...Sociology Z103 | SECULARISM AND INTERFAITH MARRIAGE: interpretation of the secularism scale of iba students and its correlation with interfaith marriage | Sociology Z103 Prepared For: AI Mahbub Uddin Ahmed Prepared By: Farzana Yasmin Rivi BBA-17(B) Roll: RQ 53 Date: 15/07/10 Institute of Business Administration (IBA) University of Dhaka Institute of Business Administration (IBA) University of Dhaka Dear Sir: Here is the report which you asked to submit for the requirement of undergraduate course- Sociology. The report topic is “Secularism and Interfaith Marriage: Interpretation of the Secularism Scale of IBA Students and its Correlation with Interfaith Marriage”. As per the requirement of the report, it is based on both primary and secondary information. The primary information was collected through survey and the main sources of secondary information are various journal articles on the topic. I would like to mention that I carried out this entire report under your supervision and that this report has not been formerly presented in IBA to the best of my knowledge. I also pledge that either today or in the future, no part of this report may be reproduced without your written permission. I sincerely hope that I was able to fulfil the course requirement successfully through the submission of this report. I have put in my best effort to contribute towards the successful completion of this report. I earnestly hope that you will accept this report and...
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...Keyword: Secularism Secularism, like most political keywords, doesn’t mean one thing. Instead we must define secularism from the historical context of its usage. In the readings “Introduction: Contemporary Secularity and Secularism” and “Rethinking Secularism” the authors do just that. What we find is that secularism is related to differentiation—keeping different aspects of social life separate and specifically differentiating between religion and the state. The forms of secularism vary depending on the religious composition of the nation. Secular is derived from the Latin word saeculum, a unit of time roughly equal to the maximum life expectancy of person (Calhoun 38). In the Middle Ages, this notion of impermanence was extended to mean ‘the world’, as opposed to the Church. ‘Secular’ priests worked out in the world at local parishes while ‘religious’ priests worked within the seclusion of a monetary (Kosmin 2). Later, during the Reformation, secularization referred to the seizure and reappropriation of Church property for non-religious use (Kosmin 2). Thus secular began to indicate a separation from the Church or the divine. However, It wasn’t until the 18th century that secularism as a core element of a nation’s political realm developed. The American and the French Revolutions produced the two main “intellectual and constitutional traditions of secularism”— a “soft secularism” and a “hard secularism” (Kosmin 2). The variations are a reflection of the symbolic and cultural...
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...Analysis of Fall-outs with Secularism INTRODUCTION Secularism is one of the most important aspects in the present Indian socio – political – economic scene. Unfortunately, Secularism in the present Indian context seems to be incomplete due to the intermingling of religion with politics and thus Secularism has been criticized by many. This project first defines the term “Secularism”, then puts light on the Secularist ideas followed by us and finally analyses the various critiques attached to it which have developed over time. What is Secularism and Why Secularism? “Secularism is the process by which sectors of society and culture are removed or separated out from religious symbols and institutions so as to constitute their own domains. The Secular state is a state that guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion, is not constitutionally connected to a particular religion, nor seeks either to promote or interfere with religion.” The Secularism in question is basically the interrelation between the state and multiple religious communities in India. In addition to this, we also need to know why Secularism was needed for India in the first place. The following arguments are the most apt arguments which show the need for a Secular state. Firstly, the Indian society at large was a mixture of numerous cultures, religions, customs and languages. Thus if the dream of a single nation was to be fulfilled...
