Topic 11 - Secularism Flashcards

1
Q

what is secularism?

A

The belief that religion should play no role in the running of the state, the affairs of government and of public life?

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2
Q

what is procedural secularism?

A

the role of the state is to take into account the interests of all its citizens and their institutions. This means that it should not give priority or preference to religion but treat it equally.

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3
Q

what is programmatic secularism?

A

the role of the state is to be purely secular, excluding religious belief from society

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4
Q

what is the secularisation thesis?

A

a term used by sociologists to describe the process of secularisation. It is defined as the growing number of people who profess no religious affiliation

can be hard to measure e.g. between 1900 - 2000 the number who had no religious affiliation doubled but the number who pray increased

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5
Q

secular positivism comte?

A

auguste comte

held the view civilised society develops from the theological (religious view of the world) to the metaphysical (abstract view of world)

said this would give way to secular positivism that scientific reasoning will take over from religion. Liberal idea that later influenced Freud and Dawkins

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6
Q

secular positivism freud?

A

said religion caused ‘neuroses’ (functional mental disorders such as severe anxiety) as religion belongs to an ‘infantile’ era of human development

freud used his psychoanalysis as evidence, in “the future of an illusion” freud invented an imaginary opponent for debate and concluded in every instant that in the end it would be science that would prevail

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7
Q

secular positivism hume?

A

said religion is mainly childish and practiced by uneducated people

“according to the natural progress of human thought, the ignorant must first entertain some grovelling and familiar notion of superior powers”

hume had no particular evidence to support this

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8
Q

what did freud mean by religion as the result of wish fulfilment?

A

freud received letter from a doctor in 1928 saying how he had became a christian after seeing a certain body that made him think of his mother.

from this freud said this was simply a case of the oedipus complex, and the experiene roused the doctor due to his longing for a mother, following his mothers death the doctor became angry against god who freud said resembled his own father and this later hallucionary event was just the doctor realising his own guilt

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9
Q

what did freud mean by religion as an infantile illusion?

A

in “the future of an illusion”

freud says religion is simply ‘a universal obsessional neurosis’ so it does some good for society as a child for society to grow up it should be abolished

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10
Q

how does keith ward critique freud?

A

freud is a reductionist, he wants to explain everything in material and technical terms.

ward doesn’t like this ‘the reduction of all this (million of people’s belief in religion) to blind purposeless blunderings of bits of matter seems desperately inadequate and superficial”

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11
Q

richard dawkins quote on religion?

A

“I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world.”

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12
Q

how does dawkins reject stephen jay gould ?

A

golds idea is of non-overlapping magisterial (basically religion cannot be subject to human understand) link to hares bliks

dawkins rejects this as he says all things must be subject to rational enquiry

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13
Q

how does alister mcgrath criticise dawkins?

A

“The dawkins delusion” (2007)

reason and faith, mcgrath separates out reason and faith saying that reason is necessary in order to test true and false beliefs but ultimately faith makes a leap to the transcendent and sometimes making such a leap is simply un explainable

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14
Q

how does charles taylor object to the secularisation thesis?

A

taylor says we’ve developed ‘subtraction stories’ these are stories we now use to demonstrate the truth of secularisation by removing religion. Taylor calls these subtraction stories as ‘self-sufficient humanism’ but says they’re unsatisfactory as it gives too much importance to the individual and their private experiences but breaks down the idea of society

says that this human era is not experiencing god we shouldn’t abandon history

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15
Q

how does terry eagleton object to the secularisation thesis?

A

“i say ‘largely doomed’ because religion is an exceedingly hard act to follow”

says nothing other than religion has let us develop such deep understanding and that capitalism (through privatisation) has caused a number of these issues.

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16
Q

faith schools better than non faith ?

