Secularism

Secularism, in politics, is the principle that religious and political authority should be separate. A secular state does not have an official religion, does not enforce religious law and treats citizens equally whatever their faith or lack of one. Secularism is not the same as atheism: many secularists are religious believers who think faith is best protected when the state stays out of it. It is also different from secularization, the social process by which religion becomes less influential in a society. Scholars note that the word means different things in different countries, from strict separation to equal treatment of all religions.

Arguments for separating religious and political power grew after the European wars of religion. John Locke's A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689) argued that the state should care for civil interests and leave the salvation of souls to individuals. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1791, barred Congress from establishing a religion, and Thomas Jefferson described it in 1802 as building "a wall of separation between church and state." The British writer George Jacob Holyoake coined the word secularism in 1851 for an ethics based on this world rather than on religion, and Charles Bradlaugh campaigned for secular rights. France's law of 9 December 1905 separated the churches from the state and became the foundation of laïcité. In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's reforms abolished the caliphate in 1924 and made secularism a constitutional principle. India added the word "secular" to its constitution's preamble in 1976.

The American model stresses separation while allowing wide public expression of religion. French laïcité stresses state neutrality and limits religious symbols in some public institutions, such as state schools. India's model aims at equal respect for all religions, and the state is involved in some religious matters. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, keep an established church while governing in largely secular ways. Authoritarian forms, as in the Soviet Union or communist Albania, which declared itself an atheist state in 1967, went beyond separation to repress religion.

Religious critics argue that secularism pushes faith out of public life and treats religious reasons as less legitimate than secular ones. Scholars such as the philosopher Charles Taylor and the anthropologist Talal Asad have argued that secularism is not neutral but carries its own assumptions, often rooted in Western Christian history. Critics of French laïcité argue that it has been applied in ways that fall hardest on Muslim women who wear headscarves. Others argue that strict separation can make it harder for religious communities to run schools and charities with public support. Supporters reply that secularism is the fairest way to protect both believers and nonbelievers in diverse societies.

Most modern democracies are secular in some sense, though they differ widely. Common secular policies include no official religion, equal legal status for all faiths, civil marriage, secular public schools and laws that do not depend on religious doctrine. Debates continue over religious symbols, school prayer, funding for religious schools and exemptions from general laws.