Word: secularize
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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That was too much for the wild card Republican libertarian Ron Paul, who warned of "fascism ... carrying a Cross." (Huckabee's reply: Sometimes a bookshelf is just a bookshelf.) But then, the line between sacred and secular has always been blurry at this time of year--check out all the White House Christmas trees. The Iowa situation is regrettable because it's so arbitrary and unnecessary. There's no good reason for the campaigns to be crammed into the week reserved for family and faith. It's just the sad result of jealous competition among states over the chance...
...nation. After a decade-long civil war that has claimed 13,000 lives and prompted mass protests in 2006 against the autocratic rule of King Gyanendra, the Maoists have been brought into the political mainstream, via a peace agreement that would turn the oft-romanticized Hindu kingdom into a secular republic representing the true social and ethnic diversity of Nepal's 27 million people. The self-styled People's Liberation Army agreed to retire to rural camps such as this one, to begin preparing their fighters for integration into a new National Army...
...despite this religious apathy or antipathy, the final stretch before Christmas, and the impending Christmas break, is still greeted with unmitigated glee. Certainly, Christmas in America has lost most of its religious flavor, as atheists, secular Jews, and other non-Christians all eagerly mark with merriment the Yuletide occasion. Given this mix of irreligion and desire nevertheless to celebrate a gift-giving holiday, Christmas festivities, decorations, and attitudes around campus have taken on an eccentric flavor...
...Indeed, the secular observation of Christmas strikes not a few ironic chords. For one, Christmas persisting even in the absence of Christianity testifies to the raw force of inertia in long-observed customs. Those former Christians who have cast away their faith may think themselves more open-minded and rational, but they are merely paying homage to a mindless and irrational, albeit pleasant, tradition by continuing to celebrate the holiday...
...Christmastime provides ample proof that mankind is not as rational, as open-minded, as free-thinking as many secular people think it and hope it could be. Secular celebrants of Christmas either ignorantly perpetuate meaningless traditions, or, even worse, find comfort and joy in observing them...