A

faith schools achieved 58% pass rate (gcse scores from 2007-2017 telegraph) compared to 43% non religious

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17
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 1

psychological criticisms, religion as wish fulfilment (feuerbach)

A
  • Feuerbach, 19th century German philosopher arguably paved the way for a psychological rejection of religion: In his major work, ‘The Essence of Christianity’, 1841, argued that belief in God is a projection of the human mind, “religion is the dream of the human mind” – “what you wish to be, you make your God”, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent
  • Feuerbach developed the idea that God is projection of the unconscious mind; Freud added to this a psychological foundation. Freud adds the explanation that the adoption of religion is a reversion to childish patterns of thought in response to feelings of helplessness and guilt We feel a need for security and forgiveness, and so invent a source of security and forgiveness: God, quite literally as a Father figure
  • Religion is thus seen as a childish delusion/ infantile illusion, and atheism as a grown-up realism.
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18
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 1 - counter argument

reductionist, religious experiences can be positive (william james)

A

• Religious experiences William James: What matters about religious experience is its capacity for change in an individual value not truth. Higher power brings about transformation in a person, noetic quality. Pragmatism – the value of belief Williams James: Beliefs had to work for a living – pragmatists were interested in the value of a belief. Beliefs can be dangerous, but also positive. Religion may not correlate to an empirical reality, but it can ease peoples’ feelings of insecurity in the world and bring them a positive, transformed outlook transforms in a positive light, ones interaction with the world

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19
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 1 - counter response

guilt and suffering (Freud)

A

• Freud saw Christianity’s obsession with sacrifice, sin and guilt at ultimately damaging – unconscious desires of the id are repressed by the ego and superego due to religious morality, resulting in unhappiness and even neurosis “universal, obsessional, neurosis”

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20
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 1 - conclusive response

joy and liberation (augustine, feuerbach and freud)

A
  • Positive – Focus on Jesus’ resurrection and atonement are often a source of joy rather than deep-seated guilt / Liberating and uplifting – as human beings are made in the image of God human life is sacred and valuable.
  • Christians are committed to living a life of agape – Desmond Tutu overcame the evils of racial apartheid in South Africa. St. Augustine “Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God” – perhaps because we are made in the image of God, perhaps we have a natural desire to believe in God
  • If one focuses on Jesus’ portrayal in the New Testament (as a liberator and one who seeks equality for all) and the positive impacts of this throughout history (civil right movements, educating the poor, food banks) one can see the moral goods Christianity has contributed to society are these not just human values? No need for irrational beliefs in the divine… Feuerbach and Freud
21
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 2

societal criticisms, science over religion (dawkins)

A
  • In a letter to his daughter, ‘Good and Bad Reasons for Believing’ he outlines three poor reasons for belief, of which religion is founded upon tradition, authority, revelation
  • As a programmatic secularist his aim is to persuade all right-thinking people that God is a delusion and atheistic secularism is the only plausible alternative polemicist
  • Attacks monotheistic religion by questioning why anyone would believe in something for which there is no evidence; Dawkins argue things must be subject to rational enquiry else one could believe anything When reason is applied to God’s existence it demonstrates at very best his existence is inconclusive
  • Teaching inaccurate accounts about the way in which the world was created and works, such as Creationism, prevents children from true knowledge as they are unable to understand the wider context of the religious belief
22
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 2 - counter argument

freedom/democracy (alister mcgrath)

A
  • Programmatic secularism threatens freedom of expression and speech – French government passed law in 2004 that banned the wearing of any symbols in state schools, as a result of la laicite principle that only programmatic secularism enables democratic nation
  • Alister McGrath, ‘The Dawkins Delusion?’ (2007): Science and Religion: Complimentary as they reflect different aspects of human experience, the material and the spiritual. Dawkins as a positivist argues metaphysical answers are meaningless are they are outside of scientific investigation – limited viewpoint; philosophy and theology provide insight into these important questions also
23
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 1 - counter response

backward morality

A
  • Instead of integrating children, faith schools isolate them from secular society in the UK and could give way to radicalisation or at least negative attitudes towards non-believers
  • Many argue for freedom and diversity but faith schools only teach one religion and instead of critical evaluation the religion is taught as fact – children left with no ability to question and think
  • Prejudice and bigotry attitudes towards gay marriage, contraception etc. may be internalised by children, not only leading to immoral treatment of others but also restricting their own welfare and prosperity which would be gained through embracing scientific and social developments
24
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 2 - conclusive response

secular societies become materialistic (charles taylor)

