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Introduction

John Kekes

in The Human Condition

The aim of the book is to present and defend a secular view of the human condition. This view is pluralist, not absolutist; rationalist, not relativist; fallibilist, not skeptical or dogmatic; ... More

The aim of the book is to present and defend a secular view of the human condition. This view is pluralist, not absolutist; rationalist, not relativist; fallibilist, not skeptical or dogmatic; realist, not optimist or pessimist; particular and concrete, not general and abstract. Its perspective is humanistic, neither religiously, nor scientifically oriented.Less

Theology's Role in Public Bioethics

Lisa Sowle Cahill

David E. Guinn (ed.)

in Handbook of Bioethics and Religion

For at least two decades, the role of theology in public matters has been governed by what might be termed a “liberal consensus”. This consensus, shared by policymakers, theologians, philosophers, ... More

For at least two decades, the role of theology in public matters has been governed by what might be termed a “liberal consensus”. This consensus, shared by policymakers, theologians, philosophers, and the public, has two parts. First, that law and public policy need to be considered in terms of individual liberties and rights. Second, that the only appropriate “public” language in which to justify, qualify, and reconcile liberties and rights should be neutral, secular, and rational. The thesis of this chapter is that such a framing of the issues is outmoded. To begin with, the “secular” sphere is not neutral, since all participants inevitably come from communities which have identity. Therefore, it is appropriate to use religious narratives and language, or those of any moral tradition (which includes liberalism), as long as they are not propounded dogmatically or in a way that undermines democratic process and participatory politics.Less

 Postscript on Civility and Barbarity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Timothy Fitzgerald

in Discourse on Civility and Barbarity

Ambiguities in North American debates were the result of an unresolved conflict between two logically and theologically contradictory discourses, both claiming to be about “religion.” One is of a ... More

Ambiguities in North American debates were the result of an unresolved conflict between two logically and theologically contradictory discourses, both claiming to be about “religion.” One is of a profane, fallen world of native “Indian” paganism judged against the canons of Christian Truth; and the other the Enlightenment discourse on a Constitutionally defined secular state which is neutral to “religions” but which guarantees freedom of worship as a private right. This same ambiguity can also be found in the preaching of European and American missionaries who oscillate between a vision of the non‐European world as profane in the sense of being Fallen, and a vision of the non‐European world as lacking scientific secular rationality. Underlying this ambiguity lies a more consistent discursive substratum of rhetoric on civility and barbarity. Modern Euro‐American discourses wobble between these two different paradigms, at one moment representing the civility of encompassing Christian Truth which offers salvation from the profanities of pagan darkness, but at another moment offering scientific rationality and liberal capitalism as secular economic salvation from evolutionary backwardness.Less

John Henry Gordon

Timothy Larsen

in Crisis of Doubt: Honest Faith in Nineteenth-Century England

John Henry Gordon wrote for G. J. Holyoake’s Reasoner. Gordon became the first full-time Secularist lecturer in Britain when he was appointed by the Leeds Secular Society. After a dramatic ... More

John Henry Gordon wrote for G. J. Holyoake’s Reasoner. Gordon became the first full-time Secularist lecturer in Britain when he was appointed by the Leeds Secular Society. After a dramatic reconversion, he eventually became a Baptist minister and a lecturer in favour of disestablishment for the Liberation Society.Less

John Bagnall Bebbington

Timothy Larsen

in Crisis of Doubt: Honest Faith in Nineteenth-Century England

John Bagnall Bebbington, in addition to writing and lecturing in favour of Secularism, was also a patron of freethinking endeavours. He was the chairman of the Temple Secular Society and the editor ... More

John Bagnall Bebbington, in addition to writing and lecturing in favour of Secularism, was also a patron of freethinking endeavours. He was the chairman of the Temple Secular Society and the editor of the Propagandist. He was particularly influenced by the thought of David Hume. He gave the reasons for his reconversion in Why I Was An Atheist and Why I Am Now A Christian.Less

Charles Wesley—His Final Years and Legacy

Gareth Lloyd

in Charles Wesley and the Struggle for Methodist Identity

By the time of Charles Wesley's death in 1788 his public and Methodist profile outside London and Bristol was greatly diminished. His relationship with his brother had been strained since the ... More