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...SECULARISM IN INDIA : CONCEPT & PRACTICE Dr. Shriram Yerankar Associate Professor & Head, Deptt. of Political Science, Jijamata College, Buldana (M.S.) shriramyerankar@gmail.com Historical Background : The concept of secularism as we take it to mean today had originated in the 13th century Europe. But we can trace the philosophical concept of secularism in the writings of Kautilya, a thinker of ancient India, who lived in the 3rd century B.C. The history of Indian secularism the protest movements in the 5th century B.C. The three main protest movements were by the Charvaks, Buddhism and Jainism. All three of them rejected the authority of the Vedas and any importance of belief in a deity. It can thus be seen that the ancient thought had a profound impact on the development of the theory of secularism over the centuries. Writers differ about the origin of the concept of secularism as to whether it had its roots in the eastern or the western thought. D. E Smith says, “The Secular State is, in origin, a western not an Asian Conception. This is not to deny the obvious fact the certain elements of the ‘secular state – have a long tradition in Asia.’ The term “Secularism” was first used by the British writer George Holyoake in 1851. Although the term was new...
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...Running Header: Secularism vs. Religion 1 Secularism vs. Religion Patricia Nash HIS 104 World Civilizations II Instructor: Kristy Nelson May 18, 2013 Secularism vs. Religion 2 It took the courage of one man to change the way religion was looked upon along the way for others to see that there was more of a choice out there for them. Religion was and is the way one has their own beliefs, what to them is truth, to which way they should be lead in. Each religion believes in something different from another and most of them all believe in one God, only a few does not. The world had outgrown just one religion therefore, when Martin Luther and King Henry decided to separate themselves from the church many more had emerged. Secularism identifies it’s self as something called 'religion' and separate it from the domains of the state, the economy and science. Secularism is the realization that God’s will be done plus the natural evolution of universal morality. Christianity was the spiritual identity of one’s soul, beliefs, spirituality, social, and political foundation. Then those from other countries believed that Christianity provided spiritual connections, organizing principles, and inspirations for their identity. Believers were united by their faith as well as...
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...According to Langdon Gilkey, an American Protestant Ecumenical theologian, secularism is “the cultural Geitst within which all forms of thought, including the theological, must operate if they are to be relevant and creative”(64). Gilkey continues to say that secularism exists on presuppositions level and so expressed in different forms of a given culture’s life, and thereby not an easy thing to characterize briefly (Gilkey 64). This is true especially when one attempts to define the meaning of secularism in a place like India, a land of multiple cultures and religions. Secularism seems “incongruous” as Badrinath Rao, a professor in Sociology and Asian Studies, rightly asserts (47). It has multifaceted expressions and it means different things...
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...I do not expect India of my dreams to develop one religion, i.e., to be wholly Hindu or wholly Christian or wholly Mussalman, but I want it to be wholly tolerant, with its religions working side by side with one another.'' So said Mahatma Gandhi. India has been declared a secular state by its written constitution and it is every Indians duty to stand by and believe in this declaration. And yet recent political and social events have questioned this declaration. Is India a secular country only on paper or does secularism actually exist in India; or is in the form of pseudo- secularism, a term the BJP and its allies seem to repeatedly harp on. During the freedom struggle, secularism was emerging as the most dominant principle. The leaders of the Indian National Congress; Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Nehru and others were deeply committed to the ideal of secularism, though each expressed it in very different manners. Secularism became the mantra of the Indian nation, a nation exhausted by partition and sectarian riots and above all the assassination of Gandhiji, did not want any more divisive talk. The founding fathers represented the aspirations of the different sections of society and it is due to the struggles of these different people that secular principles got enshrined into the Indian constitution. Under Jawaharlal Nehru and later under his successors in the Congress Party, the concept of a secular nation-state was officially adopted as India's path to political...
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...RESPONSE OF INDIAN JUDICIARY TO THE CONCEPT OF SECULARISM The whole essence of the Indian freedom movement had been to establish a pluralistic Indian society which would with open arms accommodate and enhance India’s multi-cultural, multi linguistic and multi religious identity. Even during the period when political antagonism between the Congress and Muslim League where gaining concrete grounds and the storm clouds of partition of the Indian state were hovering heavy over the Indian motherland, what the framers of the constitution could only ensure as solace to the weeping mother of the parting sons was that the new India would essentially be a secular state but with a notion of secularism different from the western model of secularism which...
