Secular Society Research Articles

Post‐Christendom Ignorance in Secular Society

ABSTRACTIn banning religious symbols for civil servants in a position of authority, Québec's laicity law disproportionately burdens religious minorities. Nevertheless, politicians seem to somehow avoid this problem, and the law is largely supported by the population. This insensibility to religious discrimination calls for an explanation. I argue that part of the explanation for this unequal treatment of religion in secular society lies in active religious ignorance. Drawing a parallel from how white ignorance functions to protect racial inequalities, I argue that a kind of active ignorance in the religious domain – that I name post‐Christendom ignorance – makes it difficult to comprehend alternative understandings of religious experience and allows the majority to deny its religious positionality. Applying this framework, I criticize Québec's laicity law for wrongfully relying on inadequate hermeneutical resources about religion. Further, the failure to see that targeting only religious symbols worn by individuals is discriminatory is the result of the epistemic vice of closed‐mindedness. This article aims to show how religious persons in secular society can suffer hermeneutical wrongs because of their religious identity, and it aims to show that this injustice in the epistemic domain can help explain the unequal treatment of religious minorities while providing grounds for criticism.

Engaging with Social Media to Spread the Gospel in Pandemic Times

Abstract This article engages with sociological and anthropological conversations about the digital experiences of cultural and religious minorities during the COVID-19 pandemic by investigating how some Pentecostal Gitanos seized the online world to spread the Gospel in Spain. The article features two ethnographic studies of my Pentecostal Gitano interlocutors. Modalities of digital religious engagement analyzed include testimonies, WhatsApp broadcast lists, praise songs, and praying. The article’s main argument is that the pandemic created a social media-enabled window of opportunity for some Gitano believers to reach out to new potential converts and claim online spaces for God. Extensive involvement in social media activities by Pentecostal Gitanos may also be understood as a tool to challenge and question an increasingly secular Spanish society that, during the pandemic, was perceived as dismissive of the spiritual aspects shaping the development of the global health crisis.

Precarious joy: Meena Alexander, postsecularism, and bhakti poetry

ABSTRACT This article compares the poetry of Meena Alexander with India’s traditions of bhakti poetry and reads it through a critical lens of postcolonial postsecularism. The devotional and egalitarian strands of bhakti poetry inform Alexander’s questioning of the hierarchies and taxonomies of gender, race, and religion. In turn, bhakti brought Alexander faith and helped her understand her life’s precarities, ones grounded in both worldly and spiritual struggle. A framework of postcolonial postsecularism addresses the aspects of religion and secularism that appealed to Alexander. These aspects include political secularism’s commitment to inclusiveness, minority rights, and democracy. They also include the need for faith, values, and ethics that religion seeks to fulfill.

Bonding Queer Icon. A Multimodal Analysis of the NYC DragCon 2019

Abstract The word ‘icon’ usually refers to a symbol, a famous person admired by all, or a religious image used for worship. Twentieth and twenty-first century icons are also sacred images of secular societies that help construct collective identities and delineate the zeitgeist. Places can also be considered icons if looked through social semiotic lenses. Through Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) and O’Toole’s (1990; 1994; 2004) re-conceptualisations of Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (1994) and the concept of Bonding Icons (Stenglin 2008a; 2008b; 2012), this paper investigates the ways in which the New York City DragCon 2019 became a rallying and bonding place that both abstractly, through its website, and concretely, through the actual event, gave people a sense of belonging. The main goal of the study is to underline the extent to which the rallying and bonding is money-driven and to highlight the ties between consumerism and the concept of ‘icons selling icons’.

Leila Aboulela, Islam, and the trajectory of the African novel

ABSTRACT This article focuses upon Leila Aboulela’s Minaret, arguing that – in the context of the ambivalent relations between Islam and the west – it challenges stereotypes about Muslim African women, excavating Sufi traditions to challenge monolithic western understandings of Islam and Muslim women. The article’s intent is to develop the narrative about the African novel by bringing Aboulela into the debate because she offers an alternative narrative, one which refuses to fetishize difference, instead embracing cultural diversity and normative pluralism. The protagonist is a Sudanese Muslim woman who draws inspiration from indigenous cultures; she positions herself within the Sufi tradition, which challenges both patriarchal and imperialist understandings of Islam, thus finding her place in a secular society that views both Islam and Muslim women as aberrant. Acutely aware of the complexities of colonialism and religion, Aboulela shifts the African novel towards a subtle engagement with urgent questions around gender and Islam.

