Defining Secular

[poliphilo]

A secular society separates Church and State. It's a society in which the priests don't get to make the rules. That is all. Secular does not mean atheistical or irreligious or anti-clerical.  Religion flourishes in the western democracies- all of which are essentially secular. The USA- one of the most religious societies on earth- has a secular constitution. 

Comments

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I've been reading some of Sarah Vowell's books--"Wordy Shipmates" is all about the Puritans, and she makes the point that in the early days, Church and State were hand-in-glove--though technically separate. (The magistrates administered punishments for religious violations, for example.) It was Roger Williams, who was forced to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony and who established Rhode Island,was really hot on separating the two, but he was actually a minority (for a lot of reasons, not just this).

When I taught at a state university in Missouri, I was horrified that prayer was required on various occasions, but after reading Vowell's book, I can see that their attitude at this university was very much like that of the Puritans.