The role of liberal values in secularization

In the end, the point advanced here is that it is not the science development by itself and the Enlightenment authors' ideas by themselves that contributed to the secularization of minds as some usually think[9], but the distribution of these ideas onto the masses that was accomplished thanks to the citizens' fundamental right to education (or liberal value of equality of rights). This process was achieved in the Western countries with the foundation of lay universal (compulsory) primary education system only on the verge of the XIX-XX centuries, when lay education permitted imposingthe new worldview, alternate to the revealed truth onto the masses. This could explain why the most important wave of secularization has taken place in the Western countries only in XX century.

We should not though undermine the significance of the role played by the advancement of science in this process. It soon appeared that science is a major threat to the religion, which (unlike Capitalism) could be easily counteracted. Church's Indexes Librorum Prohibitorum (lists of forbidden books) - an instrument of censorship directed mostly against the Scientifics' “heresies” (such as Kepler's, Newton's, Kant's and others) are to prove this affirmation. But theadvancement of science concerned only the tiny fringes of the population - the vast majority of the illiterate population had no access to knowledge. Even the Gutenberg invention has not changed this course of events since most of the books printed until XIX century were mostly religious books and literacy progressed very slowly. In other words, it isevident that it was not the development of sciences alonethat has caused the declineof faith.Such effect was rather produced by their spread onto masses.

Although today public education covers many different areas (economic, political, civic), originally public education was directed at “teaching common moral and political values…” and to create “…equality of opportunity”. The first of these goals was originally inherent only for the new world countries (such as US for example), where population was composed of immigrants, which have different moral values and where compulsory education was primarily used for social integration purposes. On the contrary, the second original goal of the compulsory education had a universal character and could serve as an explanation for the original goals of the public compulsory education of any nation. This original universal goal of public compulsory education is a humanistic value of social justice and equality of rights and opportunities for each citizen. Although the primordial objective of today's education system is to prepare a workforce compatible with the needs of the global economy, the original goal of the compulsory education is reinforced even today by the sublimation of the compulsory education into the fundamental human right (Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). As a result, preoccupations of the humanistic nature (equality of rights and opportunities, human development and social justice) that brought up the idea of universal compulsory education contributed to the secularization process.

CONCLUSION

There is an observable difference between the nature ofreligion and liberal values. Whereas religion is by nature socio-centric -i.e. designed for the preservation of normal communal life without regard to individuals' rights and liberties - liberal values are centered on the individual, protection of his/herrights and freedoms as opposed to any external intervention (of state, society, orother individuals).

This does not mean that this contradiction is absolute. Indeed, religion does not suppose an absolute restriction of individuals' freedoms as well as liberal values don't mean absolute liberty of the individual.Moreover, secular liberal ethics have even borrowed a lot of religious precepts necessary to correct functioning of communal life by secularizing them via democratically founded law.In its turn,religion was forced to adapt to the new secular ethics, which we can see in the example of some ethical positions of the modern reformed religions.

But still, these new secular ethicsare not centered on the society,as it is the case with religion; the individual became the measure of what is morally right or wrong, and not the society or common good. As the Article 4 of the French Declaration clearly put it, the limits of the liberty of the individual are not to be found in any abstract social good, but in rights and liberties of other members of society.

This difference between religious and secular ethics has created tensions between them. Examples of those tensions - or even conflicts, we could say - are many, and they are perceptible even today. Indeed, the positions of the Church and secular legislator on such ethical issues as same sex marriage, euthanasia, abortion and others are so opposite, that it is obvious that they proceed from different ethical approaches. The position of the first is based on the individuals' liberty, whereas the second is based on religious socio-centric precepts.

The rootsof modern secular ethics are to be found in socioeconomic transformation (capitalism and consequently - wealth accumulation), which occurred on the brink of the modern era, as well as in sociopolitical consequences of the Reformation (freedom of thought and reduced role of religion and Church in political life). If, at first glance, only the latter factor could explain the secularizationvia liberal values (freedom of thought), purely socioeconomic transformations (capitalism), in the end,has also been manifested in liberal values.Thebourgeoisethics - as a result of the modern era revolutions - have been enshrinedin fundamental constitutional acts of the modern era, which govern all aspects of political, social as well as economic life. If it is true that liberal values - as the result of the bourgeois revolutions - were directed in the first place against absolute monarchs and not against religion (or the Church) per se, one has to keep in mindthat they are expressed and perceived as a prohibition against any intervention (of state, society, or other individuals…) in individuals' freedom; i.e. religious precepts, alongside with decisions of government bodies or other individuals actions are not excluded from the list of prohibited as harmful to individual's freedom.

Knowing that secular ethics on some level contradict the religious, we could assume thatsublimation of theliberal values as the main basis of the socioeconomic and political life could only spur up to secularization. Thus, although the contradiction between secular and religious ethics partly takes its roots from modern life socioeconomic conditions, and not in liberal values strictosensu, the new ethics could take over the old one once the new ethics became the principal guideline for the socioeconomic and political life; i.e. once it was embodied as the main principle of the socioeconomic and political life.This means that liberal values, or precisely theirascension to the status of guidelines for socioeconomic and political life, have strongly contributed to the secularization process. A special role (we can even say “the major” role) has been played in this process by one of the main liberal values - democratic organization of political power, which strongly contributed to the spread of the new ethics and as a consequence,played the role of the major instrument of secularization.

Inasmuch as liberal values are at the basis of the socioeconomic and political life of the modern times,it is not surprising that secularization hasbeen particularly advanced in this period of human history. This process was long and unidirectional (although with some inhibitions and even backsliding); secularization of the state, society and individuals was a gradual process.

Political secularization is at the basis of this process: first the confessional split, then the advent of democratic institutions allowed to completely cut all ties betweenpublic political life on one hand, and Church and religion on the other. Events such as Reformation and bourgeois revolutions - that resulted in the advent of fundamental liberal values (freedom of thought and democratically founded political power) - have played a major role in secularization of the political power,as well as secularization on the individual level. First of all, the freedom of thought opened the doors to the development of alternative ethics (both, religious and secular), since the confessional split consumed the idea of the imposed state religion. Secondly, it allowed to erase the religious factor form the political decision making process, liberating the law form the necessity to integrate religious precepts (or Church's doctrines). Finally, it allowed the incarnation of the new ethics- via secular, democratically created,law - intoone that is imperative for the entire nation and every citizen.

We can also admit that freedom of thought played its major role in modern development of sciences as well,or at least created the conditions necessary for their development. But regardless of what role the freedom of thought played in development of sciences, another liberal value has played a role in the spread of scientifically proven truths onto the masses and as a consequence,played a role in secularization: equality with regards to education (universal right to education). Indeed, it is almost uncontested that scientific explanations are alternative to the religious (revealed) ones, and even opposed (Darwinism) to them. Therefore, it would be correct to assume that development of the sciences has contributed to the erosion of religious beliefs, values and even the observation of religious practices (secularization on individual level). Nonetheless - as we have pointed out - the access to scientific knowledge, which indoctrinated people's minds with an alternative to the religious truths worldview, for a long time was reserved exclusively for the elites. It is only with the advent of secular general (universal) education system- or with the advent of the human right to education - that this alternative worldview could be indoctrinated onto the masses. This is another example of the contribution of the liberal values and human rights to the process of secularization.

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