Liberation Theology Flashcards
What is secularism?
The idea that religious beliefs and institutions should not affect how the state are run
What is secularisation?
The process of a society changing its views to become less closely linked with religious values
What are the arguments in favour of secularisation?
> There should be no one system of belief that is advantageous
Every human should have freedom of choice
In a secular society there is less chance of one person being treated differently
Social cohesion. In the same way we do not label a child a ‘left wing’ or a ‘right winged’ child we shouldn’t label a child a Christian or Muslim one. This will lead society to look beyond differences and seek common goals.
How is secularisation an opportunity for Christianity to develop?
> Christians are taught to practice their faith within society (Matthew 22:21) and so a secular state might make them stop taking their faith’s position in society for granted.
Jesus did not wish to change entire institutions but individuals.
Secularism’s emphasis on people’s freedom to choose might make it easier to proclaim the Christian message.
How does secularisation hinder Christianity?
> Christianity needs to hold on to the fact that Christ is unique and has changed the world and requires a response- secularism is a threat to this.
Anything that leads to Christianity not being able to proclaim itself in public is naturally a threat to evangelicals.
Just because the majority of the people in the UK are rejecting Christianity that does not mean Christianity should let go of 2,000 year old traditions.
What did Freud believe on religion and society?
Society needs to grow up and develop rationally and in doing so must abolish religion.
What was Freud’s view on religion?
Freud believed that religion was infantile and people develop religion due to the desire for forgiveness due to repressed feelings.
What did Freud argue about the widespread use of religion in society?
Freud called religion a ‘universal obsessional neurosis’.
What is a neurosis?
Mental disorder
How does Freud view religions utility in society?
> Had a place in the past where it served to calm humans violent tendencies.
No Usage in modern society .
Freud quote on religion and morality
‘Immortality, no less than morality has at all time found support in religion’
What did Freud say in the future of an illusion?
‘Religion is a system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal of reality, such as we find nowhere else but in the state of blissful hallucinatory confusion. Religions eleventh commandment is ‘thou shalt not question’
What are the arguments for religion being wishful thinking?
> with the rapid advances of science it is important to move away from the need for religion.
Philosopher David Hume agrees that religion is infantile.
Ludwig Feurerbach in the 19th century argued that religion is the projection of all aspects of human nature onto God.
What are the arguments that God is not an illusion?
> The Christian story, let alone other religions, has too many different examples of reasons for belief to condense them all down to be rejected simply because of wish fulfilment.
You cannot project the neurosis of a few onto all of humanity.
Freud’s analysis over-simplifies religious belief as ritualistic and does not take into account the variety of beliefs in other religions that do not put as much emphasis on guilt or a male God.
Dawkins on Religion and Christianity
> The scientific method is more appropriate, we do not have to substitute religion in place for gaps in science, in time science will explain all.
Evolution replaces the need for a God, no need to imagine a designer when evolution explains how life developed.
Religion is just an idea, it is a meme a thought or an idea that has gone viral, religion is a memeplex.
Religion is a cause of war and that in itself should cause us to move away from it.
Dawkins accuses religion of being a form of child abuse, labelling a child as a Christian before they can truly understand it is a form of abduction.
How is Christianity a major cause of personal and social problems?
> Christianity in the UK is the established religion therefore creates a society where one group is treated better than others
Christianity rejects advances in science
Christianity oppresses women through its belief in authority of the bible impacting on societies and individuals.
How is Christianity not a major cause of personal and social problems?
> The evidence Dawkins gives of religious wars seems to ignore all the major wars such as the two world wars which were not about religion.
Dawkins uses extreme forms of religion, especially in Christianity and Islam to make his point which is not representative.
Christianity has an extensive track record of social justice.
What did Dawkins say in the God delusion?
‘The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all of fiction’
What is humanism?
Humanism is a system of thought that hopes to establish ways of living a good happy life without any reference to God.
What is the 2002 Amsterdam declaration?
The Humanist values in this declaration include:
> The importance of human rights and democracy
> The beauty of creativity and imagination for human fulfilment
> The freedom of the individual combined with the need for social responsibility.
What are spiritual values?
Values that are found when considering life at more than just face value. They are slightly different from religious values, which are those found when exploring key principles of religious beliefs and traditions.
Why is it that spiritual values are just human values?
> Human values of goodness are given religious flavour in different traditions but they are all essentially the same: no non-religious person would disagree.
Religions would not object to the values listed in the 2002 Amsterdam declaration.
Historically human values have come first which are then adopted by religions
Why are spiritual values not just human values?
> Spiritual values in their fullest require a belief in God who is the final purpose of these values, as a belief in God furthers are understanding of these values such as forgiveness.
Some Christian ethical values are opposed to some non-religious values for example upholding dignity of life over personal freedoms (in the case of euthanasia)
Spirituality is about finding a connection to the divine oneness with God through religious experience.
What impact does faith have on education?
Around a third of the schools in Britain are faith schools, mainly in the Church of England or Roman Catholic schools. Secularism and humanism reject the need for these schools arguing for neutrality.
