Secularism in the Opinion of Western Thinkers

Secularism in the Opinion of Western ThinkersDr. Abdul Rahman AlemReza NasiriAbstract:Although concepts such as secularization, mundane and worldly have similar meaning, there are some differences between them. However, the secularization has three characteristics: 1) decline in the role of religion to give meaning to the social sphere, 2) structural difference: there is a distinction between religious institutions and worldly institution, 3) transition from religious behavior and perception to worldly one. The secularism is inseparable from modernity. Modernity is a culture and religion and not similar to geography and history. Western modernization is so powerful to make everything similar to itself. So, divine religions would be faced with challenges by expansion of modernization. Secularism acknowledges the religion in the society, but it insists on its principles: 1) the religion has to be separable from politics and government 2) the religion has to acknowledge the exclusive authority of natural science, 3) the religion doesn’t have to rule over the people.