The Influence of “Using the Temple Property for Schools” Movement on the Organization of Han Buddhist Monastic Education in Modern China

Under the influence of “Using the Temple Property for Schools”(UTPSs) movement, the monastic education of Han Buddhism 漢傳佛教僧教育 in modern China, as a whole, has gradually moved towards the mode of Buddhist colleges, through the establishment of the Buddhist Educational Affairs Public Office (BEAPO) 佛教學務公所, the Institution of Monastic Education (IME) 僧教育會, and the institution of Buddhist education 佛教教育機構 with international outlook and has become the prototype of the educational institution of Han Buddhism in contemporary China. The attempts to run schools during the period of the BEAPO at the late Qing Dynasty objectively stimulated the awakening of the consciousness of the Buddhist community to establish schools and to promote education 辦學興教 and became the precursor of the rise of the wave of monastic education after the Xinhai Revolution, especially since the 1920s. The goal of “uniting the national Buddhism” proposed by the BEAPO became the direction for the development of subsequent Buddhist organizations. The BEAPO also accumulated experiences for the construction of later Buddhist organizations and stimulated the awakening of the monks’ sense of subjectivity. The organizational structure and many ideas of the BEAPO were later inherited by the IME; most of the contents of the constitution of it were also inherited and improved by the IME. As a Buddhist organization, the BEAPO made positive efforts to reconcile the tensions between monks and laypeople under the context of UTPS at that time. After the Xinhai Revolution, the Han Buddhist community focused on interacting with secular society, and the practice of Buddhist education reflected the awakening of self-consciousness to “establish schools to promote education”. In terms of the school operation mode, the diversified curriculum and modernized academic system reflect the characteristic of a balance between internal and external studies. During this period, the establishment of Buddhist educational institutions with an international outlook provided a guarantee of talent for the path of the “universalization” of Han Buddhism, as well as provided continuity for the sustainable development of it. Under the influence of the two UTPS movements, the tortuous development of Han Buddhist monastic education in modern China is, in fact, the epitome of the situation of the whole Chinese Buddhism in modern society. At the same time, it also reflects the proactive adaptation of Chinese Buddhism, in modern times, to external pressures and its self-remodeling in the struggle for survival space.

New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism: Institution, Gender, and Secular Society ed. by Hwansoo Ilmee Kim and Jin Y. Park (review)

New Perspectives in Modern Korean Buddhism: Institution, Gender, and Secular Society ed. by Hwansoo Ilmee Kim and Jin Y. Park (review)

Korean Buddhism in the Era of ‘Spiritual, but Not Religious’: Adapting to Contemporary Society

The shift toward modernity has come with many changes that affect religion. This article investigates some of those changes with the aim of showing how Korean Buddhism is adjusting to contemporary spirituality. The article begins with a consideration of the term ‘spiritual, but not religious’ (SBNR), a relatively new designation that indicates the shift a growing number of people are taking away from organized religious institutes towards beliefs and practices that they find more relevant and meaningful. To better understand SBNRs, the research of Mercadante is emphasized. The second half of this article aims to consider Korean Buddhism in the context of modern spirituality. Using Mercadante’s framework, which distinguishes between five types of SBNRs (dissenters, causals, explorers, seekers, and immigrants), an inquiry is carried out into each of these categories to show some of the ways in which Korean Buddhism is engaging with the spiritual and emotional concerns of modern, secular society. Thus, this work aims to show the direction Korean Buddhism is headed in and how it is relevant to modern, spiritual inclinations.

How to Bridge Cognitive and Cultural Models of Religious Evolution

The scientific study of religion has roots in at least two traditions: a cognitive tradition which typically uses experimental studies to examine the proximal psychological processes underlying religious belief and ritual, and an anthropological tradition which uses historical and ethnographic data to examine how religious systems culturally evolve in social groups. In Religion Evolving, Purzycki and Sosis bridge both traditions and encourage a more integrated evolutionary science of religion. In this essay, I present three suggestions for how to make this science as ambitious and collaborative as possible. These suggestions are: (1) to move beyond straw man debates that pit byproduct models against functional models of religious evolution and acknowledge that these models are compatible from a dual inheritance perspective, (2) to evaluate functionalist claims with caution, recognizing how and when religion is adaptive vs. maladaptive for secular society, and (3) to avoid reductive definitions of religion and embrace religious pluralism. With these lessons in mind, we can usher in a bolder evolutionary science of religion that draws from both cognitive and cultural traditions.

