Research that challenges perspectives and advances meaningtul dialogue.
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Dr. Salihu Sankore presents an analysis tracing the historical roots of post-Christianity in the West back to three pivotal movements: 15th-century Italian humanism, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment. He argues that these eras marked a fundamental shift where tension arose between secular authority and spiritual power regarding who ultimately controls life on Earth. During this prolonged debate, both religious and secular camps increasingly utilized reason as their primary justification for claiming ultimate control over society, gradually diminishing the traditional role of Christianity while elevating the status of state governance.
A central theme in Sankore's argument is the concept of *vir virtutis*, or "the manliness of man," which signifies an unwavering belief in humanity's ability to perfect itself and achieve happiness within this earthly life rather than looking toward an afterlife. This conviction provided significant momentum to secular authorities, leading to a scenario where the state effectively replaced religion as the primary organizing principle for society. Consequently, modern governments have evolved into what Sankore describes as "secular religions," providing citizens with principles of organization and promises of fulfillment that were once exclusively associated with religious institutions.
Looking toward contemporary developments, Sankore suggests that even this new secular faith is being challenged by emerging trends such as Artificial Intelligence (AI). He notes a growing belief among the public in AI's transformative potential to create equality and achieve previously impossible feats, effectively positioning it as an agent capable of delivering earthly happiness. This perspective implies a continuing historical pattern where humanity seeks a supreme authority or savior figure—whether religious, political, or technological—to resolve existential questions and provide meaning.
In conclusion, the article published in the Scopus Q1 journal *Religions* posits that history is characterized by a cyclical replacement of one dominant belief system with another as society evolves. From the rise of humanist reason to the ascendancy of the state, and now potentially toward AI, each shift represents an attempt to answer the age-old question of ultimate authority over human life. Sankore's work aims to foster meaningful dialogue by highlighting how these transitions reshape our understanding of virtue, governance, and the future trajectory of Western civilization in a post-Christian context.
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Hi, I'm Dr. Salihu Sankore.
And very recently I published an article
in Religions. It's a Scopus Q1 journal.
The name of the article is The Cunning
of Reason,
Post-Christian West and the State. So,
what I try to show in that article is
that
I try to trace back the roots of
post-Christianity [music]
in the West. And I do so by tracing the
roots back to [music]
the 15th century Italian humanist
movement, the Reformation, and [music]
the
Enlightenment movement. So, what we what
I try to show was that
with the rise of this humanist movement
in 15th century Italy,
>> [music]
>> you begin to see a tension between the
secular authority and [music] the
spiritual authority.
The question over who ultimately
commands life here [music] in on Earth.
Who has the ultimate control over the
lives over millions and millions of
people?
So, in that debate, we begin [music] to
see from both the religious camp and the
secular camp begin to use reason to
justify why the secular has an authority
or why religious spiritual [music]
order has authority over the the life of
the people. So, with that we see we we
begin [music] to see over the course of
debate in Italian humanist movement and
then to Reformation and then to the
Enlightenment movement, the belief in
human ability to better themselves.
In Latin, it is called the vir virtutis,
meaning that
>> [music]
>> it is the
it literally translates into the
manliness of man. By manliness of man
means the ultimate virtue.
>> [music]
>> Right? In other words, you believe in
the ability of a man to better himself,
to achieve [music] and to attain
perfection
here on Earth, not
>> [music]
>> life after but here on Earth. And that
really drove that really gave the
momentum
>> [music]
>> to the side of the secular authorities.
So, what we see is that with that debate
going on, we begin to see the
diminishing role diminishing role of
Christianity [music] diminishing role of
religion over the life of people and an
ascent [music]
a rise and
rise of authority of
the secular [music]
over the lives of the people. So, we see
the state which we now call it as the
government or or the country.
>> [music]
>> We begin to see the state replacing
religion
and becoming a secular religion itself.
The [music] state becomes a religion and
now hence we now all of us today we
believe in the state the government the
country to provide us with happiness
here on earth now, right?
>> [music]
>> And it has
totally restructured because prior to
this when religious authority had
or
religious authority [music]
had control over the society, society
was organized under religious
principles. But now with the rise of the
state,
>> [music]
>> we have totally changed the way we
organize ourselves and now it is the
secular state that that that provides us
with principle of organizing a society
and thus replacing and placing itself as
the new religion. [music]
And what the article goes on to goes on
to say is that later on even this
secular religion will be replaced by
[music] something bigger.
Perhaps the most recent trend that we
find today is AI.
So, we now believe in AI that AI is
going to be good [music] AI is a
transformative agent that is going to
create
equality that's going to create all the
things that were that were that were
once thought impossible possible. In a
sense, [music]
attain happiness here on earth.
So, that concludes
the whole gist of my article.