The rise and decline of secularism in global society

Secularism is a term that describes a certain worldview that believes in the separation of church and state. The European Enlightenment gave birth to this secularism and the spread of secularism has had a variety of repercussions across the globe (Lavenda & Schultz, N.d.). As a result of a secularist perspective many nations have transformed their religious and political institutions to accommodate a more liberal viewpoint. Secularism has also been promoted as a way to protect both religious believers as well as non-religious believers (National Secular Society, N.d.). The idea is that if the country's instructions are secular in nature then this allows for an infinite number of different beliefs and provides an atmosphere of religious freedom. No religious or political affiliations give advantages or disadvantages and all citizens have equally protected freedoms.

Some people believe that this translates into a public sphere that is devoid of all religious symbols, practices, rituals, or anything else that a group with an opposing view might take offense to. This has acted to limited many religious practices to private environments. Furthermore, this trend has also spread through globalization as countries have begun to accept something of a global culture in business and other aspects to society (Taylor, N.d.).