488-467: Is more common, such as in Western Europe, demographics of secularists are closer to even. How a society considers what is secular may also change, where nominally spiritual beliefs become part of public or private life without being recognized as religious. As secularists are a minority in most communities, secularism is often stigmatized. Proponents of religious society challenge secular society on

4624-627: Is not extended to bar religious conduct in public places or by public servants. Public servants, up to and including the President of the United States , often make proclamations of religious faith. Sessions of both houses of the United States Congress and most state legislatures typically open with a prayer by a minister of some faith or other, and many if not most politicians and senior public servants in Washington, DC , attend

4760-411: Is not one singular secular culture, as different people identify as secularists for different reasons and under different belief systems. Secularism is typically associated with progressivism and social liberalism . In democratic countries, middle and upper class white urban males with high education are more likely to identify as secularist than any other demographic group. In societies where secularism

4896-564: Is often associated with non-religious individuals such as atheists. Political secularism encompasses the schools of thought in secularism that consider the regulation of religion by a secular state . Religious minorities and non-religious citizens in a country tend to support political secularism while members of the majority religion tend to oppose it. Secular nationalists are people that support political secularism within their own state . Scholars identify several variations of political secularism in society. The strictest form, associated with

5032-418: Is reflective and critical, publicly intelligible and rational, as a secular argument; [...], Nevertheless, a central feature of political liberalism is that it views all such arguments the same way it views religious ones, and therefore these secular philosophical doctrines do not provide public reasons. Secular concepts and reasoning of this kind belong to first philosophy and moral doctrine , and fall outside

5168-449: Is sometimes credited both to the cultural shifts in society following the emergence of rationality and the development of science as a substitute for superstition — Max Weber called this process the "disenchantment of the world"—and to the changes made by religious institutions to compensate. At the most basic stages, this begins with a slow transition from oral traditions to a writing culture that diffuses knowledge. This first reduces

5304-500: Is state-funded while other religions or sects have independence on religious affairs. Islamic views that are deemed political are censored in accordance with the principle of secularism. This system of Turkish laïcité permeates both the government and the religious sphere. The content of the weekly sermons in all state-funded mosques has to be approved by the state. Independent Sunni communities are also illegal. Minority religions, like Armenian or Greek Orthodoxy , are guaranteed by

5440-480: Is the nature of morality in a material universe. Secular ethics and secular morality describe systems of right and wrong that do not depend on religious or supernatural concepts. Much of the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is developed in response to this issue. Under secular ethics, good is typically defined as that which contributes to "human flourishing and justice" rather than an abstract or idealized conception of good. Secular ethics are often considered within

5576-487: Is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion . It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere. Secularism may encapsulate anti-clericalism , atheism , naturalism , non-sectarianism , neutrality on topics of religion, or antireligion . As

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5712-523: The American Revolution , Thomas Jefferson and James Madison incorporated the ideas of John Locke into the government of the United States, including his secularism, though a true secular state was not achieved until the 20th century. French secularism in the Age of Enlightenment was based on Gallicanism , which emphasised state supremacy, as well as anti-clericalism and materialism . Revolutionary France opposed Catholic influence in

5848-645: The Ancien Régime in August 1789 was accompanied by the end of religious privileges and the affirmation of universal principles, including the freedom of opinion and equal rights expressed by the 1789 Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. The texts of the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen were incorporated into the preamble to the Constitution of October 4, 1958. Among them is article 10 of

5984-473: The Center for Inquiry . Religious fundamentalists often oppose a secular form of government, arguing that it contradicts the character of historically religious nations, or infringes on their rights to express themselves in the public sphere. In the United States, for example, the word "secularism" became equivalent to "anti-religion" due to such efforts. Religious minorities, however, often support secularism as

6120-472: The First Amendment to the Constitution contains a similar federal concept, although the term laicity is not used either in the Constitution or elsewhere and is sometimes used as a term to contrast European secularism with American secularism. That amendment includes clauses prohibiting both congressional governmental interference with the "free exercise" of religion and congressional laws regarding

6256-515: The Goblet law (established in 1886) on the organization of primary education, article 17 of which provides that education in public schools is exclusively entrusted to secular staff. This process culminated in 1905 with the Law of Separation of Churches and State, which solidified secularization. Although the term was current throughout the 19th century, France did not fully separate church and state until

6392-484: The United States Constitution as supporting this system during the 20th century, based on the ideas of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. Laïcité is a secularist framework developed and used in France. Under this system, the state has legal supremacy over religion and enforces the restriction of religion in the public sphere. It was established by a 1905 law , and subsequent laws have restricted

