*On the Secularization thesis

Many scholars today are talking about the "post-secular" society. That the secularization thesis has failed and that religion is here to stay for good. We can look to communist Russia, Poland, China, and even North Korea today and point to the continued existence of religion. For North Korea, there are still many who practice religion (Christianity or Buddhism) underground and beneath the veil of the Juche ideology. For the previously noted countries, conscious attempts were made at forcefully stamping out religion under the name of fascism, communism, socialism, or derivations thereof, making it illegal and punishing those that did. But as history shows, religion has remained a viable force in providing a source of meaning. The Russian Orthodox Church is now a prominent endorsement for political candidates.

As a result, many have begun stating that secularization has failed and we are now in a time of post-secularization where religion and society must find common grounds of plausible existence. And while I find this discussion important and necessary, my argument here is a wonder whether the premise may be a bit premature - the declaration that secularization has failed. While, many areas of science have suggested that religion, or god (God) for that matter, is not going away. Past trends of socio-cultural change indicate that hundreds and hundreds of years are necessary for definitive shifts and changes to social structures and even cognitive, moral, and ontological shifts in attitudes. Take the examples of slavery and killing for sport (i.e. the Colosseum).

Slavery has been in existence at least since the 16th and 17th century, and even arguably since the 15th century (and most likely even before then - ancient civilizations certainly had slaves and servants). It wasn't until the 20th century that slavery was stamped out. Even now, in the 21st century, human trafficking and sex slavery is still rampant in parts of the world. Slavery has not vanished entirely - and with the onset of debt of persons, it could be argued that slavery has not disappeared at all. This means that after 500-600 years, slavery has not disappeared as a practice despite its repulsiveness. The United States went through a Civil War on the grounds of the "right" to own other persons. Motherfuckers felt that passionate about it. Now, I am no historian or expert on slavery or the civil rights movement and I may be entirely wrong in my accounts. Nonetheless, my point is still valid regarding the time that it has taken.

The entertainment and sport of killing people in ancient Rome also took just as long. The Colosseum was completed in 80 AD with the rise of Titus. At the Colosseum, entertainment was found in the form of "blood sports" - battles between persons, animals versus other animals, and so on. It was not until Honorius in 404, 405 AD that gladiator events were forbidden. Although animal fights continued for another hundred or so years. By this timescale, it took at least 300 hundred years for the blood sport to be vanquished. Although, even today we can find events of people killing themselves for sport. Underground bare knuckle fights, russian roulette, are just two examples. Dog fights, cock fights, and others are still in existence today.

In both examples at least 3-400 years have passed for such things to be at a loss in the mainstream consciousness. The secularization thesis has not been around for that long. The theory perhaps spawned most notably in the 19th century with Karl Marx and the likes of Sigmund Freud, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim. If we take this as the beginning of the advocation of secularization, then not even 200 years have passed. If we mark it with Galileo in the 16th century, then we have a similar passage of time comparable to the abolishment of slavery. We are just beginning to hit the 4-500 year mark of time passing. But religion is still here. With slavery, it should be noted that there was a constant push for its abolishment. The push for the abolishment of religion did not last as long, or as persistent, as the push for the abolishment of slavery.

While I consider myself to be a "secular" (that is non-Christian or non-Abrahamic religion) thinker, I am not necessarily opposed to religion as a source of meaning for others. It is not my place to chastise and bash the source of meaning for others. The strong push for militant atheism may have jived with me ten years ago. A hard advocate of science and a passionate undergrad enraged by the follies of the contemporary system, I would have joined the voices who are calling for the militant eradication of religion. Marx, Hume, and Nietzsche were my heroes. I would have taken a stance similar to Sam Harris. Calling for the champion of science to correct moral and cultural practices. However, I find this stance extremely juvenile now. It is no different from the Christian crusades calling for a higher moral order - "civilizing the savages". I do not believe that science should be the ideology for a contemporary imperialism. I find this degrading. I am still an advocate of science, learning, and the progression of knowledge and technology. But when an abstracted view of science becomes the banner for moral and cultural reform, this is no different from White folk stampeding around the world saying that they have the "Truth" and that everybody else should conform to it. This is oppression and a form of marginalizing others.

Having said this, I am of the opinion that while discussions of the "post-secular" society is fruitful and necessary I do not think that it is time to officially declare that secularization has died. In my view, this is premature ejaculation. The fruit was picked before it had time to ripen and after taking a bite, it's still bitter. My contention is that time needs to take its course. The development and progression of science and technology will continue and other sources of meaning will arise, religious or otherwise. The time is not yet ripe. The world is still progressing and humanity's relationship to each other and the world is still in the works. Never before has the world been so connected. And we are still in its infancy.