Word: secular
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Dates: during 1950-1950
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Capitalism, according to Demant, had a kind of theology all its own. "Capitalism was part of the whole movement known as liberalism ... It was this liberalism which dispensed with 'the sacred' as a real element in existence and gave the 'secular' all the religious valuations previously accorded to the divine realm...
...revolution are by definition virtuous, while those [on the other side] are by definition 'fascists,' 'imperialists' and 'warmongers' . . . There is a certain pathos in the fact that these illusions are merely a 'hard' variety of the soft illusions which Christian and secular sentimentalists hold who talk so endlessly about the 'dignity of man' without any Christian understanding of the total problem of human existence...
Pointing out that there has been an increasing interest in theological matters, Conant discussed the place of religion in a secular society. "The problem is most clearly seen if one examines the question of our schools and colleges as instruments for transmitting the moral and spiritual values inherent in our American traditions," he said...
After tracing the history and importance of religious toleration in the U.S. Conant stated.... "public institutions, including tax-supported schools, shall be secular... Long ago this University chose the secular path." But, Conant pointed out, "To equate secular with Godless and the Godless with immoral... is surely a fallacious line of argumentation...
...secular institutions of American society draw their content of moral and spiritual nourishment from the common denominator of all religious faiths," Conant said. "It seems to me important that American public opinion lay emphasis on our ability to agree on a secular basis for moral conduct...