secular values

For most people, and through much of history, their values (i.e., the qualities they value) have been intertwined with their religion. This isn't surprising because values and religion are parts of a culture, which is a connected whole. Values, especially the relative priority of each, form the starting point for the free moral decisions made by each individual. Values are therefore vital to a society.

If someone works to reduce the influence of religion on a culture, or eliminate religion altogether (based on the quaint notion that godlessness produces utopia), then he or she must also ensure that the resulting culture will have the values people need to make good decisions. With religion no longer playing a role, secular values are the only option. "Secular" in this context doesn't mean anti-religious, just non-religious. What are secular values, and what is the basis and/or the justification of those values? The issue must be addressed convincingly by people who wish to sweep religion out of culture. A culture must contain livable and functional values to be viable.