A
  • Charles Taylor “Subtraction stories” – outgrown religion and explanations we now use to explain the world are designed to show that we can live full and complete lives without the need for God lead to “self-sufficing humanism”.
  • Failure of humanism is that it gives too much emphasis on the individual but this is undesirable as it breaks down communal aspects of society. This secular phase of history denies fullness of life which religion provides
  • SPIRITUAL SERVICE: Many citizens, regardless of their faith, make use of CoE parish churchs for marriages/ funerals etc – Church providing a spiritual service to all, part of the community
25
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 3

humanism, retains positive aspects of religion (amsterdam declaration)

A
  • Many would argue that the list of humanist values set out in the 2002 Amsterdam Declaration are values universal to human beings: Humanism is ethical, rational, democracy, response to dogmatic religion, imagination, fulfilment
  • Christians may argue that Christianity has many valuable and constructive teachings, which benefit social cohesion and overall goodness. However, alongside such teachings, Christianity has also been the cause of suffering and violence – we no longer need to endorse Christianity, as we can find a resolution which encompasses the positive values without the negative implications religion also carries “a world where everyone lives co-operatively… confident in living ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity” (British Humanist Association)
26
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 3 - counter argument

contributes to culture

A

• Although religion has been harmful it has to be weighed against the extraordinary contribution the religious imaginations has made to human culture through art, architecture, literature, poetry, drama etc. Secularists think all these things can occur without religion, but only religion can capture the highest spiritual aspect of human experience. Secularism is “largely doomed” as it cannot replace what religion captures of human experience – religion touches on deep truths; no one is prepared to die for music, sport, literature

27
Q

ESSAY PLAN - CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETAL VALUES, CAUSE OF PROBLEMS

“Is there evidence that Xnity is a major cause of personal and social problems?”

POINT 3 - conclusive response

tradition not necessarily good (feuerbach)

A
  • It might be argued that Christian elements of the Houses of Parliament (starting each sitting with Christian prayers) are ritualistic only. Bishops having automatic seats in the House of Lords highlights a bias towards religion when government should be democratic; such traditional practise fails to reflect the reality of 21st century Britain – dogmatic, stuck in the past, not necessarily a good thing when religion endorses prejudicial attitudes.
  • As an Atheist Feuerbach wanted human beings to reclaim their positive qualities which religious belief had taken away from human beings by projecting our higher qualities onto the ‘God illusion’ – in doing some we have become alienated from our identities HUMANISM
28
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 1

christan god, spiritual values rooted in god’s eternal law (aquinas)

A
  • One may contend spiritual values are distinct from human values, as they are rooted in God’s eternal law – Aquinas’ Natural Law theory explains that God has designed into us synderesis, the natural inclination to “do good and avoid evil”. The telos of humanity if eudaimonia, a state of flourishing – by rationally discovering the God-given primary precepts (PREGS), we will reach the Summum Bonum (a state of definitive eternal happiness with God), thus fulfilling our purpose.
  • Such theory suggests spiritual values, that of protecting and preserving human life (as we are made imago dei), living in an ordered society, and educating our offspring, are distinctively Christian values as they have been laid down by God, discovered through the natural law of humanity human values lack this higher meaning and purpose
29
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 1 - counter argument

wish fulfilment - projection of human mind (feuerbach +freud)

A

• Yet religious belief in a higher purpose/ meaning can be rejected as childish, infantile delusion – 16th century German philosophy Feuerbach, in his great work ‘The Essence of Christianity’, argued religion was merely “the dream of the human mind”. Freud added a psychological foundation to this, claiming belief in God is wish fulfilment stemming from feelings of helplessness and insecurity – humans invent a source of security in the form of a Father figure: God thus arguments for spiritual values rooted in a Divine Law can be rejected as projections of the human mind, suggesting they are merely human values

30
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 1 - counter response

value of spiritual belief

A

• Yet still, one can challenge the psychological explanation by reference William James work on religious experiences – in ‘The Varieties of Religious Experiences’ he explains that what matters is the value of belief, not necessarily whether it equates to a reality (a notion known as pragmatism). Indeed, whether spirituality is merely psychological phenomena or not, does not affect the way in which spiritual experiences can radically alter and improve peoples’ lives; the noetic quality, and sense of “good disposition” gained from religious/ spiritual experiences can be profound, and arguably far greater than purely secular experiences or values.

