Secularity: Part 1

Let's Talk About the Secular

As a student of sociology, and a pastor, and a generally curious bloke, I’m intrigued by the idea of the secular, the processes of secularization, and the normative trajectory of secularism. Over the next few posts, I am going to explore this concept: what it is, and why it matters. As a Christian, it is important to grapple with the reality of secularity, as we seek to live faithfully in the world in which we find ourselves.

But what do we mean by “the secular”? It can be fairly plastic. For example, when I was a youth, growing up in the evangelical world, there was a clear demarcation between the secular and the sacred. Except the “secular” referred primarily to all the music that wasn’t produced by Christians. There was great debate among my peers over whether we should/could listen to “secular music.” The ironic thing is that none of us thought of Steven Curtis Chapman as “sacred music.” But we sure knew what “worldly” or “secular” music was.

We’ve articulated this distinction in other spheres: Christian vs. public (secular) education, Christian vs. secular literature, etc. And yet it’s weird, right? We don’t make the same distinction in other spheres: Christian vs. secular transportation, Christian vs. secular emergency rooms, Christian vs. secular grocery stores. Why not? When people make this distinction, it’s far more about making a distinction between institutional subcultures. Or to put it bluntly, it’s about religious branding.

But surely it’s more than this, right? It is. The secularization that’s taken place is a cultural phenomenon that has taken place over centuries in Western society, and has indelibly marked the world we know as our own. It has created this world in which religious belief is a possibility, but not an unquestioned assumption. A world in which the separation between spheres (religious and governmental, or religious and economic) is viewed as a natural and healthy arrangement. And in some strong forms, it offer a normative vision of the way the world should be (non-religious).

This affects how I, as a Christian, think about my relationship to society. It affects how I as an American Christian, conceptualize my relationship to the government. And it affects, in a profound way, how I bear witness to Jesus—and understand my own relationship to Jesus—in a secular world.

My goal over the next few days (excepting tomorrow) is to explore some of the important facets of “the secular.” The process of secularization is glacial; it has formed over a long period of time, and its movement is slow, steady, and unrelenting. But like a glacier, it may also recede. However it’s with us now, and it’s not going away any time soon. Best we wrap our brains around it.

—Till tomorrow.