Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Saturday 14 January 2012

Secularism and Society in Sweden


A third Scandinavian country, Sweden, and its contemporary "liberal" culture is considered in an article on Zenit Secularism in Sweden. This looks at the way in which the country has accepted a totally permissive sexual ethos, and the consequences of that. What is described is a worrying indicator of where some people would take the rest of Europe and the world given half a chance.

3 comments:

James Griffith said...

The link doesn't seem to work - seems to be pointing at what was once a web mail attachment or something.

James

Once I Was A Clever Boy said...

I will check it and renew it

Anonymous said...

A worrying read;

http://www.zenit.org/article-34107?l=english

apparently the whole problem throughout Scandinavia could be solved by an Adam Smith market-competitiveness solution (according to Laurence Iannacconne of Santa Clara University) between the lines, lazy state-sponsored Lutheranism appears to be the underlying cause.

29 pages but worth a read

http://www.unil.ch/webdav/site/issrc/shared/8._Telechargement/Cours_BA_LA-GE/Market_Structure.pdf

Other recent research suggests that secularism is strongest when Life Expectancy is highest (Papyrakis E., Selvaretnam G. (2011) The Greying Church: The impact of Life Expectancy on Religiosity)