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...compassion and selflessness, altruism, and the experience of inner peace. (Spirituality, n.d.) Religion is defined as the human quest for, experience of, and response to the holy and sacred. In religion, the religious expressions are in thought – the intellectual expression, in action – the practical expression, and in fellowship – the communal expression. These are also known as the ways that universal human activity expresses itself. (What is religion?, n.d.) Secularism is a wider view to the world that assures the independence in connection with all its strengths, qualities, values and behavior towards all sects, religion and other spiritual actions. Apparently, there are 3 different historical types of secularism - secularism that is against, secularism that is compliance too, and secularism that is bias towards religion. (What is secularism, n.d.) Although spirituality and religion have their own definition, but the truth is both of them are actually closely associated with each other. However, we often heard people said that “I am not religious, but I am very spiritual” or “spirituality is an important part of my life but not religion” (Mccorry, 2010), all these have clearly shown that spirituality is slowly replacing religion in our modern society life. In fact, a report stated that 72% of people between ages of 18 to 29 consider themselves to be more spiritual than religion. (Ball, 2010) An example could...
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...Patrice Yoyo The Meaning of Life Jack H. Bayne 2-11-15 The article “Building Better Scularists”, written by David Brooks argues between the forms of secularism and religion. To begin with, David Brooks begins his article by stating how secularism shouldn’t been seen as a lack of faith, but as a positive creed (Brooks, 1). In other words, atheism doesn’t correspond with faith, instead it is viewed as a positive ideological way of life. Then, Phil Zuckerman claims that secular morality is built around individual reason, individual choice, and individual responsibility (Zuckerman, 1). In my opinion, I think that secular people don’t believe in faith nor do they have any. Therefore, how can secularism be seen as a positive creed, if in order to have creed, you must have faith. As Brooks continues his article, he also mentions the several tasks a person would have to perform to live secularism. First, he says that secular people build their own moral philosophies. I believe that if secular people build their own philosophies, then that alone gives them their meaning to life. I think that people that believe in God do find their meaning of life through God’s purpose and plan for their life. Whereas atheist search for their meaning of life by exploring different theories. This is connected to the next point that Brooks mentions in his article. He says that “secular people have to choose their own communities and come up with their own practices to make them meaningful”...
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...ularism Modern Myths, Locked Minds by T. N. Madan Introduction: Scope, methods and Concepts 1. Secularization, secularism, Christian tradition and the Enlightenment: a brief history T. N. Madan differentiates between secularism, secularization and secularity. 1) Secularization refers to socio cultural processes in which the role of the sacred is progressively limited; 2) Secularism is the ideology that argues for the historical inevitability and progressive nature of secularization everywhere and 3) Secularity is the resultant state of society. The term "secularism" was first used by the British writer Holyoake in 1851 to describe his views of promoting a social order separate from religion. The English word ‘secular’ comes from the Latin ‘saeculum’, which means ‘an age’ or ‘the spirit of an age’ and has the same meaning as the Greek ‘aeon’. In general terms, secularism means “belonging to this age, or worldly” along with a denial of other worldly realities (i.e. religious). The Bible introduces the idea of divine creation in the book of Genesis. God speaks directly to Man in Genesis: “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it”. As Peter Berger, a social theorist notes that in this the idea of a secular world is sown as a God who stands outside of the Cosmos which is his creation. This opens the way for self making activity which Berger calls ‘historization’. Caesar was the emperor of Rome. In a famous passage Jesus said, "Render to Caesar the things...
