Secular critical theory: methodology and pedagogy

Abstract

The American academy substantially avoids any discussion of the secular and when it does it largely frames the secular in a fundamentally negative manner. This negativity arises from the fact that such discourse is framed most completely by anti-secular voices with secularists largely being excluded from participation in the construction of the secular. Historically some efforts have been made to change this situation, but the hegemonic power of religious influence within the American academy has largely prevented this. The "secular university" should, perhaps, understand what it means to be secular, and such an understanding might contribute effectively to the promotion of a more critical, socially effective academy.