Editing Secularism (section)

== Secular society ==
In studies of religion, modern [[democracy|democracies]] are generally recognized as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (religious beliefs generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that surveys done by [[Pew Research Center]] show Americans as generally being more comfortable with religion playing a major role in public life, while in Europe the impact of the church on public life is declining.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2005/04/21/secular-europe-and-religious-america-implications-for-transatlantic-relations/ |title=Secular Europe and Religious America: Implications for Transatlantic Relations |date=2005-04-21 |website=Pew Research Center |access-date=4 July 2018 |archive-date=2018-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180704153201/http://www.pewforum.org/2005/04/21/secular-europe-and-religious-america-implications-for-transatlantic-relations/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Most societies become increasingly secular as the result of social, economic development and [[progress]], rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pomona College, US |last2=Lozano |first2=Fernando A. |date=2017 |title=The rise of secularism and its economic consequences |url=https://wol.iza.org/articles/the-rise-of-secularism-and-its-economic-consequences |journal=IZA World of Labor |doi=10.15185/izawol.384 |doi-access=free |access-date=2022-06-27 |archive-date=2022-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522035939/https://wol.iza.org/articles/the-rise-of-secularism-and-its-economic-consequences |url-status=live |hdl=10419/171192 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Modern [[sociology]] has, since [[Max Weber]], often been preoccupied with the problem of [[authority]] in secularised societies and with secularisation as a sociological or historical process.<ref>''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'', Max Weber, London, Routledge Classics, 2001, pp. 123–25.</ref> Contemporary ethical debate in the West is often described as "secular", as it is detached from religious considerations. Twentieth-century scholars, whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters, include [[Carl L. Becker]], [[Karl Löwith]], [[Hans Blumenberg]], [[M. H. Abrams]], [[Peter L. Berger]], [[Paul Bénichou]] and [[D. L. Munby]], among others.

There is not one singular secular culture, as different people identify as secularists for different reasons and under different belief systems. Secularism is typically associated with [[progressivism]] and [[social liberalism]]. In democratic countries, middle and upper class white urban males with high education are more likely to identify as secularist than any other demographic group. In societies where secularism is more common, such as in Western Europe, demographics of secularists are closer to even. How a society considers what is secular may also change, where nominally spiritual beliefs become part of public or private life without being recognized as religious. As secularists are a minority in most communities, secularism is often stigmatized. Proponents of religious society challenge secular society on the basis of morality, saying that secularism lacks a meaningful way to incentivize moral behaviour among its members.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Jesse M. |title=The Oxford Handbook of Secularism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |editor-last=Zuckerman |editor-first=Phil |chapter=Secular Living: Many Paths, Many Meanings |editor-last2=Shook |editor-first2=John R.}}</ref>