Secularity (adjective form secular) is the state of being separate from religion Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe,.[1]
For instance, eating and bathing may be regarded as examples of secular activities, because there may not be anything inherently religious about them. Nevertheless, both eating and bathing are regarded as sacraments A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is what Roman Catholics believe to be "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an outward and visible sign of in some religious traditions, and therefore would be religious activities in those world views A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing natural philosophy, fundamental existential and normative postulates or themes, values, emotions, and ethics. The term is a loan translation or calque of German Weltanschauung [ˈvɛlt.ʔanˌʃaʊ.ʊŋ] ( listen), composed of Welt, 'world',. Saying a prayer Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional connection to God, or any deity, through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creedal derived from religious text or doctrine, worshipping through the context of a religion, and attending a religious school Parochial school is one term used to describe a school that engages in religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrow sense, parochial schools are Christian grammar schools or high schools run by parishes, but this distinction is not universally made are examples of religious (non-secular) activities. Prayer and meditation are not necessarily non-secular, since the concept of spirituality Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of their being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop an individual's inner life; such practices often lead to an and higher consciousness are not married solely to any religion but are practiced and arose independently across a continuum of cultures Culture is a term that has different meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions. However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:. However, it can be argued that these practices have arisen as a result of religious (non-secular) influence.[citation needed]
Most businesses and corporations A corporation is an institution that is granted a charter recognizing it as a separate legal entity having its own privileges, and liabilities distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business, and some governments A government is the organization, or agency through which a political unit exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the actions of its members or subjects, are secular organizations. All of the state universities A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual U.S. state or a similar entity such as the District of Columbia. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. Each state supports at least one such system in the United States ^ b. English is the de facto language of American government and the sole language spoken at home by 80% of Americans age five and older. Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language are secular organizations (especially because of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the Congress from making laws "respecting an establishment of religion", impeding the free exercise of religion, infringing on the freedom of speech and infringing on the freedom of the press. In the 20th century, the Supreme) while some private universities are connected with the Christian Christian Church and church (Greek kyriakon , "thing belonging to the Lord"; also ekklesia (ἐκκλησία) (Latinized as ecclesia, "assembly") are used to denote both a Christian association of people and a place of worship. In the phenomenological sense there are many such associations of people that call themselves or Jewish The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos religions. Among many of these, seven prominent examples are: Baylor University Baylor University is a private, Christian-affiliated research university located in Waco, Texas, United States. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and is a member of the Big 12 Conference. The university campus is located just southeast of downtown Waco, roughly bounded by Interstate 35, La, Brigham Young University Brigham Young University , located in Provo, Utah, United States, is a private, coeducational research university owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church). It is the oldest existing institution within the LDS Church Educational System, is America's largest religious university, and has the second-largest, Boston College Boston College is a private Roman Catholic Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early history as a liberal arts college and preparatory school in Boston's South End. It is a member of the 568 Group and the, Emory University Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia. In addition to its four undergraduate divisions— College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College, Goizueta Business School, and the Woodruff School of Nursing—Emory has nine graduate and, the University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a private Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community northeast of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States — as are Holy Cross College and Saint Mary's College, Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of 40 students and a faculty of six. In 1911, the, Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University is a private, coeducational university in University Park, Texas (an enclave of Dallas). Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU currently operates campuses in University Park, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church, and Yeshiva College.
The public university systems of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land, Australia For at least 40,000 years before European settlement in the late 18th century, Australia was inhabited by indigenous Australians, who belonged to one or more of the roughly 250 language groups. After sporadic visits by fishermen from the immediate north and discovery by Dutch explorers in 1606, Australia's eastern half was claimed by the British, New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori language name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud. The Realm of New Zealand also, Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, and Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is are also secular, although some government-funded primary and secondary schools may be religiously aligned in some countries.
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Origin of term
Secularity derives from a Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native, fluent speakers, Latin continues to be taught in schools and has been, and currently is, used in the process of new word production in modern languages from many word meaning "of the age". The Christian Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy (which parted ways with Catholicism in 1054 A.D.) and Protestantism (which came into existence during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th doctrine that God exists outside time While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called "sempiternity." An eternal being exists outside time; by contrast, a sempiternal being exists throughout an led medieval The Middle Ages is a period of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The period followed the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and preceded the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period in a three-period division of history: Classical, Medieval, and Modern. The term "Middle Ages" (medium aevum) was coined in Western culture Western culture refers to cultures of European origin to use secular to indicate separation from specifically religious affairs and involvement in temporal ones. This meaning has been extended to mean separation from any religion Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe,, regardless of whether it has a similar doctrine.
This does not necessarily imply hostility to God or religion, though some use the term this way (see "secularism", below); Martin Luther used to speak of secular work as a vocation from God for most Christians.
Modern usage
Examples of secular used in this way include:
- Secular authority Civil authority is that apparatus of the State other than its military units that enforces law and order. It is also used to distinguish between religious authority (for example Canon law) and secular authority. In a religious context it may be defined "as synonymous with human government, in contradistinction to a government by God, or the, which involves legal Law is a system of rules, usually enforced through a set of institutions. Laws can shape or reflect politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a primary social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus ticket to trading on derivatives markets. Property law defines rights and, police The police are persons empowered to enforce the law, protect property and reduce civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police, and military A military is an organization authorized to use force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. As an adjective the term "military" is also used to refer to any property or aspect of a military. Militaries often function as societies within societies, by having their own authority, as distinct from clerical authority, or matters under church control.