6528-417: The burqa as "not welcome" in France, and favoring legislation to outlaw it. In February 2010, two people in burqas managed to pass the security doors of a post office in their full veils, after which the two removed their head coverings, pulled out a gun, and held up the post office. Following March 2011, local elections strong disagreement appeared within the governing UMP over the appropriateness of holding

6664-523: The niqab and the burqa. Scholar Olivier Roy has argued that the burkini bans (2016) and secularist policies of France provoked religious violence in France (though the main islamist attacks happened in 2015, which evidencies the lacks of Roy's point of view), to which Gilles Kepel responded that Britain, which has no such policies, still suffered a greater number of attacks in 2017 than France. Lebanese-born French author Amin Maalouf has criticized

6800-483: The public discourse , and enables government subsidies for faith-based groups. Sarkozy saw France's main religions as positive contributions to French society. He visited the pope in December 2007 and publicly acknowledged France's Christian roots , while highlighting the importance of freedom of thought , arguing that faith should come back into the public sphere. On 12 September 2008, in line with Sarkozy's views on

6936-505: The 18th-century French Revolution , as well as by various anti-clerical enlightened absolutist European governments during the 18th and 19th centuries, which resulted in the expulsion and suppression of the religious communities which occupied them. The 19th-century Kulturkampf in Germany and Switzerland and similar events in many other countries also were expressions of secularization. Still another form of secularization refers to

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7072-413: The 1905 law has evolved into what some religious leaders see as a "form of political correctness that made bringing religion into public affairs a major taboo." Former President Nicolas Sarkozy initially criticized this approach as a "negative laïcité " and wanted to develop a "positive laïcité " that recognizes the contribution of faith to French culture, history, and society, allows for faith in

7208-475: The 1910s " legal realism " gained prominence, de-emphasizing the religious basis for law . That same decade publishing houses emerged that were independent of the Protestant establishment. During the 1920s secularization extended into popular culture and mass public education ceased to be under Protestant cultural influence. Although the general public was still highly religious during this time period, by 1930

7344-482: The 1960s as part of a much larger social and cultural revolution. Until then the postwar years had seen a revival of religiosity in Britain. Sociologists and historians have engaged in vigorous debates over when it started, how fast it happened, and what caused it. Sponsorship by royalty, aristocracy, and influential local gentry provided an important support system for organized religion. The sponsorship faded away in

7480-477: The 19th century, secularization laws gradually separated the state from historical ties with the Catholic Church and created new sociopolitical values constructed on the principles of republican universalism. This process, which took place in a larger movement linked to modernity, entrusted the French people with redefining the political and social foundations: the executive, legislative and judicial powers;

7616-451: The 20th century, "secularization" had diversified into various versions in light of the diversity of experiences from different cultures and institutions. Scholars recognize that secularity is structured by Protestant models of Christianity, shares a parallel language to religion, and intensifies Protestant features such as iconoclasm, skepticism towards rituals, and emphasizes beliefs. In doing so, secularism perpetuates Christian traits under

7752-440: The 20th century, as the local élites were no longer so powerful or so financially able to subsidize their favorite activities. In coal-mining districts, local collieries typically funded local chapels, but that ended as the industry grew distressed and the unionized miners rejected élite interference in their local affairs. This allowed secularizing forces to gain strength. Data from the annual British Social Attitudes survey and

7888-488: The Catholic Church's ability to engage in public policy debates." Mexico has had a history of religious suppression and persecution . Critics of the amendment reject the idea that "Utilitarians, Nihilists, Capitalists, and Socialists can all bring their philosophy to bear on public life, but Catholics (or religious minorities) must check their religion at the door" in a sort of "second-class citizenship" which they consider nothing more than religious discrimination. In Turkey ,

8024-670: The Constitution to make the Mexican government formally laico —meaning 'lay' or 'secular'. Critics of the move say the "context surrounding the amendment suggests that it might be a step backward for religious liberty and true separation of church and state". Coming on the heels of the Church's vocal objection to legalization of abortion as well as same-sex unions and adoptions in Mexico City, "together with some statements of its supporters, suggests that it might be an attempt to suppress

