Introduction

To get the obvious out of the way: a secular society does not (by definition) mean a society without religion. A secular society is one in which religion does not affect the public aspects of that society in any way. For example, government decisions and actions are not based on any religion, and schooling is not based on religion, and organisations are not marketing and selling products to benefit any religion, and people are not standing on street corners trying to entice others to join their religion, etc.

However here’s the important thing to remember: a secular society can be a society without religion. That works even better than a society where religion is all around but has only minimal affect on day-to-day lives. Why? Because there won’t be a slippery-slope path back to the bad old days where religion does effect the daily lives of the citizens.

If people want to privately invoke religious practices in their homes (e.g. praying, reading text out loud, smelling incense, baptizing each other, etc.), then that’s sad, but their choice. Hopefully they’ll soon come to realize that, statistically, those practices make no difference to their, or anyone else’s lives. Well, not for the better.

Why it’s important to go secular

The problems introduced by religion are so immense and numerous that it should be obvious why it’s necessary to aim for a society that is free from religion. In case you are not aware of those problems, please have a read of the enormous amount of material that is available on this site under the following page:

Here’s the main issue: the current influence of religion (whatever it is) is never enough for the religious crowd. They believe that either the rules of society are not based enough on their brand of religion, or they believe that the current religion being used is not the correct religion (or variation thereof). There’s always more they can chip away at to entrench and impose their religious beliefs.

There’s also the issue that religion is a wonderful tool for controlling populations. That’s demonstrably happening in many places around the world. Without religion, governments have to find other means to control their populations (should that be their goal). That can be much harder in a system based on democracy. Religion makes it easy for totalitarian governments to control their population.

What’s involved in going secular

(More – coming soon …)

How to quit religion

For some people quitting religion is easy, however for others it is an extremely difficult process. Unfortunately for others, especially in some parts of the world, it’s seemingly impossible.

The following page (on this site) discusses the issues involved and presents ideas and strategies to help you on your journey to removing religion from your life.

Aren’t you afraid to die?

While technically a different issue than those related to going secular, the concept of death and what happens after our lives is a big reason why people hang onto religion. Without such concerns, the concept of having a secular society becomes much simpler, clearer and more obvious. The removal of religion also dramatically changes the nature of society (for the better).

And conversely, causing people to be afraid of the afterlife (or aspects of it) is a huge reason why religion manages to persist in our everyday lives.

The following page (on this site) discusses the issues involved and presents reasons why you shouldn’t be afraid of the concept of death, and why such a fear is the weapon that organized religion uses to continue its grip on its followers and on society.

You won’t be alone

It might seem strange and/or difficult to consider a society without the effects of religion, but it’s important to remember that you are not alone in wondering how life can be better without religious influence in society.

In fact, there are a huge number of people in the world who do not believe in religion: about 2 billion at last count. They are all around you and some are quite famous. The following page (on this site) is aimed at demonstrating to you, that no matter what your area of interest, there are many well-known atheists with whom you can associate. Feel free to join them!

How to help society to go secular

First, find out more about the secular nature of your society.

Are there problems in your society that arise from religion? Are there organisations that can help the journey towards making your country a secular society, including the reduction and (ultimately) removal of religion from the institutions and organisations that influence your society.

A good starting point is to investigate the following page (on this site) and find out more about the issues affecting your society. From your country’s page on this site you should be able to find out more about what resources are available to you and how you can get involved.