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A Short History of Secularism by Graeme SmithPublication Date: 2007-12-15
What is secularism? And how should we understand the the concept of 'secularism' in international relations, particularly the clash between radical Islam and the 'secular' West? The word 'secular' has come to mean that which belongs to this life, to the here and now, in this world. It is widely used as a shorthand for the ideology which shapes contemporary society without reference to the divine. However, according to Graeme Smith, 'secularism' represents a great deal more. He offers a radical reappraisal of the notion of secularism and its history, beginning with the Greeks and proceeding to modernity and the contemporary period.
The Death of Christian Britain: understanding secularisation, 1800-2000 by Callum G. BrownPublication Date: 2009-04-01
This book examines how the nation's dominant religious culture has been destroyed. Brown challenges the generally held view that secularization was a long and gradual process dating from the industrial revolution, instead arguing that it has been a catastrophic and abrupt cultural revolution starting in the 1960s. In this expanded second edition, Brown responds to commentary on his ideas, reviews the latest research, and provides new evidence to back his claims.
American Secularism: cultural contours of nonreligious belief systems by Joseph O. Baker; Buster G. SmithPublication Date: 2015-09-25
A rapidly growing number of Americans are embracing life outside the bounds of organized religion. Although America has long been viewed as a Christian nation, survey data shows that more and more Americans are identifying as "not religious." There are more non-religious Americans than ever before, yet social scientists have not adequately studied typologized secularities, or the lived reality of secular individuals in America. American Secularism documents how changes to American society have fueled these shifts and examines the diverse and dynamic world of secular Americans.
Secularisation and the Leiden Circle by Mark SomosISBN: 9789004209572
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
The Leiden Circle pioneered the systematic exclusion of theologically grounded argument in areas of thought from the natural sciences to international relations. Somos uses richly contextualised portraits of Scaliger, Heinsius, Cunaeus and Grotius to develop a new model of secularisation.
The Fringes of Belief: English literature, ancient heresy, and the politics of freethinking, 1660-1760Publication Date: 2008-09-01
This book is the first literary study of freethinking and religious skepticism in the English Enlightenment. Ellenzweig argue that literature of English freethinking has been overlooked because it unexpectedly supported aspects of institutional religion. Analyzing works by John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester, Aphra Behn, Jonathan Swift, and Alexander Pope, she foregrounds a strand of the English freethinking tradition that was suspicious of revealed religion yet often strongly opposed to the open denigration of Anglican Christianity and its laws.
The Secular Contract: the politics of enlightenment by Alex SchulmanPublication Date: 2011-06-23
This book seeks to defend the European Enlightenment's secularization of political philosophy by promoting an understanding of Enlightenment secular liberalism and extending it to contemporary issues. The work proposes that the Enlightenment united the secularizing trends that occurred at the time across all areas of knowledge into a "secular contract" for modern politics. It argues that this was a normatively valuable enterprise whose aims and arguments need to be recovered today, especially in light of the challenges faced by the West, including fundamentalist Christianity in the US and radical Islam in Europe.
Secular Powers: Humility in Modern Political Thought by Julie E. CooperPublication Date: 2013-01-01
Secularism is usually thought to attack God's authority in order to take his place. Julie E. Cooper overturns this conception through an incisive analysis of the early modern justifications for secular politics. While she agrees that secularism is a means of empowerment, she argues that we have misunderstood the sources of secular empowerment and the kinds of strength to which it aspires. Contemporary understandings of secularism, Cooper contends, have been shaped by a limited understanding of it as a shift from vulnerability to power. But the works of the foundational thinkers of secularism tell a different story.
World views and worldly wisdom : religion, identity and politics, 1750-2000 by Jan de Maeyer (Editor.), Vincent Viaene (Editor.)Emiel Lamberts (1941), professor emeritus of contemporary history at KU Leuven, is an international expert in the political and religious history of Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. His work and the central themes in his research are the starting point in 'World views and worldly wisdom'. No less than eighteen leading international researchers put different aspects of his work in the spotlight. A recurring theme, however, is the attraction and repulsion between the Roman Catholic Church and modernity in Europe between 1750 and 2000.
Peter Turkstra Library, Redeemer University , 777 Garner Road East, Ancaster, ON, L9K 1J4, Canada Circulation Desk Telephone: 905.648.2139 ext. 4266, Email: library@redeemer.ca
A Short History of Secularism by 
The Death of Christian Britain: understanding secularisation, 1800-2000 by 
American Secularism: cultural contours of nonreligious belief systems by 
Secularisation and the Leiden Circle by 
The Fringes of Belief: English literature, ancient heresy, and the politics of freethinking, 1660-1760
The Secular Contract: the politics of enlightenment by 
Secular Powers: Humility in Modern Political Thought by