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Secularism, the belief that religion should not be part of the affairs of the state or part of public education, is an increasingly hot topic in global public, political, and religious debates. Andrew Copson tells the story of secularism, discussing secular republics and the challenges they can face from resurgent religious identity politics.
List of contents
- 1: What is secularism?
- 2: Secularism in Western societies
- 3: Secularism diversifies
- 4: The case for secularism
- 5: The case against secularism
- 6: Conceptions of secularism
- 7: Hard questions and new conflicts
- Afterword: The future of secularism
- References and Further Reading
- Index
About the author
Andrew Copson is the Chief Executive of the British Humanist Association, where he was previously Director of Education and Public Affairs; First Vice President of the International Humanist and Ethical Union; and a former Director of the European Humanist Federation. In these capacities he is one of the most experienced and prolific advocates of secularism, its study, and its implementation. For over a decade he has carried out a range of national and international practical secularist policy work and spoken internationally on secularism. He has been an associate of the Centre for Law and Religion and the University of Cardiff since 2008, and represented the secularist point of view on public or other bodies such as the Foreign Office's Advisory Panel on Freedom of Religion or Belief and the Woolf Institute's Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life. He co-edited The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook on Humanism (Wiley-Blackwell, 2015), with A C Grayling.
Summary
Secularism, the belief that religion should not be part of the affairs of the state or part of public education, is an increasingly hot topic in global public, political, and religious debates. Andrew Copson tells the story of secularism, discussing secular republics and the challenges they can face from resurgent religious identity politics.
Additional text
This is a dazzling tour of the history and meanings of Secularism. Copson pulls off that most compelling thing a synthesis of nuance and rigour that is global in its vision, historical in its foundation, but fully contemporary in its relevance. For being so intimately involved in advocacy, the author demonstrates balance and understanding of critical as well as supportive positions, and with its authoritative research base this is immensely useful for student learning in the growing arena of Studies in Nonbelief.