8160-1221: The French laique model, advocates a state that is both firmly and officially distanced from all religions and non-religious philosophical convictions in all of its manifestations and official dealings, without exception. A more " humanistic " form is indifferent towards religions per se but also advocates for the states to operate on purely a rational basis of evidence-based policy and a focus on human needs and welfare, entailing non-discrimination between peoples of differing religions and non-religious philosophical convictions throughout society. A third "liberal" or " pillarized " form of secularism holds that governments may in some instances express sympathy to, provide funding to, licence state services to, or otherwise allow unique special treatment of religions (common in German-speaking and Benelux secular states), so long as states nevertheless treat these convictions equally, and are neither hostile nor preferential towards any particular set of religious or non-religious philosophical convictions such as humanists . In these countries, secular humanist organizations typically receive state funding according to

8296-709: The French government policy has been based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State , which is however not applicable in Alsace and Moselle . While the term laïcité has been used from the end of the 19th century to denote the freedom of public institutions from the influence of the Catholic Church , the concept today covers other religious movements as well. Laïcité relies on

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8432-547: The Humanist Heritage website notes, Holyoake provides a definition of secularism "much akin to modern definitions of humanism ... broader than just atheism." More modern definitions of secularism are likely to pertain to separation of church and state rather than personal beliefs. Many Christian countries began to undergo societal secularisation during the 20th century, with levels of belief and practice declining. Sociologists disagree as to whether this represents

8568-459: The Indian tradition of religious and ethnic pluralism. One source of disagreement regarding accommodationism in India is the right of Muslims to live under both the civil code and Sharia simultaneously and the complications that result from this. Accommodationism also has a history in the United States , and the U.S. has increasingly moved toward accommodationism in the 21st century. State atheism

8704-618: The Islamic hijab , Sikh turban , Christian crosses , and Jewish Stars of David and kippah ) should be banned from public schools. Such a ban in France came into effect in 2004 . In the spring of 2011, the official non-discrimination agency, la HALDE, reinforced laïcité in hospitals—as advocated by the Minister of the Interior, Claude Guéant —and in public service generally. The strict separation of church and state which began with

8840-639: The State repression in the 1950s and 1960s, which challenges predictions of natural cohort replacements stated by the Voas model. India , post-independence, has seen the emergence of an assertive secular state. One traditional view of Chinese culture sees the teachings of Confucianism - influential over many centuries - as basically secular. Chang Pao-min summarises perceived historical consequences of very early secularization in China: The early secularization of Chinese society, which must be recognized as

8976-512: The USA - a country that was co-founded by many religious sectarians who were expelled from their home countries and where witches were still being persecuted in 1692. Detlef Pollack [3] , on the other hand, argues that the higher religiosity of Americans compared to Europeans is well compatible with the assumptions of secularization theory: among other things, it can be explained by the unusually high degree of existential insecurity and social inequality in

9112-527: The USA and the millions of religious immigrants from Latin America. However, liberal Americans have increasingly distanced themselves from church and religion due to the growing fusion of evangelical and conservative positions. [4] Another point of criticism in the discourse on secularization is the inadequate examination of the Eurocentric nature of general terms, concepts, and definitions. For example,

9248-497: The United Kingdom still identify as such, while the remainder mostly self-identify as religiously unaffiliated. Spain used to be one of the most religious countries in Europe, but secularization has progressed fast during the past few decades. This was partly due to the role of the Catholic Church constituting the "doctrinal basis of the most significant organizations of the anti-democratic and anti-liberal right-wing" and

9384-424: The United States (a debate still taking place). Finally, some claim that demographic forces offset the process of secularization, and may do so to such an extent that individuals can consistently drift away from religion even as society becomes more religious. This is especially the case in societies like Israel (with the ultra-Orthodox and religious Zionists ) where committed religious groups have several times

9520-485: The act of Prince-Bishops or holders of a position in a Monastic or Military Order - holding a combined religious and secular authority under the Catholic Church - who broke away and made themselves into completely secular (typically, Protestant ) hereditary rulers. For example, Gotthard Kettler (1517–1587), the last Master of the Livonian Order , converted to Lutheranism , secularised (and took to himself)

9656-565: The annual Roman Catholic Red Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle regardless of their personal religious convictions. In contrast to France, the wearing of religious insignia in public schools is largely noncontroversial as a matter of law and culture in the US; the main cases where there have been controversies are when the practice in question is potentially dangerous (for instance,

9792-436: The authority of clerics as the custodians of revealed knowledge. The shift of responsibility for education from the family and community to the state has had two consequences: A major issue in the study of secularization is the extent to which certain trends such as decreased attendance at places of worship indicate a decrease in religiosity or simply a privatization of religious belief, where religious beliefs no longer play