Un enseignement biblique avec les arts plastiques en milieu catholique

This research in practical theology examines the impact of biblical teaching offered since 1998 to youth aged 5 to 14 using artwork to create a personal Bible. Volunteers initiated this activity in a Catholic church in Quebec City in response to the deconfessionalization of schools, hoping to offer a biblical culture to young people. The research method includes a detailed description of this “religious practice” with data collection, a critical correlation with the Bible and Church Tradition, and a reinvestment of the practice. During the period 2005-2022, the practice called “Bible illustrée” (Illustrated Bible) reached 144 youth, mostly from Quebec but also from African and Latin American immigrant communities. In 2022, 26 people completed a questionnaire on their motivation to participate, artistic creativity, and contemporary Christian witness. A critical correlation showed that Illustrated Bible is an activity that allows participants to reflect on relationships with others, God and existence, a reflection often taboo in a secular society. The all-volunteer support has contributed to the sustainability of a joyful, reflective, and creative community. The concept of Illustrated Bible could be integrated into other places (parishes, camps, etc.) and would benefit from a future guidebook for its dissemination.

Social Problems of Islam in Modern Indonesia in Muslim Academic Periodicals

The purpose of the article is to analyse the modern Muslim intellectual tradition in Indonesia in the context of analysing the social problems of Islam. The novelty of the study lies in a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the main trends and directions in the development of Muslim social thought in modern Indonesia. Methodologically, the article is based on the principles proposed in intellectual and social history, which allows us to perceive Muslim intellectuals involved in the study of the social problems of the Ummah as an imagined community, and their ideas as invented traditions. The article analyses 1) the theoretical and methodological foundations of modern Indonesian sociology of Islam, 2) national specifics and regional features of the development of Islam in Indonesia in modern Muslim thought, 3) the problems of transformation and contradictions of the radicalization of Islam through the prism of understanding and interpreting this dimension of the modern social history of Islam. It is assumed that Muslim intellectuals make a significant contribution to the consolidation of modern identity by analysing both the social characteristics and characteristics of the Ummah, as well as the threats faced by the Indonesian model of Islam in a secular society in the context of the actualization of the ideas of radical Islam. The author's main conclusions include several points: 1) professional Muslim intellectuals make a major contribution to the development of modern Muslim sociology, 2) specialised journals published by Islamic universities play a leading role in the production and relaying of social knowledge based on Islam, 3) modern Muslim intellectual tradition is the subject to fragmentation, but, in general, the scientific tradition of the Ummah actualizes moderate trends in Islamic Sociology, based on the principles of interdisciplinarity.

Singing songs for a secular society? The elusive politics of cultural activism in contemporary Bangladesh

Abstract In Bangladesh, many secularists pursue their political goals through cultural activism. While committed to achieving a secular, progressive, and non-communal society, they often refrain from explicitly articulating their politics due to the sensitivity of their goals. Instead, cultural performances allow them to instantiate and embody a secular ethos with transformative potential, expressed through distinct cultural genres that become recognized as secular aesthetics. While activists consider culture to be a morally superior and ‘purer’ way to promote their political aims than party politics, which they perceive as ‘dirty’ and corrupt, cultural traditions are hardly neutral ground from which to enact secular aspirations. This article explores the ethical struggles that emerge from this position to illuminate what it means to act politically while trying to avoid politics, and why people might choose comparatively elusive forms of political engagement despite their strong commitment to a cause. Attending to less tangible forms of politics encourages us to rethink the role of political messages and visibility in social movements by highlighting the significant role, as well as contradictory implications, of aesthetics, embodiment, and gestures in political action. Conversely, the elusive politics of cultural activism underlines the need to go beyond analysing national discourses to understand the contested nature of secularism in Bangladesh.

