Secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion.
Not to be confused with Laicism, Laicity, or Laicization.
Secularism is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened to a similar position seeking to remove or to minimize the role of religion in any public sphere.[1] The term "secularism" has a broad range of meanings, and in the most schematic, may encapsulate any stance that promotes the secular in any given context.[2][3] It may connote anti-clericalism, atheism, naturalism, non-sectarianism, neutrality on topics of religion, or the complete removal of religious symbols from public institutions.[4]
Secularism can be also defined as treating every religion equally and providing equal facility.
As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns.[5]
There are distinct traditions of secularism in the West, like the French, Benelux-German, Turkish, and American models, and beyond, as in India,[4] where the emphasis is more on equality before law and state neutrality and equidistance from all religions rather than a complete blanket separation. The latter in the case of India, is termed as interventionist secularism, wherein the state intervenes to abolish practices of religion which it considers against constitutional principles.[6] The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it is a crucial element of modernization, or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to the claim that it is the only guarantor of free religious exercise.
Variations[edit]
Secularism takes different forms with varying stances on where and how religion should be separate from other aspects of society.[7] People of any religious denomination can support a secular society, or adopt the principles of secularism, although secularist identity is often associated with non-religious individuals such as atheists.[8] Political secularism encompasses the schools of thought in secularism that consider the regulation of religion by a secular state.[9] Religious minorities and non-religious citizens in a country tend to support political secularism while members of the majority religion tend to oppose it.[10] Secular nationalists are people that support political secularism within their own state.[11]
Scholars identify several variations of political secularism in society. The strictest form, associated with the French laique model, advocates a state that is both firmly and officially distanced all religions and non-religious philosophical convictions in all of its manifestations and official dealings, without exception. A more "humanistic" form is indifferent towards religions per se but also advocates for the states to operate on purely a rational basis of evidence-based policy and a focus on human needs and welfare, entailing non-discrimination between peoples of differing religions and non-religious philosophical convictions throughout society.[12][13] A third "liberal" or "pillarized" form of secularism holds that governments may in some instances express sympathy to, provide funding to, license state services to, or otherwise allow unique special treatment of religions (common in German-speaking and Benelux secular states), so long as states nevertheless treat these convictions equally, and are neither hostile nor preferential towards any particular set of religious and those of non-religious philosophical convictions such as humanists.[13] In these countries, secular humanist organisations typically receive state funding according to the same funding formulas used to provide state funding to religious groups.[14] In Indian political discourse, the pejorative term pseudo-secularism is also used to highlight instances where it is believed that while the state purports to be secular, indifferent, or impartial towards religions, its policies in reality favor a particular religion over others.[12]
There are many principles that are associated with all forms of political secularism. It typically promotes legal equality between people of different religions, opposing a legal hierarchy on the basis of religious belief or lack of religious belief. It is also associated with a separation of church and state, considering these to be two distinct entities that should be treated separately. State supremacy is a secular principle that supports obedience to the rule of law over religious diktat or canon law, while internal constraint is a secular principle that opposes governmental control over one's personal life. Under political secularism, the government can enforce how people act but not what they believe. Similarly, freedom of thought is supported by secularism. Order is supported by secularists, specifically in that one's beliefs should not be permitted to disturb the civil peace. Religious tolerance is supported both for people of other religions and a lack of piety demonstrated by members of one's own religion. Political secularism also supports reason as a virtue.[15] Secularists also support freedom from religion as an extension to freedom of religion.[16]
Secular society[edit]
In studies of religion, modern democracies are generally recognised as secular. This is due to the near-complete freedom of religion (religious beliefs generally are not subject to legal or social sanctions), and the lack of authority of religious leaders over political decisions. Nevertheless, it has been claimed that surveys done by Pew Research Center show Americans as generally being more comfortable with religion playing a major role in public life, while in Europe the impact of the church on public life is declining.[44]
Most societies become increasingly secular as the result of social, economic development and progress, rather than through the actions of a dedicated secular movement.[45] Modern sociology has, since Max Weber, often been preoccupied with the problem of authority in secularised societies and with secularisation as a sociological or historical process.[46] Contemporary ethical debate in the West is often described as "secular", as it is detached from religious considerations. Twentieth-century scholars, whose work has contributed to the understanding of these matters, include Carl L. Becker, Karl Löwith, Hans Blumenberg, M. H. Abrams, Peter L. Berger, Paul Bénichou and D. L. Munby, among others.
There is not one singular secular culture, as different people identify as secularists for different reasons and under different belief systems. Secularism is typically associated with progressivism and social liberalism. In democratic countries, middle and upper class white urban males with high education are more likely to identify as secularist than any other demographic group. In societies where secularism is more common, such as in Western Europe, demographics of secularists are closer to even. How a society considers what is secular may also change, where nominally spiritual beliefs become part of public or private life without being recognised as religious. As secularists are a minority in most communities, secularism is often stigmatised. Proponents of religious society challenge secular society on the basis of morality, saying that secularism lacks a meaningful way to incentivise moral behaviour among its members.[47]