9928-449: The basis of morality, saying that secularism lacks a meaningful way to incentivize moral behaviour among its members. Secularism is considered in political philosophy and philosophy of religion . As a philosophy, secularism is closely associated with naturalism and materialism, rejecting consideration of immaterial or supernatural substances, such as a soul, in favour of a material universe. This secular materialism and rationalism forms

10064-592: The basis of most modern empirical science. During the Age of Enlightenment, liberal European philosophers such as Baruch Spinoza , John Locke , Montesquieu , Voltaire , David Hume , Adam Smith , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau all proposed various forms of separation of church and state. The work of well known moral philosophers such as Derek Parfit and Peter Singer , and even the whole field of contemporary bioethics, have been described as explicitly secular or non-religious. A major issue considered by secular philosophy

10200-553: The biennial European Social Survey suggest that the proportion of Britons who identify as Christian fell from 55% (in 1983) to 43% (in 2015). While members of non-Christian religions – principally Muslims and Hindus – quadrupled, the non-religious ("nones") now make up 53% of the British population. More than six in 10 "nones" were brought up as Christians, mainly Anglican or Catholic. Only 2% of "nones" were raised in religions other than Christian. People who were brought up to practice

10336-540: The bill, the Parti Québécois , was defeated in the 2014 election by the Quebec Liberal Party (who gained a majority of seats), which opposed the bill. As a result, the bill is considered 'dead'. In 2019, Premier François Legault 's CAQ government passed Bill 21 , a secularism law banning public officials in positions of coercive power from wearing or displaying any religious symbols. However,

10472-408: The birth rate of seculars. The religious fertility effect operates to a greater or lesser extent in all countries, and is amplified in the West by religious immigration. For instance, even as the white British became more secular, London , England, has become more religious in the past 25 years as religious immigrants and their descendants have increased their share of the population. Across the board,

10608-516: The characterization of France's political structure as truly secular, remarking: "I have never understand how a country that called herself secular could call some of her citizens 'French Muslims', and deprive them of some of their rights merely because they belonged to a religion other than her own." Other countries have followed in the French model, having forms of secularism—examples include Albania, Mexico, and Turkey. Public discourse in Quebec ,

10744-455: The constitution as individual faiths and are mostly tolerated, but this guarantee does not give any rights to any religious communities including Muslim ones. Turkey's view is that the Treaty of Lausanne gives certain religious rights to Jews , Greeks , and Armenians but not, for example, to Syrian-Orthodox or Roman Catholics, because the latter ones did not play any political roles during

10880-893: The contrary that the modern age, including its belief in progress, grew out of a new secular self-affirmation of culture against the Christian tradition ." Wolfhart Pannenberg , a student of Löwith, has continued the debate against Blumenberg. Hans Blumberg's assumption that secularization did not exactly grow out of a western-christian tradition also seems to be in line with more recent findings by Christoph Kleine and Monika Wohlrab-Sahr who have shown that similar historical developments can also be found in largely non-christian contexts such as Japan or Sri Lanka. Charles Taylor in A Secular Age (2007) challenges what he calls 'the subtraction thesis' – that science leads to religion being subtracted from more and more areas of life. Proponents of "secularization theory" demonstrate widespread declines in

11016-435: The cooperation of church and state are still in effect today (see Alsace-Moselle ). Secularism is a core concept in the French Constitution : Article 1 formally states that France is a secular republic ( "La France est une République indivisible, laïque, démocratique et sociale" ). The principle of laïcité in France is implemented through a number of policies, primarily based on the 1905 law . The French government

11152-475: The countries in the former Soviet Union or large cities in the Western world with significant amounts of religious immigrants. There is no particular monolithic direction or trend for secularization since even in Europe, the trends in religious history and demographical religious measures (e.g. belief, belonging, etc) are mixed and make the region an exception compared to other parts of the world. Even global studies show that many people who do not identify with

11288-552: The country, and it briefly replaced Christianity with the deistic Cult of Reason . The first to use the already-extant word "secularism" in a modern sense, was the British agnostic writer George Holyoake , in 1851. Finding " atheism " too aggravating, he sought a term that would describe a stance advocating to conduct life based on naturalistic (secular) considerations only, but without necessarily rejecting religion, thus enabling cooperation with believers. Holyoake's definition of secularism differs from its usage by later writers. As

11424-405: The declaration "No one should be worried about his opinions, even religious, provided that their manifestation does not disturb the public order established by law." Public education has been secular since the laws of March 28, 1882, and October 30, 1886, which established "moral and civic instruction" in place of teaching religious morals and secularism of personnel and programs, respectively. In

