Come listen as I debunk the increasingly popular idea that you can live without religion.
The word “secular” is defined as:
“of or relating to worldly things or to things that are not regarded as religious, spiritual, or sacred; temporal:”
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/secular
So basically secular means, “without religion”.
*pagans nod vigorously in agreement*
Hold on a second, pagans.
What do you mean by “religion”?
There are more definitions for religion than churches in Mississippi so I’ll just pick one:
Is it possible to live without life without “adhering to a particular set of beliefs and practices”?
Absolutely.
I have lived my whole life as a non-Monk.
Maybe you’re a non-Nun yourself.
Or a non-Buddhist.
Or a non-church goer.
Or a non-believer.
You can live life without identifying as a member of a religious sect.
You CANNOT live life without “a set of beliefs concerning the purpose of the universe”.
Those beliefs are your religion.
Your religion makes “secularism” impossible.
Which is why a secular worldview is a myth.
Which is why “separation of church and state” doesn’t mean what you think.
Separation of church and state allows you to say ignorant things like, “I’m non-religious.”
The State can’t force you to retract your comment.
The State can’t tell you to shut-up.
The State can’t insist you renounce your ideology.
Separation of church and state affords you the freedom to be wrong about religion.
It does NOT afford you the power to cut me out of political conversations simply by proclaiming yourself to be “secular”.
Nobody is secular.
Everybody is religious.
When you tell me you’re “not religious”, I’ll respond with one question:
“Then why should anyone care what you think?”
3 Responses
The irony of the picture above is that this is obviously a non-thinking person who simply parrots what he clearly doesn’t understand, probably because his mommy made him to go to church when he was a kid. And it’s also ironic because his God-denying ontology is incoherent, as you pointed out. He has no rational reason for his own continuing existence. Yup, totally non-thinking. This is why I stopped arguing with atheists. I have more productive and rational conversations with my cat.
👍
I love this. We all operate under a system of beliefs. Some of us like to hear what the others sides say. Others…well, they want to hear from those who will tell them how intelligent they are.
It’s kinda like screaming chants from the audience while someone offers up an opposing idea.
Or, covering your ears and talking real loud to drown out that horrible noise.
Thinking…hmm…now that is a concept.