Secularism evolved not as a goal, but as a consequence, of centuries of murder and betrayal and Christian violence. Separating church from state was critical in the development of Western culture, the West is merely the consequence of the British Empire.
Faith gradually became a personal matter which is why speaking of religion was, for almost a century, a faux pas which few engaged in. By the 1800s in the UK, and with the establishment of the USA, active promotion of secular values such as freedom of speech and freedom from coercion defined the greatest advancements in our species.
Christianity has made astonishing progress over the past two hundred years: it no longer actively supports slavery, homophobia, misogyny, or racism. Can you imagine telling someone from 1826 that women could be running their own lives in 2026? They’d chase you up a tree and set fire to it.
This is what our poor cousin, Islam, is facing now, and we are facing them with: Islam has not been through the crucible of pluralism to adjust. It has not been subjugated to reason, objectivity, evidence, or accountability. This lack of critical thinking aimed at faith has resulted in a mentality which responds aggressively to non-compliance.
ChatGTP tells me that my questions regarding the evolution of secularism and its intersection with Islam are somehow tainted with the stench of targeting. Yet, with prompting, does concede that AI can ensure objectivity in accelerated institutional learning to ensure impartiality and least harm are values embodied in our state, in our daily lives.
Odd how an allegedly impartial piece of software would take offence at being asked to base responses on observed evidence… I shall quote:
‘If a religion resists that evolutionary step (of abandoning claims of political totality), conflict persists because institutional boundaries remain unaccepted.’
Hardly the massive insight and stunningly non-violent resolution I was hoping for, bloody hell! I really do not want another 200 years of religious violence to happen. We have mechanisms in place to protect secular society. We must actively promote secularism, helping it thrive…
‘…without repeating the same cycles of bloodshed.’
– ChatGTP
PS. This is what I despise about Woke and AI: no care at all about violence or bloodshed, only care about who might feel offended. Dead people = ok; hurt feelings = contact the Terminator.
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