- Secular clergy In the Catholic Church, secular clergy are religious ministers, such as deacons and priests, who do not belong to a religious order. While regular clergy take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and place themselves under a monastic rule , secular clergy do not take vows, and they live in the world (saeculum). They are still bound to Canon in the Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with more than a billion members. The Church's leader is the Pope who holds supreme authority in concert with the College of Bishops of which he is the head. A communion of the Western church and 22 autonomous Eastern Catholic churches (called, who, traditionally, do not live the monastic Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work. The origin of the word is from Ancient Greek, and the idea originally related to Christian monks lives of the regular clergy Regular clergy, or just regulars, is applied in the Roman Catholic Church to clerics who follow a "rule" in their life. Strictly, it means those members of religious orders who have made solemn profession. It contrasts with secular clergy and are therefore, in a sense, more engaged with the temporal world. For a related Roman Catholic reference, see secular institute In the Roman Catholic Church, a secular institute is an organization of individuals who are consecrated persons – professing the Evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience – while living in the world, unlike members of a religious order who live in community. It is one of the forms of consecrated life recognized in Church law.
- Secular education Secular education is a term that refers to the system of public education in countries with a secular government or separation between religion and state, schools that are not run by churches A local church is a Christian religious organization made up of a congregation, its members and clergy. They are organized more or less formally, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, sometimes seek non-profit corporate status in the United States and often have state or regional structures. Church bodies often belong to a broader, synagogues A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. (it might also be of interest that the word when broken down could mean, "learning together" (syn - gr. together and aghoghei gr. learning or training), or other religious Religion (from O.Fr. religion "religious community," from L. religionem "respect for what is sacred, reverence for the gods," "obligation, the bond between man and the gods" is the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or more in general a set of beliefs explaining the existence of and giving meaning to the universe, organizations.
- Secular states A secular state is a concept of secularism, whereby a state or country purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state also claims to treat all its citizens equally regardless of religion, and claims to avoid preferential treatment for a citizen from a particular religion/ with secular governments that follow civil laws Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals and/or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim. For instance, if a car crash victim claims damages against the driver for loss or injury sustained in an accident, this will be a civil law case—as distinct from religious authorities like the Islamic Islam (Arabic: الإسلام al-’islām, pronounced [ʔislæːm] [note 1]) is the monotheistic religion articulated by the Qur’an, a text considered by its adherents to be the verbatim word of their one, incomparable God (Arabic: الله, Allāh), and by the Prophet of Islam Muhammad's teachings and normative example (in Arabic called Sharia Sharia is the sacred law of Islam. All Muslims believe Sharia is God's law, but they have differences between themselves as to exactly what it entails. Modernists, traditionalists and fundamentalists all hold different views of Sharia, as do adherents to different schools of Islamic thought and scholarship. Different countries and cultures have, Catholic Canon law, or Jewish Halakha—and that do not favor or disfavor any particular religion.
- Secular Jewish culture, cultural manifestations of Jewishness that are not specifically religious.
- Secular music, composed for general use, as distinct from sacred music which is composed for church use. Secular sonatas, in the 17th century, were those not composed for church services.
- Secular Organizations for Sobriety, a secular alternative to the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) organization which is a loosely religious one although nondenominational.
- Secular society refers to aspects of society that are not mosque-, church-, synagogue-, or temple-affiliated.
- Secular spirituality, the pursuit of spirituality without a formal affiliation with a church, or other religious organization, or the pursuit of spirituality specifically in the context of temporal affairs.
Related concepts
- Laïcité is a French concept related to the separation of state and religion, sometimes rendered by the English cognate neologism laicity and also translated by the words secularity and secularization. The word laïcité is sometimes characterized as having no exact English equivalent; it is similar to the more moderate definition of secularism, but is not as ambiguous as that word.
- Secularism is an assertion or belief that religious issues should not be the basis of politics, and it is a movement that promotes those ideas (or an ideology) which hold that religion has no place in public life. Secularist organizations are distinguished from merely secular ones by their political advocacy of such positions.
- Laïcisme is the French word that most resembles secularism, especially in the latter's extreme definition, as it is understood by the Catholic Church, which sets laïcisme in opposition to the allegedly far milder concept of laïcité. The correspondent word laicism (also spelled laïcism) is sometimes used in English as a synonym for secularism.
See also
External links
- Conference: Secularity and Religious Vitality
- Research Project: Multiple Secularities
- Secular Student Alliance
Notes
- ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. "Secularity". ("1. The condition or quality of being secular. 2. Something secular.")
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Segolene s slogan Pour que ca change fort translates literally to So that that changes extremely basically saying that a vote for Royal is a vote for reform Le Pen s poster has the slogan Nationality assimilation social elevator secularity Right Left They have broke Apparently he is trying to shed his racially tinged reputation by placing
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Benedict XVI: Yet the causes of the situation which is now evident to everyone are of the moral order, and the question must be faced within the framework of a great program of education aimed at promoting an effective change of ...
Q. after all: I was only trying to preserve the secularity of our country
Asked by unknown - Mon Dec 18 13:57:17 2006 - - 10 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Well, are you a "minority", and not christian? Then yes. Most likely. I mean they think NAMBLA is the cat's meow.
Answered by JennoftheJungle - Mon Dec 18 14:28:41 2006
