1ED100: Education and Faith

Secularism and Religion

Is God dead and have we killed him?

Humans can decide what is right and wrong without

religion

Agree Disagree

Religion is a force for good in the world

Agree Disagree

Politicians should only make laws that reflect the

needs of all people in society

Agree Disagree

Religious beliefs should be a factor in law-making

Agree Disagree

The more we know about the world, the less we need

religion

Agree Disagree

Parameters of discussion – ‘religion’

“Religion is a system of thoughts, feelings and actions that are shared by a group…It provides a system and framework for considering moral and social issues – making it something relevant to public affairs” (Arthur et al, 2010,p11)

Parameters of discussion - ‘secular’

“Secular is derived from the Latin word saeculum meaning ‘the present age’…the origins of our current understanding of ‘secular’ lay within the Christian tradition and came to mean the opposite of sacred.” (Arthur et al, 2010, p26)

“God is dead…and we have killed him”

(Thus Spoke Zarathrustra, 1884)

The ‘Secularization Thesis’Max Weber (1989, p29) wrote: “the fate of our times is characterised by rationalization and intellectualization and above all the ‘disenchantment of the world’.” By which he was describing the Secuarlization Thesis, namely the idea that modernity necessitates the decline of religion. (Arthur et al, 2010, p1)

Tension between Religion and Secularism

Tension between Religion and Secularism

Religion Secularism

For secularists, faith is counter to rationality. Pinker (2006) states, “Faith – believing something without good reasons to do so – has no place in anything but a religious institution.” (Arthur et al, 2010, p99)

Tension between Religion and Secularism

In Watson (2012, p177) Lord Laws asserts:‘The precepts of any one religion – any belief system – cannot, by force of their religious origins, sound any louder in the general law than the precepts of any other. If they did, those out in the cold would be less than citizens, and our constitution would be on the way to a theocracy, which is of necessity autocratic.’

Tension between Religion and Secularism

Tension between Religion and Secularism

In 2003 the European Court for Human Rights supported Turkish government’s decision to dissolve and Islamic party by affirming the view that ‘the principle of secularism’ was a necessary presupposition of democracy. (ECHR, 2003)

Tension between Religion and Secularism

Religion Secularism

J M Roberts (1986, p37) writes, “We would none of us today be what we are if a handful of Jews nearly two thousand years ago had not believed that they had known a great teacher, seen him crucified, dead, and buried and then rise again.”

Tension between Religion and Secularism

A history of tension: religion and secularism

European citizenship is generally regarded as being identified with secular citizens. It is argued that secular European citizenship requires nothing but ‘reason’ to ensure progress and liberation. “These secular self-understandings go on to establish exclusively secular lineages between themselves and the ancient Greeks who, they claim, originated the concept of citizenship.” (Arthur et al, 2010, p18)

A history of tension: Ancient Greeks

However, Sagan cites (1991), the classical reality was that the Athenians regarded the divine and democracy not as enemies but as close friends. Athenian democracy was in no way a secular affair – it was rooted in the deeply religious and polytheistic universe. Being a good citizenship meant being a good religious follower.

A history of tension: Ancient Greeks

Jesus’ social teaching“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God....But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” Luke 6:20-25Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you.” Luke 6:37-38 “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” Luke 6:27-29

“Universalistic egalitarianism, from which sprang the ideals of freedom and a collective life in solidarity, the autonomous conduct of life and emancipation, the individual morality of conscience, human rights and democracy, is the direct legacy of the Judaic ethic of justice and the Christian ethic of love…To this day, there is no alternative to it…we continue to draw on the substance of this heritage. Everything else is just idle postmodern talk.” Habermas (2006: 150ff)

Jesus’ teachings: western influence

After 3 centuries of persecution, relationship between Christian and politics became much changed by Emperor Galerius’ deathbed Edict of Toleration (311), followed closely by his successor Constantine’s Edict of Milan (312/3) where on calling for the Christian God to assist in success in battle, Constantine converted and the age of Theocracy began – Christian and Roman citizenship were effectively unified.

The Roman Era

The Roman Era

Middle Ages (6th – 14th century)In the post-Roman Empire period there was a reshaping of Europe in the creation of nation-states unified by a common Christian belief delivering considerable intellectual, political and theological achievements in the architectural glories of European cathedrals, universities and the provision of schools.

Middle Ages (6th – 14th century)

In retrospect, Reformation thinkers believed Middle Ages were neither political or theological progressive, they tended to emphasize the eschatological belief in heaven/hell over concerns of this world.Politically the monarch had control of the Church but at the height of its power the Church could trump the political authority by excommunicating the king.

Reformation (16th century)

The Reformation did more than express dissatisfaction with ecclesiastical politics of RC Church – it created a break within the religio-political paradigm greater than anything before. The Reformation began by reversing the balance, raising supremacy of state over religion through national churches – England, Sweden and Germany.

The Renaissance (14th-17th Centuries)

Until the Renaissance education was largely dominated by Christian theology and study of Bible but at this time a resurgence of classical studies/traditions to develop thinking of figures such as Aquinas, Bacon, Machiavelli, Montaigne – it formed the foundations of both the Reformation and the Enlightenment period.

