Tag: secularism
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Where did belief in God decline? And the sad news: The 21st century will still be a century of religion
For anyone expecting religion simply to disappear as education, science and technology advance, the first decades of the 21st century offer a frustrating answer. In large parts of the developed world, secularization is real. Christianity has lost millions of adherents. More people openly identify as atheists, agnostics or religiously unaffiliated. In some countries, the transformation…
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Would brutal human rights abuses in Iran stop with regime change?
There are many ways to discuss Iran. We can talk about nuclear weapons, uranium enrichment, Israel, the Persian Gulf, oil, sanctions, Russia, China, the United States and the balance of power in the Middle East. These subjects dominate international coverage because governments naturally view Iran primarily through the lens of geopolitics. For once, put all…
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Zohran Mamdani: No distinction between radical and secular Islam
The election of New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, once again exposed one of the biggest weaknesses of modern political debate. For many people, the word “Muslim” immediately evokes terrorism, religious extremism, the September 11 attacks, or authoritarian regimes. Others react in the opposite direction, refusing to acknowledge that Islamist extremism exists at all.…
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The Global South’s silent secularists: Voices often overlooked
The Global South is not one voice. It is millions. And among them are those who dare to think without divine permission. They are the silent secularists, the ones who live between faith and fear. Their doubt is not rebellion against culture. It is rebellion against control. Religion dominates most developing nations. It fills every…
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We want state atheism, but not the Chinese one
Humanity stands between two worlds. One still kneels before invisible gods, while the other slowly rises through reason and science. We dream of a civilization without religion, where people act from understanding, not superstition. Yet we must admit a danger. History shows that when governments try to erase religion by force, they replace one tyranny…
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Religious power vs secular policy: Who wins?
Throughout history, human societies have swung between religious authority and secular governance. The lines have never been clean. Some states built on divine right later birthed democracy. Others that claim secularism enforce religious dogma through policy. This article explores who really holds the reins of power—and why the conflict remains unresolved in modern times. The…
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LGBTQ+ rights and secular movements
LGBTQ+ rights and secular movements have long been connected. Science supports LGBTQ+ identities as natural variations of human behavior. History shows that religious institutions have been responsible for much of the persecution against LGBTQ+ people. Secular movements have played a crucial role in ending this oppression. They have replaced religious dogma with reason, law, and…
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Only secular countries are rich
Countries that are rich but not secular include Saudi Arabia (oil), Qatar (oil and gas), Kuwait (oil), United Arab Emirates (oil and trade), Brunei (oil and gas), Oman (oil), Bahrain (oil and finance), and Malaysia (natural resources and manufacturing). And that’s it. Therefore, only secular countries are rich. This article explains why religion is a…