11560-713: The democratic to the authoritarian, such governments share a concern to limit the religious side in the relationship. Each state may find its own unique policy prescriptions. These may include separation, careful monitoring and regulation of organized religion such as in France, Turkey, India and others. In accord with the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons. In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like abortion , contraception , embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage , and sex education are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations such as

11696-532: The determination of religion, such that it includes a right to the free exercise of religion . French secularism has a long history: Enlightenment thinkers emphasized reason and self direction. Revolutionaries in 1789 violently overthrew the Ancien Régime , which included the Catholic Church. Secularism was an important ideology during the Second Empire and Third Republic . For the last century,

11832-625: The display of religious symbols affixed in public institutions like hospitals will be left for each administration thereof to decide. To counter charges of hypocrisy, the crucifix in the Quebec National Assembly was also removed. French laïcité influenced the Constitution of Mexico despite the Catholic Church maintaining strong influence. In March 2010, the Chamber Deputies introduced legislation to amend

11968-478: The division between private life , where adherents believe religion belongs, and the public sphere , in which each individual should appear as a simple citizen who is equal to all other citizens, not putting the emphasis on any ethnic, religious, or other particularities. According to this concept, the government must refrain from taking positions on religious doctrine and consider religious subjects only for their practical consequences on inhabitants' lives. It

12104-696: The domain of the political. Still, Rawl's theory is akin to Holyoake's vision of a tolerant democracy that treats all life stance groups alike. Rawl's idea it that it is in everybody's own interest to endorse "a reasonable constitutional democracy" with "principles of toleration". His work has been highly influential on scholars in political philosophy and his term, overlapping consensus , seems to have for many parts replaced secularism among them. In textbooks on modern political philosophy, like Colin Farrelly's, An Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory , and Will Kymlicka's, Contemporary Political Philosophy ,

12240-423: The establishment of religion. Originally this prevented the federal government from interfering with state-established religions. However, after the 14th amendment , these clauses have been held by the courts to apply to both the federal and state governments . Together, the "free exercise clause" and " establishment clause " are considered to accomplish a " separation of church and state ." Nonetheless, separation

12376-599: The fraction of Americans who did not identify with any particular religion steadily rose from 14.6% in 2008 to 19.6% in 2015. At the same time, the fraction of Americans identifying as Christians sank from 80.1% to 69% in 2021. In December 2021 ~21% of Americans declared no religious identity or preference. Given that non-Christian religions stayed roughly the same (at about 5-7% from 2008 to 2021) secularization thus seems to have affected primarily Christians. However, researchers argue that being unaffiliated does not automatically mean objectively nonreligious since most of

12512-565: The frame of humanism. It can be seen by many of the organizations (NGOs) for secularism that they prefer to define secularism as the common ground for all life stance groups, religious or atheistic, to thrive in a society that honours freedom of speech and conscience. An example of that is the National Secular Society in the UK. This is a common understanding of what secularism stands for among many of its activists throughout

12648-436: The government can enforce how people act but not what they believe. Similarly, freedom of thought is supported by secularism. Order is supported by secularists, specifically in that one's beliefs should not be permitted to disturb the civil peace. Religious tolerance is supported both for people of other religions and for a lack of piety demonstrated by members of one's own religion. Political secularism also supports reason as

12784-403: The government with respect to any religion, asserting that French state secularism is actually based upon respect for freedom of thought and freedom of religion . Therefore, the absence of a state religion —and the subsequent separation of the state and church —is considered by proponents to be a prerequisite for such freedoms. The French word laïc comes from Latin lāicus , which

12920-514: The idea of a historical continuity – fundamental to the so-called 'theorem of secularization'; the Modern age in his view represents an independent epoch opposed to Antiquity and the Middle Ages by a rehabilitation of human curiosity in reaction to theological absolutism. "Blumenberg targets Löwith 's argument that progress is the secularization of Hebrew and Christian beliefs and argues to

13056-447: The landmark work of John Rawls ' A Theory of Justice in 1971 and its following book, Political Liberalism (1993), would rather use the conjoined concept overlapping consensus rather than secularism. In the latter Rawls holds the idea of an overlapping consensus as one of three main ideas of political liberalism . He argues that the term secularism cannot apply; But what is a secular argument? Some think of any argument that