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...Perhaps, some might bemoan the advent of a secular Ireland. Evaluate this statement. The process of ‘secularization’ can be described as the process of organizing society around non-religious values or principles. In otherwards, the state would no longer offer preferential treatment to religion from the equal rule of law. This would rather give the space for individuals of all creeds to grow their beliefs based on their own values and not the values imposed on them by the state. Secularization aims to allow each indivudal to pursue their own beliefs on religion. The value of secularism is best described by Mahatma Gandhi, who said: “If I were a dictator, religion and state would be separate. I swear by my religion. I will die for it. But it is my personal affair. The state has nothing to do with it. The state would look after your secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, currency and so on, but not your or my religion. That is everybody’s personal concern!” In recent years, many have questioned whether Ireland has become a secularised society. The findings of recent surveys suggest that the Irish continue to be religious but that they lack confidence in church leadership. Indeed, “Russians have more confidence in their religious leaders than the Irish”. This is said to be mainly due to the “well publicised cases of sexual and physical abuse by clergy and religious”. The lack of confidence in Churhces and religious organisations can be seen in Figure 6 in which...
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...Contemporary Issues in Western Religions Contemporary: Current, modern, popular, progressive, present-day, fashionable, and up-to-date. Can this definition apply to a religion that is more than 2000 years old? Christianity struggles within its own religious borders to be contemporary and remain relevant in today’s ever changing landscape of religions and beliefs. The question must be asked regarding when is too much. How far can the Christian faith push its borders without losing its core and traditional meanings and foundations? The appeal of the Christian religion has to compete with the social world in which it exists. The traditional Christian is viewed by many as stagnant, stiff, and out-dated. The youth today need to be challenged mentally and spiritually to stimulate their interest in a religion that can be interpreted as boring and seen as a relic of their parents and grandparents. To explore how Christianity as a religion can grow, one must first explore its past and past struggles to include those with Judaism and Islam. According to a book entitled the first Christians, attention is drawn to archaeological discoveries and modern social science scholars that have sharpened their focus on that first generation of Christians. It has shown early Christians saw themselves not as founders of a new religion but as reformers of Judaism. They did not want to abandon Judaism, but to rejuvenate it. The early Christian message was not a uniform creed; it changed in important...
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...Kadir Has University History of Turkish Republic 4/9/2015 Shah Basit Hussain Qureshi 1- In your view, what were the reasons for the Ottoman Empire’s demise? How did competing internal and external factors play into the weakening of the empire? There were few vital reasons for the downfall of Ottoman Empire’s, linked with some of internal and external factors which played a important role to weaken the Ottoman’s empire. I will take this opportunity to write on this significant historical downfall factors of Ottomans Empire and I will write try to accomplish those major points from which this downfall led to Ottoman Empire. It was the second Egyptian crisis which manifested tensions in the Middle East. The elementary problems of the empire, caused by rising pressure between the different nationalities and communities, which the central government was not capable to get to the bottom of or control. Nevertheless for about 15 years they did not express to large-scale interference on the part of the enormous powers of Europe. The most aggressive internal conflict of these years was fought in the Lebanon. The tough man of the region was the Emir Bashir II, who belonged to the miniature religious group of the people of Druzes 3, but he was converted to Christianity and he ruled the Lebanon from his stronghold in the Shuf Mountains for almost 50 years. He had associated his providence strongly to the Egyptian professional forces, and when the concluding...
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...God, but before you can deny something, you must first affirm its existence, as a rule... in saying there is NO God, you actually affirm there is one. Hence I must conclude that the answer to our openeng question is a simple and flat no. No, it is not necessary for a truly contemporary person to be an atheist or to disbelieve in the existence of God. And I find no arguments, no reasons, no evidence or facts, not in Bishop Robinson's writings, nor in Bishop Pike's, nor in the writings of Tillich, Bultmann, and Bonhoeffer, or in the lesser breed of new theologians, which support the opposite answer. The new theologians are impressed by the secularism of our society, by the spread of irreligion and of atheism or disbelief in God. It is this which leads them to propose a religionless Christianity, or an atheistic Christianity, a secularized religion to meet the needs or fit the condition of present life. All this is...
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