13/14 Secularism, Nonreligion, and Contemporary Belief Free Online FlashCards

What does nonreligion include?

Nonreligion is a broad term for positions, identities, practices, and social formations related to religion through absence, rejection, indifference, critique, or alternative meaning-making.

What does “religiously unaffiliated” measure?

Religiously unaffiliated primarily describes affiliation, not belief. A person may select “nothing in particular” while still believing in God, a higher power, or a spiritual force.

What is weak atheism?

Weak atheism means lacking belief in a god or gods, without necessarily claiming that no gods exist.

What does agnosticism concern?

Agnosticism generally means suspending judgment about whether gods exist or claiming that the question cannot be known with certainty.

What is an agnostic atheist?

An agnostic atheist does not believe in a god but does not claim absolute knowledge that no god exists.

What is humanism?

Humanism is an ethical and philosophical outlook emphasizing human dignity, reason, evidence, compassion, freedom, responsibility, and human improvement.

What does secularism address?

Secularism is a political or ideological position about religion and public institutions, including whether the state should avoid establishing or privileging a religion.

What is secularization?

Secularization describes social and historical processes in which religious institutions, practices, explanations, or authority lose influence or social reach.

How is spirituality defined?

Spirituality refers to experiences, practices, or beliefs involving meaning, transcendence, connectedness, inner transformation, or relation to something greater than oneself.

What does a substantive definition of religion emphasize?

A substantive definition emphasizes religion’s content, such as gods, spirits, transcendence, or the sacred.

What is the difference between emic and etic categories?

An emic category is a concept used by participants themselves; an etic category is an analytical concept used by researchers.

What is methodological neutrality?

Methodological neutrality means bracketing personal belief or disbelief to analyze religious and nonreligious claims fairly, without deciding whether supernatural propositions are true.