Secularisation for Dummies

Secularisation is an important word with a few different meanings, so let's dive into it and try to understand it in the simplest way possible. Essentially, secularisation refers to the process by which something becomes less influenced or controlled by religious or spiritual beliefs and more focused on worldly or non-religious matters. It's like when a cake loses its sweetness because we remove some of the sugar. In this case, the cake represents society or an institution, and the sugar symbolizes religious influence.

Now, let's think about it in terms of schools. In the past, schools were often closely connected to religious institutions, like churches or religious organizations. They had religious teachings integrated into the curriculum, and prayer or religious rituals were common. But over time, as societies have changed, schools have become more secular. This means that they have separated themselves from any specific religious beliefs. Instead of teaching only one religion, they now focus on providing a more neutral education that respects and includes people from different religious or non-religious backgrounds.

So, when we say "secularisation," we are talking about the process of removing or reducing the influence of religion from something. It's like bringing an umbrella to protect us from rain, and then folding it up and leaving it aside when the rain stops. The umbrella represents religion, and when we "secularise" something, we are putting the umbrella away and focusing on other things.

It's important to clarify that secularisation doesn't mean completely getting rid of religion or denying its importance; it simply means creating a space where different beliefs can coexist and where decisions are not solely based on religious teachings. It's like mixing different colors of paint to create a beautiful painting, rather than using only one color throughout. When we secularise something, we are allowing diverse perspectives and ideas to come together in harmony.

To summarize, secularisation is the process of reducing the influence of religion on something, such as institutions or society. It's like removing sugar from a cake, folding up an umbrella when the rain stops, or mixing different colors of paint. It doesn't mean getting rid of religion altogether, but rather creating a space where people with different beliefs can coexist and make decisions based on a variety of perspectives.