By the time of Charles Wesley's death in 1788 his public and Methodist profile outside London and Bristol was greatly diminished. His relationship with his brother had been strained since the beginning of the 1750s, while some important preachers expressed little sadness at his death. Charles Wesley's Church‐Methodist viewpoint did not, however, die with him; many lay people and some preachers retained a dual loyalty to both Methodism and the Church of England and carried on the struggle into the 1790s and after. The legacy of Church Methodism was an inclusive 19th century Wesleyan denomination whose members were at liberty also to regard themselves as Anglicans if they wished. Also, as late as the 1880s, important features of Wesleyan Methodist polity and worship referred back to the movement's origins within the Church of England.Less

Changes in Religion and Politics

Antony Black

in The West and Islam: Religion and Political Thought in World History

The papalist revolution of the 11th century led to greater divergence between the political thought of the West and of Islam and Byzantium. Pope Gregory VII's views on papal sovereignty provided a ... More

The papalist revolution of the 11th century led to greater divergence between the political thought of the West and of Islam and Byzantium. Pope Gregory VII's views on papal sovereignty provided a prototype for the modern Western state. He and his supporters desacralized kingship. Their attempt to subordinate the state to the church provoked a reaction which led to secular theories of the state. This ‘first European revolution’ coincided with the rise of city republics and economic development. Sunni Islam was consolidated through a firmer alliance between the sultans and the 'ulama. But the Mongol invasions hastened economic and cultural decline. The Shi'ite revolution in 16th-century Iran resulted in social dominance for the Shi'ite 'ulama. This laid a basis for their rise to political power in the 20th century. These changes in the relationship between religion and politics had the opposite results in the West and in Islam.Less

The Epworth Experience

Gareth Lloyd

in Charles Wesley and the Struggle for Methodist Identity

Charles Wesley was a complex man in terms of his denominational identity and this ambiguity is reflected in the Methodist movement that he helped to found. Some of the keys to understanding Charles ... More

Charles Wesley was a complex man in terms of his denominational identity and this ambiguity is reflected in the Methodist movement that he helped to found. Some of the keys to understanding Charles Wesley and his relationship with Methodism, the wider Evangelical Revival, and the Church of England can be found in a childhood shaped by a difficult environment and parents whose own denominational identities were a rich mix of Puritan and High Church Anglican tempered by influences from other Christian traditions. These same ingredients proved to be of fundamental importance in the making of Methodism.Less

A Vision of the Future

C. John Sommerville

in The Decline of the Secular University

Universities that are incidentally secular in the sense that religion doesn't rule, but not officially secularist in the sense that religion is ruled out, would be the ideal. This would require a ... More

Universities that are incidentally secular in the sense that religion doesn't rule, but not officially secularist in the sense that religion is ruled out, would be the ideal. This would require a different academic culture than that of the universities of the present. This would involve a desire to listen more than a compulsion toward single vision. If universities now occupy the place of an established church in America, they will occasionally betray their disdain for public standards of thought. Generally, one should imagine inviting silenced voices back into the discussion to reverse the kinds of social and intellectual decline that has been happening.Less

Conclusion: where the heart pontificates

David Fergusson

in Faith and Its Critics: A Conversation

The discussion in the previous chapters has sought to offer a response to recent secular criticism of religion but not in an attempt to win all the spoils. A constructive response to criticism can ... More

The discussion in the previous chapters has sought to offer a response to recent secular criticism of religion but not in an attempt to win all the spoils. A constructive response to criticism can yield fresh insight and new ways of approaching one's subject To this extent, faith is an evolving phenomenon albeit one that is shaped by convictions about the significance of past episodes of history. This shows why no one single consideration or argument or insight can settle the issues or defeat one's opponents. Despite centuries of scepticism and critical attack, the curious persistence of faith even amongst philosophers, scientist, and artists, suggests its capacity to order life by a standard and to impart wisdom from earlier ages that can still be achieved today.Less

The Islamist Challenge in Malaysia and Pakistan

Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr

in The Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the making of State Power.

The 1970s was a period of Islamic resurgence in Malaysia and Pakistan. In Malaysia, ABIM and dakwah movements, and in Pakistan, the Jama`at‐i Islami spearheaded Islamist challenge to the secular ... More

The 1970s was a period of Islamic resurgence in Malaysia and Pakistan. In Malaysia, ABIM and dakwah movements, and in Pakistan, the Jama`at‐i Islami spearheaded Islamist challenge to the secular state. These movements grew in popularity, and became the voice of the disgruntled political elements. They also floated new and powerful political concepts and ideas that quickly gained in popularity and framed public debates and influenced political culture.Less