The Religion of the Secularists

Both “religion” and “secularism” are constructs distinctive of the W est. They both arise from the peculiar history of C hristianity. Hence the double face of modern “religion.” It may cover any inherited cultic practice, safeguard ethnic values, and be respected under multiculturalism. But at the same time it may refer to the intellectual and moral commitments which mark us off socially from others, annoying the secularists. J ulian, the first modern‐type secularist, reacted against the C onstantinian establishment of the “new religion” by ordering the priests of the old H ellenic cults to adopt the C hristian style of social indoctrination to outclass those vulgar innovators. But the F all of R ome produced the intellectual masterpiece of A ugustine which redefined the saeculum and set the framework of modern secularity. Augustine had perceived reality in three dimensions: cosmic, social, and personal. At each level the rationalising logic of A ristotelian science had fixed the pattern of things, by analogy. The whole must be coherent if it is to be true. But the empiricism of J erusalem had delivered a universe open to change and likely to end. In society power was no longer the proof of virtue. The heart itself was deceptive. Twenty‐first century secularism insists upon such experimental truth, social choice and passionate commitment. This holy trinity is our legacy from the “new” religion.