13192-640: The lands of Semigallia and Courland which he had held on behalf of the order - which enabled him to marry and leave to his descendants the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia . Perhaps the most widely known example of such secularization is that of 1525, which led to the establishment of Prussia , a state which would later become a major power in European politics. The 1960s saw a trend toward increasing secularization in Western Europe, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This transformation accompanied major social factors: economic prosperity, youth rebelling against

13328-454: The medieval period, but coexisted and interacted naturally. Significant contributions to principles used in modern secularism came from prominent theologians and Christian writers such as St. Augustine , William of Ockham , Marsilius of Padua , Martin Luther , Roger Williams , John Locke and Talleyrand . The term "secularization" can also mean the lifting of monastic restrictions from

13464-440: The models found in France and in mid-20th century United States. He considered the US model of that time to be more amicable because it had both "sharp distinction and actual cooperation" between church and state (what he called "a historical treasure") and admonished the United States, "Please to God that you keep it carefully and do not let your concept of separation veer round to the European one." Secularism Secularism

13600-417: The need for reform of laïcité , Pope Benedict XVI said that it was time to revisit the debate over the relationship between church and state, advocating a "healthy" form of laïcité . Meeting with Sarkozy, he stated: In fact, it is fundamental, on the one hand, to insist upon the distinction between the political realm and that of religion in order to preserve both the religious freedom of citizens and

13736-492: The old Protestant establishment was in "shambles". Key to understanding the secularization, Smith argues, was the rise of an elite intellectual class skeptical of religious orthodoxies and influenced by the European Enlightenment tradition. They consciously sought to displace a Protestant establishment they saw as standing in their way. 2000–2021 . Annual Gallup polls from 2008 through 2015 showed that

13872-561: The only predominantly French-speaking province in Canada, has been greatly influenced by the secularism of France since the 1960s. Prior to this time, Quebec was seen as a very observant Catholic society, where Catholicism was a de facto state religion. Quebec then underwent a period of rapid secularization called the Quiet Revolution . Quebec politicians have tended to adopt a more French-style understanding of secularism rather than

14008-399: The organization of the state, its components, its representations; the education system, the rites of civil life, and the development of law and morality; regardless of religious beliefs. The Third Republic notably recreated the organization of the school system, by establishing public, secular, and compulsory education (Jules Ferry laws). The Jules Ferry laws (1881–1882) are supplemented by

14144-416: The original monolithic institutions break up. This is a devolution from single, less differentiated institutions to an increasingly differentiated subset of institutions. Following Parsons, this concept of differentiation has been widely applied. As phrased by José Casanova , this "core and the central thesis of the theory of secularization is the conceptualization of the process of societal modernization as

14280-576: The origins of the modern understanding of secularization from the 19th century can be revealed. [9] 1870–1930 . Christian Smith examined the secularization of American public life between 1870 and 1930. He noted that in 1870 a Protestant establishment thoroughly dominated American culture and its public institutions. By the turn of the 20th century, however, positivism had displaced the Baconian method (which had hitherto bolstered natural theology ) and higher education had been thoroughly secularized. In

14416-495: The passage of its 1905 law on the separation of the Churches and the State , prohibiting the state from recognizing or funding any religion. However, the 1905 law did not use the word laïcité itself, and so the notion of laïcité as a legal principle is open to question, as it was never defined as such by the text of a law. It was not until the Constitution of 1946 from the French Fourth Republic that

14552-476: The predominant lens through which reality was interpreted to providing only an alternative explanatory approach. In 1636, Roger Williams founded the Providence Plantations as a settlement with total freedom of religion, in present-day Rhode Island . Secular ideas were strongly challenged by religious leaders and the Catholic Church in particular, causing a religious culture war . During

14688-499: The prevalence of religious belief throughout the West, particularly in Europe. Some scholars (e.g.,  Rodney Stark , Peter Berger ) have argued that levels of religiosity are not declining, while other scholars (e.g., Mark Chaves, N. J. Demerath) have countered by introducing the idea of 'neo-secularization', which broadens the definition of secularization to include the decline of religious authority and its ability to influence society. In other words, rather than using

14824-421: The process of change from the so-called primitive societies to increasingly advanced societies. In the United States, the emphasis was initially on change as an aspect of progress, but Talcott Parsons refocused on society as a system immersed in a constant process of increased differentiation, which he saw as a process in which new institutions take over the tasks necessary in a society to guarantee its survival as