31
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 1 - conclusive response

human spirituality (tolle)

A
  • ‘A New Earth’ Eckhart Tolle Focus on the positive aspects of human beings and the human spirit of life which connects us all, not the spirit of a religious deity which can in fact alienate us from humanity
  • The New Testament’s focus on Jesus’s sacrifice for the atonement of humankind encourages a collective guilt and a view that humankind is fallen – negative and debasing outlook and gives way to an obsession with suffering, sacrifice and sin
32
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 2

community/agape better than materialistic ethic (charles taylor)

A
  • Charles Taylor “Subtraction stories” – outgrown religion and explanations we now use to explain the world are designed to show that we can live full and complete lives without the need for God lead to “self-sufficing humanism”.
  • Failure of humanism is that it gives too much emphasis on the individual but this is undesirable as it breaks down communal aspects of society. This secular phase of history denies fullness of life which religion provides
  • Human values are selfish/ materialistic – evidence of societal chaos without religion e.g. Nazi Germany, Mao’s China
33
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 2 - counter argument

violent, damaging (dawkins)

A
  • Dawkins, in ‘The God Delusion’, identifies many Old Testament stories, such as that of Noah and Abraham as horrible and even sadistic, and the principle of “an eye for an eye” in Deuteronomy 19 is prominent throughout the teachings.
  • The religion has a history of supporting slavery, colonialism, oppression of women and violence in the Crusades…
34
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 2 - counter response

spiritual values are a spiritual service to community

A

• SPIRITUAL SERVICE: Many citizens, regardless of their faith, make use of CoE parish churchs for marriages/ funerals etc – Church providing a spiritual service to all, part of the community

35
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 2 - conclusive response

religious values backward (dawkins)

A

• Dawkins, in ‘The God Delusion’, argues that beyond exclusionary attitudes towards non-believers, Christianity encourages violent, fanatical behaviour and bigotry against minority groups such as homosexuals Chapter 9 and 10, regressive attitudes towards female circumcision, homosexuality and contraception/ abortion which ultimately hold people back in terms of scientific and moral advancement

36
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 3

humanism, retains positive aspects of religion (amsterdam declaration)

A
  • Many would argue that the list of humanist values set out in the 2002 Amsterdam Declaration are values universal to human beings: Humanism is ethical, rational, democracy, response to dogmatic religion, imagination, fulfilment
  • Christians may argue that Christianity has many valuable and constructive teachings, which benefit social cohesion and overall goodness. However, alongside such teachings, Christianity has also been the cause of suffering and violence – we no longer need to endorse Christianity, as we can find a resolution which encompasses the positive values without the negative implications religion also carries “a world where everyone lives co-operatively… confident in living ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity” (British Humanist Association)
37
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 3 - counter argument

belief in god adds greater meaning to spiritual values

A
  • Although religion has been harmful it has to be weighed against the extraordinary contribution the religious imaginations has made to human culture through art, architecture, literature, poetry, drama etc.
  • Secularists think all these things can occur without religion, but only religion can capture the highest spiritual aspect of human experience. Secularism is “largely doomed” as it cannot replace what religion captures of human experience – religion touches on deep truths; no one is prepared to die for music, sport, literature
38
Q

ESSAY PLAN - SPIRITUAL VALUES JUST HUMAN VALUES

“are spiritual values just human values?”

POINT 3 - conclusive response

reclaim qualities projected onto god (feuerbach)

A

• As an Atheist Feuerbach wanted human beings to reclaim their positive qualities which religious belief had taken away from human beings by projecting our higher qualities onto the ‘God illusion’ – in doing some we have become alienated from our identities HUMANISM

39
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 1-

wish fulfilment vs value of belief (feuerbach)

A
  • Feuerbach, 19th century German philosopher arguably paved the way for a psychological rejection of religion: In his major work, ‘The Essence of Christianity’, 1841, argued that belief in God is a projection of the human mind, “religion is the dream of the human mind” – “what you wish to be, you make your God”, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent
  • Feuerbach developed the idea that God is projection of the unconscious mind; Freud added to this a psychological foundation. Freud adds the explanation that the adoption of religion is a reversion to childish patterns of thought in response to feelings of helplessness and guilt We feel a need for security and forgiveness, and so invent a source of security and forgiveness: God, quite literally as a Father figure
  • Religion is thus seen as a childish delusion/ infantile illusion, and atheism as a grown-up realism.
40
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 1- counter argument

religious experience, pragmatism (william james)

