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The intrinsic relationship between belief and reason, religion, and philosophy makes it impossible for secular citizens to abandon the factors of belief to understand reason itself, because both are intertwined in Western history. Concepts such as autonomy and individuality in Greece or the concept of emancipation and solidarity in Rome have long had the meaning of Christian origin (Cahill, 2001: 236). More and more secular citizens recognize that Christianity in Western modern culture is also a stage and achievement of Western social modernization process, which means that secular citizens cannot view religion from only a certain perspective, such as only recognizing the roles of religion and belief in maintaining social orders while ignoring the connotation of truth and the epistemological status it contains (Cahill, 2001: 236).
3.4 Summary
At present, both at the institutional level and at the social and individual level, religious beliefs have lost their status and influence which they possessed in the past. Not only in the developed countries, but also in the third world countries, this assertion has its rationality. This confirms Habermas’s (2008a:110; 2008b:121) first description of the characteristics of a post-secular society that the secularization process continues in a post-secular society.
Deficiencies in secularization process and theories make religions not disappear but revived in some respects in the course of deepening modern social modernization. This confirms the second description of the characteristics of a post-secular society provided by Habermas (2008a:115; 2008b:128). That is, the persistence of religious public influence. Because both rationality and belief constantly display their own limitations and pathologies, during the current secularization and modernization process, social consensus is formed that secularization is a process of mutual critique and mutual absorption of religion and secular spirit. This social consensus provides the foundation for the diversification of religious beliefs, cultures, and worldviews, which is in line with Habermas’ (2008a:110; 2008b:133) third description of the characteristics of post-secular societies.
5.0 Conclusion
Habermas (2008a:113; 2008b:129) believes the emergence of a ‘post-secular society’, which is also accepted by the author of this study. A post-secular society includes characteristics of three aspects: the continuation of the secularization process, the persistence of religious public influence, and the current state of coexistence of pluralistic cultures and multiple religious beliefs. The author has affirmed the existence of the three characteristics of a post-secular society from three aspects: the lost former status and influence of religious beliefs to varying degrees, deficiencies of secularization processes and theories, secularization is the process of mutual critique and mutual absorption of religion and secular spirit. Thus the author agrees with the view of seeing the emergence of a ‘post-secular society’.
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