Secularism in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Secularism in the UK - Essay Example In a society such as Britain, the Church and the State are relatively separate and there are a wide variety of non-religious cultural institutions (such as the mass media, education and so forth). In this society, it is relatively easy to remain culturally untouched by religion and religious belief seems to be more a matter of individual choice than cultural necessity. In UK secular society may be seen as largely the product of the Christian West. With the possible exception of some brief periods in the history of ancient Greece and of the Roman Empire in its hey-day, there have been few secular societies in the whole course of human development in the world. In most societies religion has been closely woven into the whole fabric of society, determining its structure and the pattern of men's ideas and goals; religious images have been dominant in men's imaginations and formed the focus of their culture in its widest sense. (Edward, 2000, 151-67) The dominance of religion has often me ant the domination of priests and theologians or the impositions of the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Disputes about power have become disputes about religious systems and still today such issues lurk behind many of our disputes within Europe, and between Europe and the rest of the world.A secular society is one which explicitly refuses to commit itself as a whole to any particular view of the nature of the universe and the place of man in it. The State neither requires a subscription to any particular doctrines nor overt forms of religious behavior as a condition for claiming full rights as a citizen; furthermore, it does not in any significant sense attach itself to any church or religion. Clearly in Britain today the existence of two established churches, and the requirements of Biblical instruction in schools, as well as the favoured position of the established churches in the universities and the favoured position of all the Christian churches in the national broadcasting system, m ight be taken to suggest that Britain is not a secular society.