14960-436: The proportion of irreligious apostates as the sole measure of secularity, 'neo-secularization' argues that individuals increasingly look outside of religion for authoritative positions. 'Neo-secularizationists' would argue that religion has diminishing authority on issues such as birth control , and argue that religion's authority is declining and secularization is taking place even if religious affiliation may not be declining in

15096-407: The provincial human rights law to prohibit public employees from wearing objects that overtly indicate a religious preference. The people who would be most impacted by such a law would be Muslim women wearing a hijab , Jewish men wearing a kippah , and Sikh men (or women) wearing a turban . Employees who do not comply with the law would be terminated from their employment. The party that had proposed

15232-468: The question of secularization has generated considerable (and occasionally heated) debates in the social sciences. Today, criticism is directed against the assertion that religion has become less important in the modern age. Critics point to developments in South Korea, Russia and the USA. The combination of institutional religion with other interests, such as economic or political interests, leads to

15368-479: The religious studies scholar and intercultural theologian Michael Bergunder [5] criticizes the fact that the terms religion and esotericism [6] are tainted by a Eurocentric origin thinking. This inaccurate use of the terms hinders a constructive discussion about secularization in a global context. As an alternative, Bergunder [7] argues for a historicization from the present of these general terms according to Foucault's [8] . In this way, hitherto unseen connections and

15504-412: The responsibility of the state toward them.   [...] On the other hand, [it is important] to become more aware of the irreplaceable role of religion for the formation of consciences and the contribution which it can bring to – among other things – the creation of a basic ethical consensus within society. In 2009, Sarkozy changed footing on the place of religion in French society, as he publicly declared

15640-435: The rest of Canada which is similar to the United States. This came to the fore during the debate on what constitutes the " reasonable accommodation " of religious minorities. In September 2013, the government of Quebec proposed Bill 60 , the "Charter affirming the values of State secularism and religious neutrality and of equality between women and men, and providing a framework for accommodation requests." The bill would alter

15776-488: The resulting anti-clericalism that was one of the roots of the Spanish civil war . Notably, the dictatorship of Francisco Franco 's core ideology was national Catholicism . However, agreements linked to the constitution of 1978 separated church and state. In 2001, 82% of Spaniards identified as Catholic but only half did in 2021. Only around 20% of Spaniards go to mass regularly and only 20% of weddings are taking place in

15912-423: The rules and conventions of society, sexual revolution , women's liberation , radical theology, and radical politics. A new study found evidence that a rise in secularization generally has preceded economic growth over the past century. The multilevel, time-lagged regressions also indicate that tolerance for individual rights predicted 20th century economic growth even better than secularization. Secularization

16048-536: The same funding formulas used to provide state funding to religious groups. In Indian political discourse, the pejorative term pseudo-secularism is also used to highlight instances where it is believed that while the state purports to be secular, indifferent, or impartial towards religions, its policies in reality favour a particular religion over others. There are many principles that are associated with all forms of political secularism. It typically promotes legal equality between people of different religions, opposing

16184-564: The secularization of modern civilization partly results from our inability to adapt the broad ethical and spiritual needs of people to the increasingly fast advance of the physical sciences. In contrast to the "modernization" thesis, Christian Smith and others argue that intellectual and cultural élites promote secularization to enhance their own status and influence. Smith believes that intellectuals have an inherent tendency to be hostile to their native cultures, causing them to embrace secularism. According to Jack David Eller, secularization

16320-464: 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 Halakha , Dharmaśāstra , and Sharia ) 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. Separation of church and state is one possible strategy to be deployed by secular governments. From

16456-425: The separation of church and state. Under this system, the state does not support any religious group and does not enforce religious laws. Challenges facing separationist secularism include how the government should regulate secular activities of religious groups and how to govern separately from religion when citizens, including government employees, are religious. The federal judiciary of the United States interpreted

16592-414: The sixth is more of a 'clarification of use': Abdel Wahab Elmessiri (2002) outlined two meanings of the term secularization: As studied by sociologists, one of the major themes of secularization is that of "differentiation"—i.e., the tendency for areas of life to become more distinct and specialized as a society becomes modernized. European sociology, influenced by anthropology , was interested in

16728-566: The strengthening of these religions in their respective societies. However, there are also factors that lead to a diminishing importance of religion. This is the main trend in Western Europe. [1] Some scholars point to the permanent interplay between secularization and (re)sacralization in Western societies. For example, after the first democratic revolutions in the 18th and 19th centuries, religious traditions quickly regained strength. [2] It has also been denied that secularization ever took place in