A

• Religious experiences William James: What matters about religious experience is its capacity for change in an individual value not truth. Higher power brings about transformation in a person, noetic quality. Pragmatism – the value of belief Williams James: Beliefs had to work for a living – pragmatists were interested in the value of a belief. Beliefs can be dangerous, but also positive. Religion may not correlate to an empirical reality, but it can ease peoples’ feelings of insecurity in the world and bring them a positive, transformed outlook transforms in a positive light, ones interaction with the world

41
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 1- conclusive response

psychological phenomena

A

• Positive value of belief does not mean belief equates to reality – James himself did not deny the possibility of religious experiences being merely “psychological phenomena”

42
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 2 -

oppressive neuroses, universal obsession (freud)

A

• Freud saw Christianity’s obsession with sacrifice, sin and guilt at ultimately damaging – unconscious desires of the id are repressed by the ego and superego due to religious morality, resulting in unhappiness and even neurosis “universal, obsessional, neurosis”

43
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 2 - counter argument

community/agape better than materialist (charles taylor)

A
  • Charles Taylor “Subtraction stories” – outgrown religion and explanations we now use to explain the world are designed to show that we can live full and complete lives without the need for God lead to “self-sufficing humanism”.
  • Failure of humanism is that it gives too much emphasis on the individual but this is undesirable as it breaks down communal aspects of society. This secular phase of history denies fullness of life which religion provides
  • Human values are selfish/ materialistic – evidence of societal chaos without religion e.g. Nazi Germany, Mao’s China
44
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 2 - counter response

violent, damaging (dawkins)

A
  • Dawkins, in ‘The God Delusion’, identifies many Old Testament stories, such as that of Noah and Abraham as horrible and even sadistic, and the principle of “an eye for an eye” in Deuteronomy 19 is prominent throughout the teachings.
  • The religion has a history of supporting slavery, colonialism, oppression of women and violence in the Crusades…
45
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 2 - conclusive response

spiritual values are a spiritual service to community

A

• SPIRITUAL SERVICE: Many citizens, regardless of their faith, make use of CoE parish churchs for marriages/ funerals etc – Church providing a spiritual service to all, part of the community Freud’s criticisms of religion as damaging overlook positive aspects

46
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 3

positive aspects of religion can be retained without god belief, (amsterdam declaration)

A
  • Many would argue that the list of humanist values set out in the 2002 Amsterdam Declaration are values universal to human beings: Humanism is ethical, rational, democracy, response to dogmatic religion, imagination, fulfilment
  • Christians may argue that Christianity has many valuable and constructive teachings, which benefit social cohesion and overall goodness. However, alongside such teachings, Christianity has also been the cause of suffering and violence – we no longer need to endorse Christianity, as we can find a resolution which encompasses the positive values without the negative implications religion also carries “a world where everyone lives co-operatively… confident in living ethical and fulfilling lives on the basis of reason and humanity” (British Humanist Association)
47
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 3 - counter argument

belief in god adds greater meaning to spiritual values

A
  • Although religion has been harmful it has to be weighed against the extraordinary contribution the religious imaginations has made to human culture through art, architecture, literature, poetry, drama etc.
  • Secularists think all these things can occur without religion, but only religion can capture the highest spiritual aspect of human experience. Secularism is “largely doomed” as it cannot replace what religion captures of human experience – religion touches on deep truths; no one is prepared to die for music, sport, literature
48
Q

ESSAY PLAN - freud

“Freud’s analysis of religion as wish fulfilment was right, Discuss”

POINT 3 - conclusive response

reclaim qualities projected onto god, confidence in humanity (feuerbach)

A

• As an Atheist Feuerbach wanted human beings to reclaim their positive qualities which religious belief had taken away from human beings by projecting our higher qualities onto the ‘God illusion’ – in doing some we have become alienated from our identities HUMANISM