Secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It 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. Secularism may encapsulate anti-clericalism, atheism, naturalism, non-sectarianism, neutrality on topics of religion, or antireligion. Although often conflated with opposition to religion, secularism is concerned with minimizing its role rather than disproving it, and may be either hostile, neutral or hospitable to religion. When presented as a philosophy, secularism is another term for naturalism, seeking to interpret life based on principles derived solely from the material world and focusing only on "temporal" and material concerns.
There are distinct traditions of secularism like the French, Turkish, American and Indian models. These differ greatly, from the American emphasis on avoiding an established religion and freedom of belief, to the French interventionist model, and more. 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
Secularism takes different forms with varying stances on where and how religion should be separate from other aspects of society. 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. Political secularism encompasses the schools of thought in secularism that consider the regulation of religion by a secular state. Religious minorities and non-religious citizens tend to support political secularism while members of the majority religion tend to oppose it. Secular nationalists are people that support political secularism within their own state.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 from 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. 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, so long as states nevertheless treat these convictions equally, and are neither hostile nor preferential towards any particular set of religious or non-religious philosophical convictions such as humanists. In these countries, secular humanist organizations typically receive state funding according to the same funding formulas used to provide state funding to religious groups. 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 favour a particular religion over others.
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 for a lack of piety demonstrated by members of one's own religion. Political secularism also supports reason as a virtue. Secularists also support freedom from religion as an extension to freedom of religion.
Diversity
"Secular", like "religion", are Western concepts that are not universal across cultures, languages, or time; with experiences of secularism varying significantly. There are many debates about the boundaries of both religion and secular and some have suggested "post-secular" models since there are areas of growth of religious influence which challenge the underlying assumptions on conventional views on secularism. Secularism overlaps with religion historically, as it has origins going back to the ancient world into religious texts such as the Bible, being refined through history by religious thinkers. Secular individuals hold complex relations to religion. Global studies show that many people who do not identify with a religion still hold religious beliefs and participate in religious practices.History
Secularism and "secular" is a Western concept that is not universal across cultures, languages, or history. The term "secularism" was coined in 1851 in Britain. In societies such as Ancient Greece, a limited secularism was practised in which religion was not involved in governance, though it was still prevalent in public life.Secularism's origins can be traced to the Bible itself and fleshed out throughout Christian history into the modern era. The "Secular" is a part of the Christian church's history, which even has secular clergy, since the medieval period. The distinction between secular and religious law was emphasized in the Late Antique and early medieval West. Secular and religious entities could be distinguished in the medieval period, but coexisted and interacted naturally. Significant contributions to principles used in modern secularism came from prominent theologians and Christian writers such as St. Augustine, William of Ockham, Marsilius of Padua, Martin Luther, Roger Williams, John Locke and Talleyrand.
In Europe, secularism emerged as a formal ideology in the early modern period. Due to functional differentiation, religion changed from being the predominant lens through which reality was interpreted to providing only an alternative explanatory approach.
In 1636, Roger Williams founded the Providence Plantations as a settlement with total freedom of religion, in present-day Rhode Island. Secular ideas were strongly challenged by religious leaders and the Catholic Church in particular, causing a religious culture war. During the American Revolution, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison incorporated the ideas of John Locke into the government of the United States, including his secularism, though a true secular state was not achieved until the 20th century. French secularism in the Age of Enlightenment was based on Gallicanism, which emphasised state supremacy, as well as anti-clericalism and materialism. Revolutionary France opposed Catholic influence in the country, and it briefly replaced Christianity with the deistic Cult of Reason.
The first to use the already-extant word "secularism" in a modern sense, was the British agnostic writer George Holyoake, in 1851. Finding "atheism" too aggravating, he sought a term that would describe a stance advocating to conduct life based on naturalistic considerations only, but without necessarily rejecting religion, thus enabling cooperation with believers. Holyoake's definition of secularism differs from its usage by later writers. As the Humanist Heritage website notes, Holyoake provides a definition of secularism "much akin to modern definitions of humanism... broader than just atheism." More modern definitions of secularism are likely to pertain to separation of church and state rather than personal beliefs.
Many Christian countries began to undergo societal secularisation during the 20th century, with levels of belief and practice declining. Sociologists disagree as to whether this represents a periodic fluctuation or a larger trend toward long-term adoption of secularism. The principle of Laïcité, the French notion of strict separation, was enshrined into law in 1905. After the rise to power of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923, Turkish secularism, or laiklik, became a state ideology under Kemalism, aiming to modernise the country. Turkey's secular tradition prior to Atatürk's reforms was limited, and 20th century Turkish secularism was initially modelled after French laïcité. Turkey remains virtually the only Muslim-majority nation with an effective secular government, though secularism remains a controversial ideology in Turkey, and the country's ruling party AKP is more anti-Kemalist than anti-secularist. India became a secular state after it achieved independence in 1947; Mahatma Gandhi supported pluralist secularism as a means to curb tensions in the religiously diverse nation. The Indian model of secularism stressed equality of citizens regardless of faith before the law, along with some separation. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed in 1948, protecting freedom of religion in international law.
State secularism
In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government, often termed the separation of church and state. This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a state religion, replacing laws based on scripture with civil laws, and eliminating discrimination on the basis of religion. This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities. Separation of church and state is one possible strategy to be deployed by secular governments. From the democratic to the authoritarian, such governments share a concern to limit the religious side in the relationship. Each state may find its own unique policy prescriptions. These may include separation, careful monitoring and regulation of organized religion such as in France, Turkey, India and others.In accord with the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons. In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like abortion, contraception, embryonic stem cell research, same-sex marriage, and sex education are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations such as the Center for Inquiry. Religious fundamentalists often oppose a secular form of government, arguing that it contradicts the character of historically religious nations, or infringes on their rights to express themselves in the public sphere. In the United States, for example, the word "secularism" became equivalent to "anti-religion" due to such efforts. Religious minorities, however, often support secularism as a means of defending their rights against the majority.
State secularism is most often associated with the Age of Enlightenment in Europe and it plays a major role in Western society. Some of the best known examples of states considered "constitutionally secular" are the United States, France, Turkey, India, Mexico, and South Korea, though none of these nations have identical forms of governance with respect to religion. For example, in India, secularism does not completely separate state and religion, while in France, secularism precludes such mutual involvement.