Secularism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the separation of religious thought from public institutions and maintaining that religion and institutions should be separate entities. The term, which has its roots in the ideas of Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Thomas Paine, and James Madison, argues that social institutions like education, politics, and overall governance should remain uninfluenced by religion.
Key Takeaways
- Secularism is a philosophical stance that stresses the separation of religious thought from public institutions.
- Secularization is the process through which a society with religious values embedded in its social institutions moves towards a non-religious institutional framework.
- While secularism is more of a philosophical stance, secularization is the actual process highlighting the transformation taking place in society.
Secularization, on the other hand, is the process through which a society that had religious values embedded in its social institutions moves away towards a non-religious institutional framework. In developmental theories like modernization theory, secularization is viewed as a step towards modernity, with the role and authority of religion diminishing as modernization and rationalization progress. Some experts consider secularization as a historical process in which the control that religion had over various social institutions and the culture of society changes, transforming religion into an institution with little power to influence other social institutions.
