The impact of secularism on the activity of the Church Cover Image

The impact of secularism on the activity of the Church
The impact of secularism on the activity of the Church

Author(s): Cristian Marius MUNTEANU
Subject(s): Theology and Religion, Sociology of Religion
Published by: EDIS- Publishing Institution of the University of Zilina
Keywords: Secularism; society; church; spirituality; culture;

Summary/Abstract: The substantial changes in image and efficiency that the Contemporary Christian Church is undergoing make many, regardless of their level of expertise, seek and investigate the causes of the decline in people’s interest in the Church, as well as the solutions to its recovery. Starting from the premise that the way Christians decode and understand reality is a first vital step towards enhancing the relevance of the Church, the article first provides insight in the history of the term, the different meanings it had in time, and the effects of the coexistence between the Church and culture. Moreover, since the Church cannot justify through practical results the aggressive language and the hostile attitude towards secularism and its exponents, it must keep in mind that secularism has not completely eradicated religious consciousness from the minds of men. As long as the search for the sacred has been inculcated through Creation and defines human nature, one of the most difficult tasks Christians have to fulfill is to present a seemingly outdated message to a world that is continually renewed. The Church must provide adequate and sufficient arguments on the one hand and, on the other hand, make Jesus attractive by a religious experience that goes beyond religious forms or teachings. Confronted to the contemporary invasion of the search for the sacred without the use of appropriate tools and methods, and to a postmodernist secularism that does not accept subordination but is interested in faith, the cult institutions still have a modeling potential.

  • Issue Year: 5/2018
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 135-144
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: English