Influence of Secularism in Modern British Society

This essay discusses the influence of secularism in the modern British society, including the separation of state and religion, the rise of non-believers, and the need for advocating for secularism. It also explores the perspectives of sociologists on religion and secularism.

Running head: SOCIOLOGY
Sociology
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Essay No 2
The purpose of this following essay is to discuss about influence of secularism in the
modern British society. To begin the essay the most crucial facts about terrorism, the definition
of terrorism should be given. Secularism is mainly a separation between the state and religion. It
has been observed at the first place that in previous time, state and religion joined hands to
govern the country. This had been problematic fact for people of those countries if any conflicts
arose (Birt, Siddiqui and Hussain, 2016). This is why the concept of secularism has come into
existence. Secularism is implied in the states when religion is rejected from being involved in
political affairs. People governing states should never allow religious affairs get into methods of
running the state properly. Secularism has become a very big question in terms of British society.
People from all circles of life with different religions have assimilated in the last few
decades. This has become a very interesting aspect for Britain as critics have argued in favor of
declaring Britain as a secular state. The number of non-believers has risen to a record high.
Numerous people are of the opinion that they should be free of religion in Britain. The common
public has shared their values and beliefs that they do not like the tag of Britain being called a
Christian country. Since, people of all religions come and live in Britain very happily and in
harmony. People not believing any religious faiths are the majority. The politics of current times
has encouraged secularism in the society. There are certain instances where intolerance about
religion has become a huge problem in the society of Britain. This is why it has become very
much crucial for people to advocate for secularism.
At the beginning of discussion, a proper definition for secularism should be given.
Secularism is somewhat similar to the meaning of atheism in terms of religion. People who

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believe in secularism seem to give up faith on religion and God. Secularist people think that are
disadvantaged in the society just because religious followers are given many advantage
(Berlinerblau 2017). Thus their social position has been somewhat diminished. Apart from that
believers of secularism have opined that religious beliefs and becoming dependent on secularism
has been one of the main reasons why the role of education is not getting the expected
momentum and it works as a barrier for creating a culturally diversified and harmonious society.
Secularism has been practiced in some western societies of late since people believe that
unfair advantages are given to people who believe in religious faiths. This is becoming quite an
interesting fact in the British societies in the coming times. There are some claims of secularists
in England (Berlinerblau 2017). Previously in the last few centuries it has been seen that
religious faiths have given several advantages to the people and this is why church and state must
be separated. Other than that, they want to disestablish the Church of England. In England and
other countries of Britain, practice of giving money to religious foundations has been very
common. These religious organizations have always used this money for their missionary work
(Singleton 2014).
The views of three theorists could be ascribed to this issue. They are Emile Durkheim,
Max Weber and Karl Marx. In the view of Karl Marx, religion is a tool or medium that has been
used by capitalist societies to promote inequality within the society. Durkheim seems to be the
first sociologist who critically analyzed about the impacts of religion on the society. According
to her, religion is the medium that bounds people of all communities together and thus promoting
social cohesion (Singleton 2014). This view of Durkheim is completely opposite to that of Marx.
She believed religion could bring stability into the society instead of differences. So, she has
advocated for a major role of religion in future so people can live in harmony together in the

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society. Durkheim’s belief was traditional views of Christianity and other religions were at stake
that could be fateful for society.
German sociologist Max Weber was of the opinion that religion is the catalyst that
promotes social change. The positivity and negativity of this social change will depend on how it
is implemented (Singleton 2014). He had gone through the study that the relationship between
economic success and religious belief should be of immense significance. He viewed that some
societies like Netherlands, England and Germany had established themselves as superpowers in
economy by their capitalist approach. However, business leaders of these countries were mainly
Protestant in nature (Birt, Siddiqui and Hussain 2016).
He studied and gained the knowledge that achievement of material wealth was no more a
sin. This Protestantism in British society promoted the believers to work hard and gain material
achievements. Therefore, he has viewed religion as a positive thing for bringing in a social
change in terms of economy. Economic progress will set up a progressive society. This would be
helpful for the society itself. On the other hand, Weber also believed that this change could be
work as a problem if conflicts arose because of promoting either Catholicism or Protestantism in
British society. This has been the talking point of Karl Marx. He believes that this focus on
religion will destroy the harmony in nature and create a division between the believers of
different religion stunting growth (Birt, Siddiqui and Hussain 2016).
The next topic of discussion is about the perspective of secularism in British society.
Secularism is on the rise in British society since identity crisis among individuals has become all
the more evident. Secularism has been growing in British society because people use to believe
that religious faiths have barred them from staying together in harmony. Therefore, it would be a

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problem for students of different religions to study together. Evidently the rise of Asian people
living in Britain has pushed the administration to differentiate between Church and State. In the
recent time, Drayton manor Park of Staffordshire changed their policy so Sikhs could carry
knives with them as a part of their religion. This signifies Christianity has not been imposed
upon them.
On the other hand, it has also been seen that around 26 Bishops have their rights based on
Constitution in the House of Lords. This is somewhat contrary to the concept of secularism.
These steps have been quite annoying as it supports Christian faiths in public and mixing the
activities of Church and State.
Some countries have also perceived Christianity as their most significant religion as most
people in that country are Christians. A small country like Nepal is regarded as a Hindu country
since majority of people in that country are Hindus. This term ‘secularism’ was coined by British
author George Holyoake in the year 1851 (Palomino 2012). In the 18th century, several authors
and philosophers from different countries had proposed to implement this concept within the
society to make it free of religious issues. In this time it has been found several times that people
believing in different religions have often involved in conflicts and this stood as a barrier to run
the state in a smooth manner (Beard et al. 2013).
After the 9/11 attacks on twin towers of World Trade Center in USA by terrorist group of
Osama Bin Laden, common Americans began to view Muslim people as terrorists. This is why
people following Islam lost their jobs and facilities provided by Government (Berlinerblau
2017). Many talented Muslims had been deprived of getting good jobs despite having good skills
and qualifications. In this scenario, it can only be mentioned that this practice has been quite

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detrimental for their development only. This is probably one major reason for practicing
secularism in the society. Critics believe that modernization of the world would lead to fading
away of religions having any major influence in political or state decisions. It is estimated that
country like France will possess majority of population very soon (Woodhead 2013). Other
countries like New Zealand and Netherlands will also be added in that list as well. It can also be
assumed that United Kingdom will no more have Christian majority of people. Therefore,
importance of religion has been lowering and secular idea is taking its place inevitably.
Many global magazines like Time had posed this question in front of readers “Is God
Dead?” This suggests that significance of God and religion had been on retreat as communism
was expanding and growth of science opened the eyes and conscience of people. People of
modern world have viewed that religious extremism has been harmful for growth of economy,
development in mindsets of people and other factors.
On a concluding note, it must be said that secularism has been getting momentum of late.
People of British society have started to believe that it is not possible to live in harmony if
Christianity dominates the society. In some parts of the country, administrations are focusing on
giving social freedom to people of all religions. If they can observe their religious festivals, it
will be helpful for them to trust the administration. Perhaps, these things could bring social
stability.

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Reference List
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