СЕКУЛАРИЗАЦИЈА ДРЖАВЕ (ПОЈАМ, УЗРОЦИ И ПОСЛЕДИЦЕ)
SECULARIZATION OF THE STATE: NOTION, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

Summary/Abstract: Secularization implies a relationship between the state and religion, where the religion is completely separate from public authority and represents a private matter of individuals. The notion of secularization (saecularizatio) was first used after the peace negotiations in Westphalia, when the French representative referred to this term to indicate the transition from ecclesiastic to civilian control. There are different understandings of the notion of secularization, including the view that it is a practical philosophy for people with the goal of organizing a life without seeking consolation in the supernatural (G.J. Holyoake), the understanding that secularization is the foundation of Christian faith, and that it must be demanded and incited in all areas of life (Dietrich Bonhofer and Friedrich Gogarten), the opinion (Mircea Eliade) that secularization has enabled sensational discoveries of physics, chemistry, results in cybernetics and informatics, as well as the standpoint that secularization is in relation with the modern consumer society. Secularization is easier to achieve in societies where there is a religious heterogeneity than in states where there is a high degree of religious homogeneity. All forms of political organization in the Middle Ages were of theocratic nature, because it was considered that the government was in charge of governing the state by the grace of God. However, after a while, the idea that any power was given by God began to be questioned. The beginnings of this idea in France were materialized through the advocacy of French materialists while, in Germany, they were stated in the renowned Erfurt program. In the contemporary society, secularization must not be reduced to suppression or (let alone) the abolition of religion. On the other hand, sacralization must not be pursued at the expense of the effective functioning of the civilian government.

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