{"id":6373,"date":"2020-02-20T10:37:17","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T05:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?p=6373"},"modified":"2025-07-05T17:00:34","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T11:30:34","slug":"secularism-its-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Secularism &#038; Its Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Secularism_Its_Evolution\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong> Secularism &amp; Its Evolution<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Relevant_For_Prelims_GS_Paper_I\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #333333;\">(Relevant For Prelims G.S Paper I)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_68 ez-toc-wrap-center counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-light-blue ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >What's Inside this Blog!<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Secularism_Its_Evolution\" title=\"Secularism &amp; Its Evolution\">Secularism &amp; Its Evolution<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-2' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Relevant_For_Prelims_GS_Paper_I\" title=\"(Relevant For Prelims G.S Paper I)\">(Relevant For Prelims G.S Paper I)<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Context\" title=\"Context:\">Context:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Discrimination_and_recognition\" title=\"Discrimination and recognition:\">Discrimination and recognition:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Background\" title=\"Background:\">Background:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Why_use_a_specific_term\" title=\"Why use a specific term?\">Why use a specific term?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/secularism-its-evolution\/#Way_forward\" title=\"Way forward:\">Way forward:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-25868 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6.png\" alt=\"Secularism &amp; Its Evolution by Vikash Ranjan sir at Triumph IAS, UPSC Sociology\u00a0Optional\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6.png 1080w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Untitled-design-6-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" \/><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Context\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Context:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">What value is added by the term \u2018secular\u2019 to liberal democracies, i.e. states that safeguard liberties of individuals and political freedoms of citizens?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 For some scholars, virtually nothing. Why? Because, while secularism is against discrimination only on the basis of religion, a \u2018liberal democracy\u2019 is against all forms of discrimination. The term \u2018liberal democracy\u2019 subsumes \u2018secularism\u2019.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 This is a fashionable view in Europe. Even some Indian scholars argue for the sufficiency of Articles 14-16 and 19 of the Constitution.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Discrimination_and_recognition\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Discrimination and recognition:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">The word \u2018secular\u2019 is important for those who claim the sufficiency of \u2018<strong>liberal democracy\u2019<\/strong> must think again.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 True, their claim has had some validity in Europe, but it is losing relevance there too. But in places like India, it is a virtual non-starter.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Why? Let us first get a handle on Europe\u2019s specificity.<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Secular states did not emerge in Western Europe in the immediate aftermath of the religious wars.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 These wars were stopped by the establishment not of a secular but a confessional state in which people were forced to embrace the religion of the king.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Those who did not comply faced death or expulsion. Every European society from then on became religiously homogenous \u2014 England became Anglican; Scandinavia, Lutheran; France, Catholic.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Over time some dissenting groups were tolerated, but not without paying a price for their dissent.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Background\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Background:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">When the general ethos in Western Europe witnessed the further decline of Christianity, the term \u2018secular\u2019 found itself linked to a humanist world view for which religion, whatever its private benefits, was potentially a public problem.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 While becoming increasingly less salient, it was etched in the bitter collective memory of these societies as the source of discord from which they had mercifully escaped.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 A religion, already on the defensive, faced greater devaluation and marginalisation. No one wanted religion-grounded recognition.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 With this, the idea of separation of state and religion lost its normative value further.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 These liberal states, where religion was no longer significant, granted formal equality to all citizens and called themselves liberal democratic.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_use_a_specific_term\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Why use a specific term?<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">The point can be made differently. Why lump together all forms of discrimination and oppression under the same general term?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 If the term \u2018secular\u2019 focuses on one specific kind of domination, why not to use it? Isn\u2019t de-cluttering our world and helping us focus on particular features an important function of all concepts?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Why not call a flower \u2018red\u2019 when you have a distinguishing word for it? What point would be served by simply calling it coloured?<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 To be sure, in some contexts, this might be sufficient. For example, if our purpose is to differentiate it from all white flowers the use of the term \u2018coloured\u2019 is adequate but not if one coloured flower is to be distinguished from another.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Likewise, \u2018secular\u2019 helps focus on <strong>institutionalised religious domination,<\/strong> to demarcate it from other kinds of domination based on class, gender, ethnicity, etc. \u2018Secularism\u2019 implores us to resist it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Way_forward\"><\/span><span style=\"color: #333333; font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>Way forward:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">Here we cannot follow European habits but must embrace both liberal democracy and a form of secularism that fights religion-based misrecognition.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Indeed, even Europe is changing. After the migration of workers from former colonies, Europe\u2019s new religious diversity has brought religion-based recognition to the fore.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\">\u2022 Therefore, in Europe too demands for an impartial secular state (in the Indian sense) will become louder.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h3><span class=\"amp-wp-ead8d03\" data-amp-original-style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><span class=\"amp-wp-303d451\" data-amp-original-style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">To Read more topics like Secularism &amp; its evolution<\/span><\/span><span class=\"amp-wp-ead8d03\" data-amp-original-style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><span id=\"_in_Public_Posts_visit_wwwtriumphiascomblogs\" class=\"ez-toc-section\"><\/span><span class=\"amp-wp-ead8d03\" data-amp-original-style=\"font-family: georgia, palatino, serif;\"><span class=\"amp-wp-303d451\" data-amp-original-style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">in Public Posts, visit: <a href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/?amp=1\">www.triumphias.com\/blogs<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3>Read more Blogs:<\/h3>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"BNypV9oP5i\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/corporate-social-responsibility-shifting-from-compliance-to-creating-impact\/\">Corporate Social Responsibility-Shifting from Compliance to Creating Impact | Sociology Optional Coaching | Vikash Ranjan Classes | Triumph IAS | UPSC Sociology Optional<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; 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Its Evolution (Relevant For Prelims G.S Paper I) &nbsp; Context: What value is added by the term \u2018secular\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11068],"tags":[11187,11186,11190,4105,11189,11188,11192,11191],"class_list":["post-6373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sociology-daily-dose","tag-evolution-of-secularism","tag-history-of-secularism","tag-modern-secularism","tag-secularism","tag-secularism-and-governance","tag-secularism-and-society","tag-secularism-impact","tag-secularism-vs-religion"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6373"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25869,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6373\/revisions\/25869"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/triumphias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}