Excerpt: „Nine out of 10 people will mention secularity as a defining characteristic of contemporary societies when asked about the relationship between religion, society and politics in European countries. Only few will note that the notion of a secular Europe has been from the very beginning a case of abstract normative theorizing rather than a state of lived political reality. The myth of secularism has been told as follows: economy, science and state would be increasingly separated and independent from religious influence; this would result in the privatization of religion, its removal from the public sphere and in the most extreme vision, in the disappearance of religion as known thus far.“
Sven W. Speer: The Role of Religion in Society and Politics in Europe, or: Three Myths of Secularity in Europe, in: Ronald Meinardus (ed.): Bridging the Gap – An Arab-European Dialogue on the Basics of Liberalism, Cairo 2014.
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