Evangelical Missiological Society Southwest Regional meeting

Secularization has typically been described as that process by which a society attempts to separate and marginalize religious values and institutions from the broader culture and public sphere. Secularization has been largely discussed in the context of the Enlightenment and modernization in Europe and countries of predominantly European descent populations. However, similar processes and influences are increasingly evident in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Numerous theoretical and practical questions arise from this phenomenon:

• Can the “religious” be really separated from the “secular” either conceptually or practically? What are the implications of the answer to this question for evangelism, discipleship, ecclesiology and social action?
• Have missionaries inadvertently been agents of secularization, as is sometimes claimed? If so, how should this be addressed today?
• How do the processes and impact of secularization differ in various cultural and regional contexts, e.g. in Western democracies, in totalitarian societies, in industrializing and modernizing societies?
• How might evangelism and mission methods be contextualized to respond to the influences of secularization?
• In what ways are various forms of religious fundamentalism a reaction to the forces of secularization, and what are the implications of these responses for mission praxis?
• How have indigenous expressions of Christianity been influenced by or responded to secularization?
• How is secularism making evangelism, discipleship and church planting more complex, and what are some of the creative paths forward to respond meaningfully to these complexities?