Summary Of Religion Today: William James Revisited By Nietzsche

Nietzsche talks about the problem of morality and how religious historians believe that their own morals and values relate to everyone around them. He gives an example of historians with morals of Christianity, which includes selflessness and self-sacrifice. These historians believe that everyone else relate to their morals of selflessness and self-sacrifice. And if these morals are different among the people around them, these historians believe that there is no connection between them and the people. However, Nietzsche disagrees with this generalization of religious historians because their way of thinking is closed-minded and do not seem to have any aspect of secularism. Because the ideas of secularism is progressing and reasoning, Nietzsche

In the text by Charles Taylor called “ Varieties of Religion Today: William James Revisited”, he talks about how the pursuit of happiness in individuals have evolved through time, which involves characteristics of freedom and mutual benefit. Taylor talks about the decline of religion due to the evolution of reason in individuals and says:

There is a certain logic in this. Where before there was lots of passionate belief, and the life-and-death issues were doctrinal, now there came to be a widespread feeling that the very point of religion was being lost in the cool distance of even impeccable intellectual orthodoxy. One could connect with God only through passion. For those who felt this, the intensity of the passion became a major virtue, well worth some lacy of accuracy in theological formulation. In an age dominated by disengaged reason, this virtue came to seem more and more crucial. (Taylor

For the rationalization in the political system, the legality and rational authority in the political system fits this secular state because the rulers bring rationalism and logic into whatever decision they make. An example can be in the modern time in powerful figures such as Barack Obama, who was selected president by the people and brought more justice to the lower class. Secularism also brings decline in religion due to the issues of ethics in human beings, especially because the nature of humans acts against morality. Kant argues how not everyone has to be religious in order to have the right intentions of morality. And that everyone is qualified to achieve this type of morality, religious or not. And the last point is that secularism brings decline in religion due to the existence of both private and public reason and how public reason can be used to attack religion and bring more secular characteristics in today’s modern world. An example can be a science theologian of the public reason, who uses the evidence of evolution to go against beliefs of Christianity on the origins of human beings. Ultimately, these aspects of secularization bring decline of religion today and diminish the strict dogmas and laws of