The word “secular” is defined in Webster’s dictionary as describing something that is not overtly religious, or something that is of a temporal rather than a religious concern. As residents of the planet Earth, we obviously have needs and concerns that may not seem directly related to religion. We have to earn livings, go to school, shop at the store, and interact with people regularly over matters that do not involve church.
” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.) This definition sounds more ominous in terms of the exclusion of religion. It not only describes activities that do not directly involve religion, but also those that downright reject them.
Keith B. McMullin of the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as “the Mormons”) addressed the rampant secularism in the world today in a fireside he gave at Brigham Young University on November 5, 2006. (The Presiding Bishop and his counselors are general authorities of the Church, with duties of overseeing the temporal affairs of the Church.) Describing today’s secularism, Bishop McMullin said:
Much of the world today views secularism as vital to a balanced, just, and ordered government. Hence, religious expression is discouraged in public forums, civil rights are dependent on the courts and legislative processes, and men and women readily seek solutions and redress through litigious means. In the extreme, society’s secularism overlooks the concept of eternal life, places all things in the context of the natural world, and consequently is prone to works without faith. (“Faith and works in a secular world,” Bishop Keith B. McMullin, CES Fireside for Young Adults, November 5, 2006)
But Bishop McMullin pointed out that those things that may seem to us to be secular, or not directly related to religion, can actually have deep connections to the spiritual.
For example, the members of his audience at Brigham Young University and those watching the broadcast of his talk through the Church Educational System were largely students pursuing their educations. These educations, essential to finding employment and professional success in the world, could be considered secular. However, as Bishop McMullin explained: “Secular learning of the highest level blossoms in an atmosphere of virtue, moral responsibility, spiritual truth, and faith.”
Secularism with the exclusion of faith carries other hazards as well. In fact, a host of problems in the world today could be traced back to this, according to Bishop McMullin:
Unchecked by faith in Christ as the Redeemer of mankind, this secular or natural world produces men and women who are “proud, obsessed with self, overly competitive, reactionary, fiercely independent, driven by desires, appetites, [and] worldly acclaim. . . . In general, the natural man is an unredeemed creature, a being who walks . . . in the light of his own fire . . . [see 2 Nephi 7:10–11]. Such a one is acclimated to the nature of things about him, taking his cues and bearings from a fallen world.”
(“Faith and works in a secular world,” Bishop Keith B. McMullin, CES Fireside for Young Adults, November 5, 2006)
What is the antidote for these ills in society? One answer lies in the passage quoted above: “Unchecked by faith in Christ…” Exercising faith in Christ helps put worldly knowledge and desires into perspective. Following the words and example of Christ, rather than “cues from a fallen world,” would put an end to selfish behaviors. The ensuing desire to serve Christ, rather than self, would bring about a world of change.
