The Clash of Secular Thought and Religion

Secular humanist believe the starting point of life is nothing breathtaking. The Human life is a result of a great many years of advancement that can be explained through the theory of evolution. There is no god who made life, and that religion is nothing more than the fears of mankind. Secular humanist utilize science, intelligence, and individual feelings as the answer for life’s most troublesome questions.

More than three quarters of the world are following a religion, we as human beings use religions as a way of answering the unexplainable questions in life like what happens after we die. What’s similar between these religions even though they’re so spread out? Some believe in gods, some believe in giving up your worldly desires, and some provide a social hierarchy to live your life on.

Through the Investiture Conflict in 1076, it can be seen that the Church had wanted to dominate the secular authority. The Investiture Conflict had marked a change in the relationship between the Church and secular authority in which the Church wanted to establish its right to rule over the secular rulers. The disputes between the Church and secular authority were a continuation of an ongoing tension over who had ultimate authority to rule over Christendom and within kingdoms. These disputes also dealt with the rights and privileges the Church had acquired within kingdoms especially the elevation of the clergy above the laity by putting the clergy above the law with separate church courts. By the mid-eleventh century, it can be seen that the Church had gained strength to challenge the secular ruler for authority in their own kingdoms and establishing special rights and privileges for its clergy. These special rights and privileges had put clergy members on top of the rest of the population. The two most important disputes between the Church and secular authority over these issues were between King Henry II of England (1154 – 1189) and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170, and that between King Philip IV of France (1285 – 1314) and Pope Boniface VIII (1294 – 1303). Both Henry II and Philip IV wanted to be able to better control crime in their kingdoms due to the separate church courts for clergy that led to issues of criminous clerks. While Becket and

In the past, many great civilizations were heavily influenced by religion. Their religious beliefs inspired and shaped their art, culture, architecture, and technology, and helped drive their progress forward.

Through history, religion has shaped civilizations in several aspects. In ancient Indian and Egyptian civilizations it was very strong shaping force in political structures, but both the religious beliefs and the resulting political system were different, just like pharaohs were different from rajas.

The religions captivated in their empire/dynasty greatly influenced them and where they lived. The Han Dynasty believed in letting nature take its natural course and flowing whichever people believed they wanted it to. Although the Han Dynasty most people believed in Daoism; a philosophical and religious tradition in ancient times under the influence of ideas credited to a man named Laozi. In Imperial Rome they offered any religion that fit your culture as long as it didn’t interfere with loyalty to the state of Rome. Around 313 CE they made Christianity its official religion. Even though they had different religion basis they were both so similar. Both of their religions helped develop cultural differences due to their free time which led to the success of farming and great

There were many new forms of governance that had emerged in the post-classical age, which included the formation of new empires that were centered around the major religions of the time. Religion affected the standards of the central government and also served as a combining force among the people. Such as with the Muslims in the Muslim world they were unified under the caliph, and Christianity in the Byzantine Empire, and also Buddhism in China.

Greece and Persia’s religion is one factor that makes both of these empires so diverse from each other. During the Achaemenid Period, the main religion of Persia at the time was Zoroastrianism, which the Iranian prophet and reformer Zoroaster founded in the 6th century B.C.E. At the time the royal family brought in Zoroastrianism to Persia, and since the royal family believed in it, most of the people of the Persian Empire choose to believe in it too. Greece on the other hand, did not have a religion until 146 B.C.E when Christianity entered the empire. Before Christianity had entered Greece, they believed in their mythological stories. Each myth or story had a lesson to be learned by the reader.

From the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations to the Muslim world, antiquity has always been filled with religions of all sorts. These religions helped guide how ancient peoples lived life and came about doing even the most common tasks that people like us do today. Religion impacted the civilizations of the ancient world by greatly influencing how peoples of ancient civilizations acted, how they thought about the world around them, how civilizations were organized and maintained, and how they interacted with civilizations of another religion.

The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.

The impact of expansion on the core Persian Empire was generally looked at and received in a positive manner. Increasing populations created more cities and more job opportunities allowed many Persians the luxury of making more money as the empire grew. The bulk of the empire was still mostly farmers, however. One of the largest influences on the core empire was Zoroastrianism. This was advocated by both Cyrus and Darius, Darius used it in order to claim divine right to kingship. This new religion spread very quickly through high-ranking Persians (Bentley and Ziegler, 174). Zoroastrianism preached for people to enjoy this life but to live well for the afterlife (Stearns, Zoroastrianism: The Major Persian Religion, 43-45). This allowed people to have fun in this life and still be able to have eternal bliss; when people are having fun and happy they are less likely to challenge their rulers.

Politics and religion in the world of today aren’t subjects that generally go hand in hand in our own society. This was not always the case however; in Europe the two were synonymous up until relatively recently, (recently meant in the loosest sense of the word,) and are still closely tied in foreign parts of the world, the most obvious example being the Middle East. The duos intimate relationship was exemplified during the late sixteenth century, extending into the seventeenth century, during a series of wars which would later on come to be called “the wars of religion.” But is this title completely appropriate? For wars claiming to be centered on religion, they seem to carry an awfully heavy load of political baggage. In fact, one

During the era prior to Zoroastrianism, the Persian (known as Iranian today) were believes in polytheistic religion. It is believed that in this era many social problems had occurred due to these beliefs and practices. At the same time, Zoroaster born into a family with a father named Pourushaspa and mother named Dughdova. At the age of twenty he left home, and after many years of wondering in search for the right religion, he finally found a purification festival. Zoroaster went

All systems of thought and each worldview have a notion of God. Secular humanism is defined as a belief system where humanity is the sovereign of all beings, and where reality and information rests in science and reason. The secular humanistic worldview started as a substitute among religions. Humanism is not a religious belief system in itself, while secular means “not religious.” A religion is any system of belief that informs an individual’s worldview. The secular humanistic worldview has a distinctive belief on many disciplines such as theology, ethics, and evolution among others. Thus, the thesis of this paper is; the secular humanism worldview is religious, as secular humanists uphold beliefs and values that hold them with dedication. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss whether the secular humanistic worldview is indeed religious and how it has influenced the American Culture. Secular humanism is nontheistic and religious because it directs itself towards beliefs and practices that are in active opposition to customary theism. According to the Humanistic Manifestos I and II, secular humanism is a religious and philosophical moral point of view (House 381).

Both Buddhism, Taoism, and Hinduism in religious context compare through origin, philosophy, and their social structures including their outlook on women. These three religious show south east Asian roots, cultural beliefs, and social conflicts and solutions.