(A)

Movement toward a secular society

In the modern world, especially in the United States there is an ongoing argument and agenda

that religion has little to no effect on politics or that religion should not interfere with politics.

Despite, all this the results of the 1960, 2000, 2008 elections beg to differ. These were all

elections which were won by people who had religious backing either by Catholics or

Evangelical Protestants or even other minor religious institutions. The modern society has moved

towards a more secular approach. People have become more humanitarian in their approach as

opposed to the orthodox and previous ways of barriers being present between different religious

organizations. Different subjects and topics deemed taboo in the past are now being looked at

from a moral perspective, without the loss of religious integrity. Subjects like homosexual

marriages, abortion and euthanasia are being looked at from a perspective that conforms with the

modern trend. The term secular or secularization has always been met with hostility within

religious organizations. To them it means a loss of their tradition, beliefs and ways of life. The

neutral definition of secularization can be broken down into various components. Differentiation

means that religious institutes surrender to the government in different matters like law,

education and medicine. Privatization means that religion becomes a personal matter and

becomes the choice of one individual that what he wants to choose is dependent entirely on that

person. Desacralization refers to the change in thought within the religious organizations, rather

than without. This is evident from the fact that homosexual marriage was legalized, abortion has

become a more openly discussed topic and euthanasia has become slightly less controversial.

Liberalization is one process of secularization but, religious institutions often equate it with

secularization, meaning the lowering of barriers within different institutions and a less orthodox
approach to controversial matters. All these processes combined form the neutral definition of

secularization which means the change in religious thoughts with the progress of society.

Historical challenges

In the past, when societies were closed of from one another, the lack of external influences

caused the primitive societies to attribute certain actions with supernatural forces. With the

progress in human society and increase in travel people were opened to new ideas. Supernatural

beliefs were replaced with theories of science. This posed as a problem for the pastors or chiefs

of the religions sensed that they were losing the powers that they had over the people and began

to repress such ideas. This is evident from the problems that scientists like Galileo and Newton

had to face with the churches, because they termed that the experiments and results that they

presented were against the teachings that they taught in their churches. They believed that

modern approach would make the religion lose its integrity and place in the world. This naïve

approach towards secularization can be described by two social theories, the modernization

theory and the class conflict theory.

The modernization theory refers to the advancements towards a modern society. Social observers

predicted that this modernization had a drastic effect on religion. Before modernization

happened, people lived in small geographical areas with little to no external influence. People

when meeting other people came to know of other religions and other ideologies. This caused a

transition from an unshakable belief in ‘one true faith’ to a weaker ‘religious preference’. This

caused a weakness in the religious identity of the people and they began to identify themselves

according to their place in society. While all this explanation of modernization seems all and

well, there were consequences to the loss of power of religion. People began to shift from a

supernatural and ethereal approach to a more materialistic and moral approach. People working
in fields such as science, medicine, health, education, law began to exclude religion from such

areas. Even though they were not irreligious, they simply did not think that religion had any

influence in such matters. Issues like these caused religious organizations to rethink their

approach. Religious leaders and scholars were losing value and respect in society. Their only

approach became to suppress such modern advances. Churches became the source of scientific

knowledge; however, the information was largely superficial with little to no research. An

example being that for a large time the church made people believe that the sun revolved around

the Earth and not the other way around. This made the churches seem relevant and important and

preserved their integrity.

The class conflict theory often equated with Marxism, is a theory put forward by Karl Marx. He

had divided the populace into two classes, the elite or the bourgeoisie and the working or

proletariat. According to him, the elite class were the one who did the minimal amount of work

and manipulated the labor class to the work for them. This would only go on for so long before

the labor class caused an uprising, overthrowing their manipulative and oppressive leaders. This

would remake the society into a more humane and just society. This oppression is one of the

problems the movement to secular society faced. The religious institutions had manipulated

everyone into believing that these institutions were the only reliable source of information,

health, medicine and education. They oppressed anyone who differed with the ideas that they

presented. However, as is evident from today’s situation these institutions has to change their

ideals and beliefs and had to become service centers for the betterment of humanity or they

would have been overthrown.

 Contemporary Challenges

In the modern-day secular society has been challenged by people who claim that in the late

twentieth century or early twenty first century, religion was revived. This argument too has an

opposite statement that religion and religious impact has declined during the same era. The

people who argue that religion was revived claim that people have become more spiritual. They

have started performing tasks with more awareness towards morality and spirituality and

reasoning of right or wrong. With the advancement in modern methods of communication people

are able to convey messages and information quickly and effectively. These people argue that

even though religious institutions have adopted a modern approach to problems the growth of

secularism in these institutions is little to none. These claims tend to weaken the thinking that

religion is evolving with the modern times and that it is only by the decree of the chieftains of

religious institutions that these problems are solved in a modern away. Even now many churches

are continuing the old way of teaching. Explaining how gay marriage, abortion, stem cell

research and euthanasia are all sins and are punishable as they are against the teachings of God.
 (B)

Covenant marriage in Arizona

Covenant marriage is an option given to couples. The reason for this marriage was started as

movement. The movement was set out to promote and strengthen marriages, reduce the rate of

divorce and frame marriage as an honorable and desirable institution. The covenant marriage law

was passed in Arizona in 1998. The marriage and divorce procedures for covenant marriage

differ greatly to normal marriages. There are quite a few requirements for covenant marriage.

First the couple has to attend premarital counselling. They also sign an agreement stating that

they understand marriage is for life. The matters of divorce are equally hard. The justice or a

registered clergy member can only grant divorce or separation if certain events have occurred.

When marrying a couple is given the option to choose between a regular or covenant marriage. If

they choose covenant marriage, they have to undergo a few more steps than regular marriage.

Firstly, they have to go to premarital counselling. During this counselling the couple is taught

about emphasizing the nature, purposes, and responsibilities of marriage. The statements they

sign are:

 As man and wife, they understand that marriage is for life.

 If they encounter any problems in their marriage, they will take proper steps to preserve

their marriage.

 The signatures of the couple and clergy member are required along with the marriage

certificate.

The method of divorce in covenant marriage is very different from the no-fault divorce in

simple marriage. As opposed to the no-fault divorce in which no blame is put on either
spouse for reason of divorce, covenant marriage has a different reason. There are a limited

number of reasons for divorce. Firstly, both spouses must agree upon the separation. If this is

not the case then either one of the spouses must provide evidence that the other spouse has

committed adultery, a felony, has received a prison sentence or death sentence, has done

substance abuse, has physically or sexually abused a child or that the spouses have been

living apart for a period of at minimum two years.

Despite, the rather simple nature of covenant marriage and the good nature of reducing

divorces and improving the sanctity of the institution of marriage, the number of covenant

marriages in Arizona remains between 0.25 percent to 1 percent of the total marriages which

occur. The bill for covenant marriage has been passed in 30 other states, but it has failed to

be passed as a law. The religious institutions need to have a look in this matter and provide a

better law to replace the current law to preserve the sacred institution of marriage.
 References

 Arizona's Covenant Marriage. (2019, September 17). Retrieved from

https://mymodernlaw.com/blog/arizonas-covenant-marriage/

 What is a Covenant Marriage in Arizona: Hildebrand Law, PC. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.hildebrandlaw.com/divorce-in-az/what-is-a-covenant-marriage-in-

arizona.aspx

 No-Fault Divorce Arizona: Covenant Marriage Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.arizonalawgroup.com/arizona-divorce/no-fault-divorce/

 COVENANT MARRIAGE IN ARIZONA. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?mc=1&sc=3&articleid=4