The Evidence For The Secularisation Of Western Europe

The Reformation affected the European civilization in many ways. Protestant and Catholic had a huge impact on the European civilization. The Reformation happened in the year 16c . Some causes of the Reformation was church corruption, Avignon Papacy, Conciliarism, Marsilius of Padua, Development of personal devotions, Papal need for money, and greed of secular leaders land. There was also few characteristics described in this civilization. The law in order was one of them. Kings were the highest leaders over everybody. People believed they were put in position by god and that it was god's will over their people. They had created the laws. Other characteristics were heredity, slide support from the middle class (towns), and organize their finances into reliable order. Rulers would want family members to continue the bloodline of a ruling of their people. Some families even fought because they wanted to be rulers. People separated by their class because they had a social class system. People at a high class relied on lower class people for support.

The above statement can perhaps best sum up the relationship between Christianity and Europe throughout the ages. Christianity has been the strongest single influence in the history of Europe. Regardless of the century, no discussion would be complete without reference being made, at least in small part, to the Church. It is true that in recent centuries this influence has declined significantly, but nevertheless one could argue that it still plays an important part in the lives of many people. Throughout history Christianity has been both a unifying force and also a force for disunity.

INTRODUCTION The Reformation is a significant development within a religious tradition. During the 16th century, many changes occurred in European society as well as the Church. These were mainly due to the Protestant Reformation, English Reformation and Catholic Reformation. The Protestant Reformation was initiated by Martin Luther around 1517, in Germany.

Sociologists argue that in Britain, there has been an overall steady decline in the importance of religion since the 19th century, which has led some sociologists to suggest there was a ‘golden age’ of religiosity. Many sociologists have proposed explanations for the secularisation thesis, for example Weber, Berger and Bruce. However Postmodernists criticise the secularisation theory as they believe that religion hasn’t declined it has just become modernised. Other theories, such as religious market theory and existential security theory, also go against the view that Britain is becoming a secular society as they believe religion takes form in

To some extent it could be argued that the U.S is a less secularized country than Australia. However, with research as evidence it can be argued that the U.S is to the same extent as secularized as Australia. Both countries prohibit the religions from having any influence on the state by having a true separation. With the number of people believing in a religion constantly changing, it is evident that it has become stronger in the public sphere and that there is a strong connection between education and welfare levels of a country and it’s religious outlook.

Despite these various changes, Europe still remained loyal to Christianity and the Catholic Church along with the obligations they had to the Church. Europe had stable leadership which led to Europe revolving around their religion and the knowledge they already had of it. The discovery of the printing press allowed Europe to document texts written in the Bible. Being able to document the texts, allowed Europeans to distribute Christianity much easier. Religion unified all the Europeans. People such as the Priests and Popes were very influential politically because they were a high social class that made some of the decisions with the kings.

The majority of today's society, will accept that we live in a extremely secular society and as a result there is growing doubt in about both what religion constitutes and why it is a compulsory subject within the school curriculum. Callum Brown (2001) argues that secularisation in Britain has not been a gradual process since the enlightenment, but has been massive since the 1960s. He states that post 1960 secularisation has sent “organised Christianity on a downward spiral to the margins of social significance” (Callum Brown, 2001, p.1). He continued to claim that “churches will continue to exist in some skeletal form with increasing commitment from a decreasing number of supporters” (Callum Brown, 200, p.198). In Northern Ireland church

The book describes “Secularism” as a general movement away from religiosity, and a general movement to free thinking and rational, scientific orientation. The Sect-Church Cycle is one that can be used to describe why there are so many Christian churches in the world. The cycle starts off with sects, people who distance themselves from their church, separating from their church. If there are enough sects, they may start their own Christian church, one that they agree with more. If that new church gets big, there may be sects in that group that go off on their own. That is why it is considered a cycle, because no matter what, you will have disagreement and it will, possibly, lead to a new church forming. It will just keep going

Scholars today look back and describe the 1960s and onward as the “dying history of Christianity”. To understand the decline in Christianity the authors examined the concept of religious regimes in the Netherlands. A case study in the Netherlands perfectly echos what was occurring in western Europe. Religious regimes are institutionalised arrangement that regulates the social position of religion in a society during a certain period. Using religious regimes as a method is beneficial because it is dynamic, allowing for “social and spatial contextualisation” (24).

Origin of Lent relates to the old testament's Passover. However, nowadays, since we forget the importance of concept in Christianity, we do not teach our children about it. So it become meaningless and senseless in our lives. One Biblical scholar says, the two reasons of Europe's collapse of Christianity are: first, a result of lack of understanding of grace from freedom, which gives a power in God's words to defeat the world. Second, a result of not spreading the right words of truth to children.

The reformation was a key factor in the transition of medical to modern Europe. During the end of the Middle Ages, the Church became corrupt and started focusing on money instead of power. Therefore, many reformers emerged onto the scene to help stop these corrupt methods. Martin Luther was the first to go against the church, and he was followed by many other reformers soon after. Luther, along with other reformers, marked a change in the way religion was in Europe. They formed their own ways of religion against the church, and formed a modern way of religion in Europe. Before, there was one main religion, and if you were not Catholic you were not accepted. Yet after the Reformation, more religions emerged in Europe. Although they were not all accepted everywhere, the people were able to practice their religion without being persecuted. Through the Reformation and the acceptance of other religions, Europe shifted from medieval to modern.

Kaplan’s book is loosely chronological with a few deviations throughout the book. The structure of Kaplan’s book is thematic, and his arguments progress in a logical order. The organization of Divided by Faith is structured; however, the firm structure of the book becomes repetitious. His writing style is easy to read and the subheadings within the chapters improve the flow of Kaplan’s argument. His coverage of toleration in early modern Europe is comprehensive and expresses how religious toleration took many forms in early modern Europe as well as illustrating how the Enlightenment did not produce increased religious toleration. The concepts of Divided by Faith demonstrate the obstacles towards religious toleration, the practice of religious toleration in early modern Europe, the interactions between faiths and the changing notions towards the rise of toleration. Kaplan fails to account for how the Christian toleration of Jews in early modern Europe was facilitated by the Jews being previously subdued. Divided by Faith highlights a reinterpretation of the practice of religious toleration in early modern Europe and it is significant to European history as it encourages its readers to have a different outlook on how one can practice religious

We need to pay close attention to the effects of secularism: confining the role of religion to the private domain of the individual and creating a dichotomy between "religious" and "worldly," between "private" and "public." It denies religion and its mediating institutions any public function and influence in shaping matters of public policy.

Berger defines secularization as the process by which sectors of society and culture are removed from the domination of religious institutions and symbols. Removal of religion from social structures refers to the separation of the church from the state, and the emancipation of education from religious authority. Removal from the cultural sector refers to the separation of religion from art, philosophy and literature, and the rise of science. (107)He states that the process has a subjective manifestation as well, the secularization of individuals consciousness.(108) This construction of the secularization process presents a linear, reductive process where the world departs from “nomos” into “anomy”. Nomos is defined as the laws and customs which enable a sense of connection and meaning, a world where religion and everyday life exists together as part of the cosmos. Anomy is described as a sense of separation from the world, the absence of nomos characterized by chaos. (slides). Secularization is bought about by the shrinkage in the

Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional