2011•The Encyclopedia of Christian CivilizationRequires access
Secularism and Secularization
Douglas R. Sharp
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Abstract
Abstract The terms secularism and secularization are related to each other at some social and conceptual levels, but it is important to distinguish between them because they do not refer to the same thing. Both terms can be construed as identifying perspectives, beliefs, and values that are characteristic of a particular society and its cultural history, and each term draws its meaning in part by juxtaposition with the phenomenon of religion . Practically everything about secularism and secularization is a matter of dispute among scholars who investigate such matters; hardly any position or perspective passes as uncontested.