Secularism

Secularism is the principle that determine the relationship between government and the religion. It is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations.

“Secular” means being “separate” from religion, or having no religious basis. The term ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of constitution of India by the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1976

A secular person is one who does not owe his moral values to any religion. His values are the product of this rational and scientific thinking.

Secularism: Constitutional provisions

• Article 14 grants equality before law and equal protection of the laws to all,
• Article 15 enlarges the concept of secularism to the widest possible extent by prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.
• Article 16 (1) guarantees equality of opportunity to all citizens in matters of public employment and reiterates that there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth and residence.
• Article 25 provides ‘Freedom of Conscience’, that is, all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate religion.
• Article 26: every religious group or individual has the right to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes and to manage its own affairs in matters of religion.
• Article 27: the state shall not compel any citizen to pay any taxes for the promotion or maintenance of any particular religion or religious institution.
• Article 28: allows educational institutions maintained by different religious groups to impart religious instruction.
• Article 29 & 30: provide cultural and educational rights to minorities.
• Article 51A: Obliges all the citizens to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood and to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.

Secularism: Significance

• Protect freedom of religion: It seeks to ensure and protect freedom of religious belief and practice for all citizens.
• Democracy and fairness: In a secular democracy all citizens are equal => No religious or political affiliation gives advantages or disadvantages and religious believers are citizens with the same rights and obligations as anyone else.
• Equal access to public services: Secularism ensures that citizens should have equal access to all public services such as hospitals, schools, and local authorities.
• Secularism is not atheism: Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. Secularism simply provides a framework for a democratic society.
• Protects free speech and expression: Religious people have the right to express their beliefs publicly but so do those who oppose or question those beliefs.

Secularism: Indian concept

• This concept is promoted by personalities like Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi is called ‘Positive Secularism’ which reflect ethos of Indian culture.
• The term ‘secularism’ is akin to the Vedic concept of ‘Dharma nirapekshata’ that is indifference of state to religion.
• This model of secularism is adopted by western societies where the government is totally separate from religion.
• Indian philosophy of secularism is related to “Sarva Dharma Sambhava”. Indian secularism is not an end in itself but a means to address religious plurality and sought to achieve peaceful coexistence of different religions.

Secularism: Indian vs Western concept

Secularism: Threats

• Mingling of religion and politics: The mobilization of votes on grounds of primordial identities like religion, caste, and ethnicity, have put Indian secularism in danger.
• Communalization: It operates through communalization of social space, by spreading myths and stereotypes against minorities.
• Competitive politization: Politicization of any one religious group leads to the competitive politicization of other groups, resulting in inter-religious conflict.
• Religious Nationalism:  Rise of religious nationalism in recent years have resulted into mob lynching etc.

Indian Secularism: A lesson for the West

• Indian secularism promotes Unity in diversity over Unity in uniformity of west. Thus, advocates a peaceful co-existence while western model can lead to religious stereotyping leading to discrimination and a divided society.
• In India, State doesn’t owe any loyalty to any particular religion. This gives equal freedom to all religions while providing equal protects all religions.
• Indian secularism recognizes both individual and community religious rights while west only recognizes individual rights.
• Indian model prefers Principled distance (state treat every religion with equal respect) to Equidistance in west. Thus, Indian government can financially support, regulate and administers the religious institutions like Wakf council (Islam), historic Hindu temples, Buddhist monasteries, etc.
• Indian Secularism provides space for religious symbols like kirpan, hijab etc unlike Western system which completely prohibits (France) wearing these in public.
• The Indian model allows scope of education through religious denominations, especially to start and maintain schools and impart religious education therein.
• Recognition of minority rights (articles 29, 30) which also enjoys state support in terms of special grants.

There is a need to identify a common framework or a shared set of values which allows the diverse groups to live together.  Thus, Secularism is the best chance we have to create a society in which people of all religions or none can live together fairly and peacefully.

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