Religiosity and psychosis

Religion and spirituality (RS) have been integral aspects throughout human history, possibly being observed as far back as 500,000 years ago in the ritual treatment of skulls during the palaeolithic period. Today, despite the growth in relatively secular societies, almost 90% of the world has some RS affiliation. Interestingly enough, mental health has historically been interlinked with RS. Family and adoption studies show that a family history of psychosis is correlated with intense interest in RS. Furthermore, the association between Postictal psychosis, a common complication of epilepsy, with religiosity is well documented. It is conceivable that this association led to epilepsy being historically linked with the divine, demonic and supernatural. In fact, there is ample evidence to suggest that many historic religious figures had epilepsy and psychosis. In clinical practice - and in broader society - the incidence of religiosity in epilepsy patients is likely underestimated. While postictal psychosis symptoms range in RS intensity, it is not uncommon for patients to have severe RS delusions and even convert after episodes.

The Right to Privacy: Foundations and Protections in Islamic Jurisprudence

Islam honors human beings by acknowledging a set of rights, including the right to privacy, as stated in numerous international legal articles which aim to protect it. This study aims to elucidate the foundations of the right to privacy in Islamic jurisprudence by examining religious texts and clarifying the protective methods provided by Islamic law. To achieve the desired results of this research, I have relied on an inductive analytical method. Among the conclusions reached is that Islamic law addresses the components and branches of the right to privacy, even though the term "privacy" itself is not explicitly mentioned. Islamic jurisprudence has established both preventive and punitive measures to protect this right from violators. I recommend that jurists and legal scholars conduct comparative studies between the right to privacy in Islamic jurisprudence and secular law and expand on how to protect this right from modern technological infringements.

Implications of Islamic Mahr (dower) and African Lobolo (bride-price) on Religious and Customary Marriages and the Rights of Muslim Women to Inherit in South Africa

Abstract The monogamous and polygynous customary marriages of indigenous Black Africans have been fully legally recognised in South Africa since 1998. The outcome of a June 2022 apex Constitutional Court judgment will finally result in monogamous and polygynous Muslim marriages (nikāḥ) being fully legally recognized and regulated by the State by 2024. Since this recognition does not include the Islamic law of succession (which will not pass constitutional muster because of half-share to women), when Muslims die intestate, the secular law is expected to apply. The payment of mahr (dower) by the groom to the bride (an important ingredient of a nikāḥ contract) is therefore an important alternative tool for augmenting the inheritance of Muslim women during their lifetime. A novel fatwā issued by local Black African ulama in August 2022 brought to light several challenges faced by African Muslims regarding the relation of nikāḥ marriages to distinctive African traditional marriage practices like the lobolo (“bride price”) paid by the groom to the bride’s father. This paper examines the implications of mahr and lobolo on religious and customary marriages and the rights of local Black African Muslim women to inherit in terms of religion and custom.

G. M. Hopkins’ God’s Grandeur: An Aesthetic Delight

This research paper intellectually sheds light on aesthetic delight in Gerard Manley Hopkins' God's Grandeur. This study based on qualitative research approach examines how God’s grandeur generates the aesthetic delight or beauty to uphold the intellectual knowledge. The purpose or the objective of the research paper is to make an analysis examination of God’s greatness. The poet's firm belief in the glory of God/Nature proves to be an inspiring approach/method to enlighten readers on his sonnet God's Grandeur. This poem, God's Grandeur, appeals to the intellectual mind, manner and moral. This genre in literature depicts the creation and nature of the incorporeal world. The creator of the universe plays an inspirational role to acknowledge the God's glory and beauties in the world. The role of the Creator/God is spelt out in the title of the poem i.e. God's Grandeur. The message that the poem imparts is significant: what is corporeal and incorporeal becomes clear only after it appeals to the intellectual mind. The study helps us to elevate God's Grandeur. It adopts an analytical research design. Hopkins, a Nature poet, is well aware of God's gifts and beauties. How Hopkins’ poem explains the glory of God is the statement of the study. The facts and figures of divine grandeur contribute to the readers' positive response to the poem. The use of intellectual insight transcends the unseen and incorporeal forms. So, the importance of intellectual mind is highlighted by the aesthetic delight that the poem generates for both secular and religious societies. People in the world, however, are less spiritual and more physically and materially conscious.