Enlightenment: DescartesThe Cartesian shift of epistemic focus from the authority of received tradition to reason and experience (or experiment) as the key source of human knowledge also clearly opens the way to subsequent radical scepticism about such theological ‘proofs’. (Carr, 2012, p158)

Schonfeld (2007) contends that ‘Modern thought begins with Kant…the appearance of Critique of Pure Reason in 1781 marks the beginning of modern philosophy.’ Like many enlightenment thinkers he stressed ideals of autonomy, rationalism and the perfectibility of human beings. With this came the pedagogy of modernity: rationalist, instrumental and scientific in an age of discovery and exploration.

Enlightenment: Kant

Hume argued, unless the experience of the ‘invisible world’ could be made clear and immediate to human perception, a matter of empirical fact, then for him it has no sense. He argued that sense and understanding is limited to those propositions that could either be empirically or logically verified. (Radford, 2012, p233)

Enlightenment: Hume

Momentum of reason’s supremacy over religion reached its peak with Darwin’s Origin of Species which called into question the Bible’s authenticity based on revelation.

Enlightenment: Darwin

The Enlightenment can be seen as the “restaging of the battle between Christianity and the secular (political and philosophical) authority in antiquity, one in which, following in the wake of a now divided and weakened post-Reformation Christianity, the victory of religion would finally be reversed and reason would reign…”

(Arthur et al, 2010, p65)

Enlightenment

Modern secularismDewey’s Democracy and Education (1916) represents the culmination of a political and pedagogical movement whose heritage is the Enlightenment, revolutionary democracy and pre-Christian antiquity.

Dewey’s educational philosophy can be simplified around three principles: 1. Politically, that education should reflect democratic ideals;2. Educationally, that democratic ideals should be reflected in

teaching and learning; 3. That both politics and education should be secular

(Arthur et al, 2010, p76)

Assumptions that all societies would naturally become devoid of religion as a result of democratization and development of human knowledge have been confounded by the continuation and resurgence of religion in the world.Habermas (2006) used the term “post-secular to describe a society that is epistemically adjusted to the continued existence of religious communities.”

(Bowie et al, 2012)

Post-secular age?

Consider…

Is there still a place for religion in the public

square (politics, education etc.)?

Arguments for secularism in public square

No country can make public laws or claims on the basis of religious codes, values or ideas that are not held by all the people – this is essentially un-democratic.

Laborde (2010) argues that the future of democracy depends on secularism but is careful to note that:“...secularism properly understood – as a political philosophy – need not be anti- religious. The secular state is not a state committed to substantive atheism or to the marginalisation of religion from public and social life. It is, rather, a state in which citizens share a language – a secular language – for discussing political issues.”

(Laborde, 2010, p10 cited in Watson, 2012, p175)

Watson (2012) argues: - Religion is too broad/complex to be seen as one thing to

be rejected- It is hypocritical for secular thesis to claim to embrace

difference but in doing so reject large portions of society- It is unrealistic to expect religious people (in political

positions) to divide their personality into public/private spheres

- The rejection of religion can lead to fundamentalism – pressure of not being heard in society leads to extremism

- Secularism has created a social vacuum – what will fill it?

Arguments for religion in public square

An inclusive via media?

Obama (2006) managed to include both religious and non-religious fairly in this statement as a basis for public policy-making:“We value a faith in something bigger than ourselves, whether that something expresses itself in formal religion or in ethical precepts. And we value the constellation of behaviours that express our mutual regard for one another: honesty, fairness, humility, kindness, courtesy and compassion.”

(Cited in Watson 2012, p181)

Implications for education

“In the original political sense of a ‘secular education’ it simply meant that public schooling did not advantage any particular faith group. Philosophically, there is an emphasis on neutrality between varied religious and non-religious worldviews; an education that neither promotes not inhibits religion and schools that are not institutionally biased.

(Arthur et al, 2010, p52)

Implications for educationThe aims of sec education are premised on the belief that there is nothing beyond the natural physical world; no soul, no mystery, no supernatural – Ultimate values exclusively reside in human beings... In this sense, secular education seems to nurture a secular mentality that marginalises religion from culture and intellectual life and contributes to the secularisation of society. It imposes a secular worldview that challenges the religious commitment to believing children. Martin (2005) calls it the ‘secularist indoctrination of the state’ but Dawkins (2007) counters with the assertion that religious education is a form of ‘child abuse’. (Arthur et al, 2010, p30)

Democratic Learning: Community of Enquiry

How it works:- Write down a question that you think would be

worth discussing as a whole group- In small groups (4-5), share your questions- Choose one question from your group and write it

nice and big on the paper provided- As a whole group, read through the selected

questions - Choose one question to discuss *Adapted from Lipman, 1991

References:• Arthur J, Gearon L and Sears A, (2010), Education, politics and religion:

reconciling the civil and the sacred in education, Routledge, London• Bowie B., Peterson A. & Revell L., (2012) Post-secular trends: issues in

education and faith, Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education, 33 (2), 139-141

• Carr, D. (2012) Post-secularism, religious knowledge and religious education, Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education, 33 (2), 157-168

• Habermas, J. (2006) Time of Transitions, Polity Press, London, pp. 150-151• Lipman, M., (1991) Thinking in Education Cambridge University Press, New

York• Nietzsche, F., (1884), Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Cambridge Texts in the History

of Philosophy), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge• Radford M., (2012), Faith and reason in a post secular age, Journal of Beliefs &

Values: Studies in Religion & Education, 33 (2), 229-240• Watson, B. (2011) Democracy, religion and secularism: reflections on the

public role of religion in a modern society, Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education, 32 (2), 173-183