The idea of secular versus religious is a modern distinction that has contributed to the decline of religion and the decline of church attendance in the United States and Europe. During the time of Moses, the Pharaoh was a demi-god who would join the pantheon of gods upon his death. The Egyptians defined themselves as much by the gods they worshiped as they did the Pharaoh who ruled them. Moses taught the Hebrews that THE God was their God and they must follow God as surely as the Egyptians followed the Pharaoh. God started the journey with the Chosen People by making it clear that they are God's people, that God would protect them, and that they must worship, honor, and follow God in return. Those who embrace this Secular Age would have your forget our roots that go all the way back to the Exodus.
When did we stop assuming our religious beliefs were as integral to our culture as was our form of government? The advent of science and technology started after the Dark Ages and the following Medieval Period. The Renaissance is the beginning of the end for when religion was considered inseparable from all other facets of another person’s life.
The Renaissance started in Italy during the 14th century, after the end of the Middle Ages, and it spawned the concept of humanism. Humanism promoted the idea that people should embrace human achievements in education, classical arts, literature, and science proclaiming that man was the center of his own universe. The Enlightenment followed the Renaissance and is called the great 'Age of Reason’ – defined as the period of rigorous scientific, political and philosophical discourse that characterized European society from late 17th to the early 19th century
The 1700’s is when we begin to see the separation of church and state and that’s a cornerstone of our own US Constitution. We can decry how modern technology has stolen people away from the church. The reality is that it started 800 years ago and we’re just now seeing the apex of what I call “The Secular Age”.
When America's Founders wrote the Constitution and Bill of Rights, they didn't intend to separate church from the state. The phrase is "separation OF church and state" which means that each will be their own institutions and one will not control the other. Our Founding Fathers didn't mean to separate church FROM state because they believed that God was integral to country's success. If you have any doubts, look for how many times God is referenced in the Declaration of Independence (four), on our legal tender (In God We Trust), and taking the presidential oath of office by placing the new president's hand on the Bible.
Don't let secularism win! We need to proud of our religious heritage and be faithful to God in all we do. Fight against those who want to remove prayer and religious references from schools, religious iconography from our government buildings, and those who decry references to God, religion, or prayer in any public address. God isn't secular nor should you be secular.
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