The British Broadsheet Press and the Representation of “The Mosque” in the Aftermath of Post-7/7 Britain

The role of the mosque has become increasingly vital, particularly in contemporary societies such as Britain, where both the place and status of religion in public life are constantly discussed and debated. Indeed, in the contemporary period, the role of the mosque has several dimensions, ranging from a social space, educational and cultural exchange, and community cohesion centre to a knowledge hub. In this context, this paper suggests that a mosque should be seen as an independent religious institution, although these are influenced by and responsive to governments, elites, pressure groups, public bodies, etc. Using a thematic analysis of news items in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph over a period of two years (8 July 2005–7 July 2007), it finds that in the aftermath of 7/7, the mosque as a religious place and an institution for British Muslims is largely seen as incompatible and a threat to secular British society and that it is linked with radicalisation and terrorism. According to Quranic texts and revelations, it is indeed a fact that mosques are open to all. This is logical since God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness are for all of mankind without any distinction, which is perhaps why the mosque has been the sacred house of God Himself. This study aims to reveal the development of visible hostility in some sections of the British media and political campaigns. Moreover, it intends to trace the determination and idea of the mosque as a religious place and an institution for British Muslims rather than only a place for worship. Finally, this study will argue the role of the mosque in promoting community cohesion and mutual understanding within the Muslim and other faith communities located in Britain.

The Good of Thomas Aquinas

Aquinas’s thought was recognized as brilliant and insightful from his own time onwards, and there is a resurgence of interest in it today not only among Catholics and other Christians but among contemporary humanistic philosophers also, as a quick review of bibliographic sources will evince. Nonetheless, with many pressing problems in the world, with growing secularization of society, and with rising recognition of the need for multicultural studies, people may wonder why anyone would want to study the thought of a thirteenth-century European Catholic. People may think, what good is Aquinas now? This small essay is an attempt to give a short answer to that question. Our essay has two parts. The first part focuses on Aquinas’s metaphysics. It shows the way in which both the preceding Jewish and Hellenistic traditions are brought together in Aquinas’s work to yield a metaphysics that can handle well complicated philosophical issues still discussed today. The second part focuses on Aquinas’s ethics. It shows the way in which Aquinas’s version of virtue ethics incorporates the significance of the second-personal in human flourishing to yield a decidedly non-Aristotelian ethics.

Ethical leaders’ search for meaning: Ancient Confucian wisdom in Modern East Asia

In secular Western societies, individuals often embark on an autonomous quest for meaning in life, which, however, can lead to frustration. In contrast, many East Asian ethical leaders draw on age-old teachings to find fulfillment—an underexplored topic that merits further investigation. By analyzing ancient Confucian tenets and the discourses of modern Confucian leaders, this paper unveils three key aspects of the Confucian meaning of life: The Heavenly Way (the comprehension that good begets good), the Heavenly Mandate (the purpose of doing good), and the Heavenly Nature (the significance of one’s inherent goodness). From a psychological perspective, this “Confucian meaning framework” has persisted for millennia because its elements not only exhibit internal consistency and structural robustness but also fulfill humanity’s psychological needs for meaningfulness, transcendence, justice, self-improvement, competence, altruism, relatedness, morality, moral autonomy, and self-esteem. Therefore, ancient Confucian wisdom effectively counters the contemporary existential vacuum in modern East Asia. This paper highlights the crucial role of cultural heritage in our existential quests, opening new avenues for blending philosophical insights with psychological research. It also illustrates the power of psychological theories to explain the lasting influence of certain ancient cultures on modern life, demonstrating the intriguing interplay between culture and psychology.

Existential Authenticity, Religiosity, and Mental Health: Age Differences in an Increasingly Secular Society

With the increasing secularization of society, uncertainty exists regarding how this age-related trend may be associated with mental health. Using online surveys, this study examined potential relationships among religiosity (i.e., intrinsic, extrinsic, and quest orientations), existential authenticity (i.e., behaving in ways that align with one’s true self), and mental health (i.e., anxiety, depression, and life satisfaction) among university student (n = 659) and older adult (n = 261) samples. Analyses revealed that among younger adults, intrinsic religiosity was associated with higher authenticity and greater life satisfaction, and authenticity also indirectly linked intrinsic religiosity to each mental health index. However, among older adults, only quest religious orientation was associated with greater authenticity, while authenticity also indirectly linked quest religiosity to each index of mental health. Taken together, these results suggest that religiosity may be differentially associated with mental health as a function of age, in part through uniquely linking to conceptualizations of one’s authentic self.