16864-463: The term laity (i.e., everyone who is not clergy ), this meaning changed after the Revolution, and came to denote the keeping of religion separate from the executive , judicial , and legislative branches of government. This includes prohibitions on having a state religion and on the government endorsing any religious position, be it a religion or atheism. From the end of the 19th century,

17000-431: The term secularism is not even indexed and in the former it can be seen only in one footnote. However, there is no shortage of discussion and coverage of the topic it involves. It is just called overlapping consensus, pluralism , multiculturalism or expressed in some other way. In The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory , there is one chapter called "Political secularism", by Rajeev Bhargava . It covers secularism in

17136-527: The traditional sociological theory of secularization, however, David Martin argues that the concept of social differentiation has been its "most useful element". At present, secularization as understood in the West is being debated in the sociology of religion . In his works Legitimacy of the Modern Age (1966) and The Genesis of the Copernican World (1975), Hans Blumenberg has rejected

17272-543: The treaty. However, the Treaty of Lausanne does not specify any nationality or ethnicity and simply identifies non-Muslims in general. In 2009, the desire to reestablish the Greek Orthodox seminary on Heybeli Island near Istanbul became a political issue in regard to Turkey's accession to EU membership. The EU considers such prohibition to amount to suppression of religious freedom. In the United States ,

17408-494: The unaffiliated do still hold some religious and spiritual beliefs. For example, 72% of American unaffiliated or "Nones" believe in God or a Higher Power. The "None" response is more of an indicator for lacking affiliation than an active measure for irreligiosity, and a majority of the "Nones" can either be conventionally religious or "spiritual". In Britain, secularization came much later than in most of Western Europe. It began in

17544-591: The use of religious iconography in public or by children. Kemalist secularism, or laiklik , is an adaptation of laïcité that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established in Turkey in the 1920s and 1930s. Accommodationism is a system of actively supporting religion in general without favouring a specific religious sect. Under this system, the state applies few restrictions to religion and often provides religious organizations with financial support. India uses this system, incorporating Western ideas of secularism in combination with

17680-557: The wearing of the Sikh kirpan knife in public places) and even then the issue is usually settled in favor of allowing the practice. In addition, the US government regards religious institutions as tax-exempt non-profit organizations, subject to limitations on their political involvement. In contrast to Europe, however, the government cannot display religious symbols (such as the cross) in public schools, courts, and other government offices, although some exceptions are made (e.g. recognition of

17816-473: The word laïcité has been used in the context of a secularization process—among countries where the Catholic Church had retained its influence—to mean the freedom of public institutions (especially primary schools) from the influence of the Church. Today, the concept covers other religious movements as well. Secularism took form for the first time during the French Revolution: the abolition of

17952-532: The word appeared explicitly as a constitutional principle entailing legal effect, but without being further specified. If built before 1905 religious buildings in France (mostly Catholic churches, Protestant chapels, and Jewish synagogues) became the property of the city councils. Those now have the duty to maintain the (often historical) buildings but cannot subsidize the religious organizations using them. In areas that were part of Germany at that time, and which did not return to France until 1918, some arrangements for

18088-400: The world may be in decline as a percentage of the world population due to irreligious countries having subreplacement fertility rates and religious countries having higher birth rates in general. Christian sociologist Peter L. Berger coined the term desecularization to describe this phenomenon. In addition, secularization rates are stalling or reversing in some countries/regions such as

18224-446: The world. However, many scholars of Christianity and conservative politicians seem to interpret secularism more often than not, as an antithesis of religion and an attempt to push religion out of society and replace it with atheism or a void of values, nihilism . This dual aspect (as noted above in "Secular ethics") has created difficulties in political discourse on the subject. It seems that most political theorists in philosophy following

18360-578: The younger generation (age 18–24) that fraction was only 70% in 2011. By contrast, in 2016 these numbers had fallen to <80% (55+) and <40% (18–24). The other age groups were in between these values. In Lebanon and Morocco , the number of people listening to daily recitals of the Quran fell by half from 2011 to 2016. Some of these developments seem to be driven by need, e.g. by stagnating incomes which force women to contribute to household income and therefore to work. High living costs delay marriage and, as

18496-454: Was limited, and 20th century Turkish secularism was initially modelled after French laïcité . Turkey remains virtually the only Muslim-majority nation with an effective secular government, though secularism remains a controversial ideology in Turkey, and the country's ruling party AKP is more anti-Kemalist than anti-secularist. India became a secular state after it achieved independence in 1947; Mahatma Gandhi supported pluralist secularism as

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