SOCIOLOGY TUTORIAL-2

RELIGION AND
SECULARISM

BY-

Sudhanshu Singh
ID NO.210115
I NT R O D U C T I O N
Sociology is the study of human social life groups and societies. It
concerns with wide range of phenomena ranging from analysis of passing
encounter between two individuals to the analysis of global process. One
such analysis deals with conflict between religion and secularism. If one
thinks in the Indian perspective, we come to the conclusion that religion
provided the base for the formulation of all the traditional laws in our
country. According to Robert D. Baird 1, the sacred Hindu texts;
Manusmriti, derived through spiritual insight, provided the basic platform
for the formation of Laws. Though there is a significant difference
between the Manusmriti and the after-independence laws in India, they are
still considered to be one of the most important sources of law. Hence,
originally laws consisted an element of religion in them which was based
on the principles of inequality and divided the society on the basis of
class, sex, education When one says secularism, the idea that comes to the
mind is that of “indifference to religion.” But gradually the general
outlook of the people changed andnew ideas emerged thus bringing in the
concept of secularism.Donald Smith defines it thus, “ The secular state
which guarantees individual and corporate freedom of religion, deals with
the individual as a citizen irrespective of his religion is not
constitutionally connected to a particular religion nor does it seek either
to promote or interfere with religion.” India today as we know it is a
sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic. With a rich culture and
heritage religion has played a very important and essential role in the
functioning of this country since traditional times. As opposed to the wall
of separation of the United States, India’s approach to secularism has
been one in which it goes along with religion. The word ‘secular’ had not
been included in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution till it was done
so by Mrs. Indira Gandhi by the 42 nd amendment Act, 1976. This was
because the Constitution makers were unsure about the outcome of
adopting the wall of separation in which there would be a clear distinction
between the functioning of the state and the inherent religious nature of
Indians.. They thought it would give religious groups the impression that
they were trying to establish a state structure inconsistent with the
cultural ethos of the Indian people. The Constitution makers were aware
that India is a multi-religious pluralist society and that meant that there
would be a difference in the outlook, decisions of the people who follow
different religions. In order to maintain the peace and encourage general
participation in society, the Constitution makers must make sure that there
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is equality among all the religions. But more than that they have to make
sure there is religious tolerance in society.

C O N F L I C T O F R E L I GI O N W I T H SE C U L A R I S M
In India, secularism derives its testimonial from the Constitution, which
provides for the freedom to practice and preach religion, through the
Article 25 to Article 28. Through them  Constitution declares that every
person has a fundamental right not only to hold whatever religious belief
commend themselves to his judgement, but also to express his beliefs in
such overt acts, as are prescribed by his religion and propagate its tenets
among others. The exercise of this right is, however subject to ‘public
order, morality and public health’. The Indian Constitution provides for
no discrimination to be made on the basis of caste, creed, gender or class.
Similarly, all citizens of India irrespective of one’s religion, caste or
gender have the right to vote. The Constituent Assembly placed the
individual at the heart of the constitutional scheme, upholding the dignity,
freedom and well-being that each individual is entitled to and as P.N.
Bhagwati describes it, were convinced that if every individual was
bestowed with the right to preach, profess and propagate the religion of
his or her wish and that if religion was restricted to matters exclusive to
religion and detached from governmental functions, a spirit of tolerance
would eventually evolve and there would not be any conflict between
religion and secularism.

Though the Constitution of India provides substantial scope for freedom

of religious belief, the freedom is not unrestricted. Articles 25 and 26 of
the Constitution delineate both the freedoms and their restrictions. These
provisions attempt to establish a delicate balance between essential
interference and impartial interference on the part of the state, by keeping
the possibilities that may arise out of circumstances in which the government
may have to impose restraints on the freedoms of individuals in collective
interests in consideration. The Constitution framers did not wish to allow the
freedom of religion to become a device for thwarting the progress of the nation
to a State which provided full liberty and dignity to each individual to enjoy
equality of status and opportunity, no matter what religion he practiced.

The right under Article 26(a) is a group right and is available to every
religious denomination. Clause (b) of Article 26 guarantees to every
religious denomination the right to manage its own affairs in matters of
religion. The expression ‘matters of religion’ includes ‘religious
practices, rites and ceremonies essential for the practicing of religion.’
An important case that involved the right of a religious denomination to
manage its own affairs in matters of religion was  Venkataramana Devaru
Vs. State of Mysore. Venkatramana temple belonged to the Gowda
Saraswath Brahman Community. The Madras Temple Entry Authorization
Act, supported by Article 25(2)(b) of the Constitution, threw open all
Hindu public temples in the state to Harijans. The trustees of this
denominational temple refused admission to Harijans on the ground that
the caste of the prospective worshipper was a relevant matter of religion
according to scriptural authority, and that under Article 26(b) of the
Constitution they had the right to manage their own affairs in matters of
religion. The Supreme Court admitted that this was a matter of religion,
but when it faces conflict with Article 25(2) (b), it approved a
compromise arrangement heavily weighted in favour of rights of Harijans
and a token concession to the right of a religious denomination to exercise
internal autonomy.

R E L I G I O N B A S E D P R O V I SI O N S I N I N DI A N C O N S T I T UT I O N

Though India proclaims itself to be religiously neutrality of the state and

religious liberties of the people, we find within the Constitution of India
a number of religion-based and religion-related provisions for particular
communities. Among these are the following:
1) A provision in the chapter on Directive Principles of State Policy
requiring legal prohibition of the slaughter of cows and calves,
which is an obvious recognition of the Hindu reverence for the
bovine creatures
2) A provision in the chapter on Fundamental Rights saying that
carrying the sacred kirpan in public places would be regarded as a
"fundamental right" for the Sikhs.
3) An explanatory provision in the chapter on Fundamental Rights
enabling the State to legislate for removing all sorts of caste-based
restrictions on entry to Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh temples.
4) A special provision in the chapter on Finance for specified annual
maintenance-allowances to be given from the State exchequer for the
upkeep of Hindu temples of a certain denomination in two South
Indian states-Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
5) Two separate provisions in the chapter on Special Provisions
providing for the protection of religious customs prevalent among
the tribal communities of two Christian-dominated states of North
East India-Nagaland and Mizoram.
There is, thus, a rather curious blend of secular and religious elements
within the text of the Constitution; and it is this judicious blend that
defines and determines the contours of secularism to be acted upon by the
state and the religious freedom to be exercised by individuals and
communities in modern India. The law creates a balance between a secular
state and a non-secular state by accommodating and adapting the
sentiments of various religious communities. It may be, therefore said that
a balance of sorts is created by according equal respect to each religion.
CONCLUSION
A very thin line separates the apparently dissimilar acts of upholding
secularism and granting religious favours. Many a times they overlap
making it really difficult for the courts to come to just conclusion. As
Brian Barry believes a good law need not ever have exceptions; once it
does it ceases to remain a good law. Likewise, if there are good reasons to
grant an exception to a law then it puts the very existence of law in great
doubt Contrarily, the multiculturalists believe in having a few mandatory
exceptions to every law; it may be social, political, economical or
religious. Actually, there is still a lot of uncertainty associated with the
secularism chapter in the Indian context. The courts have tried and are
trying to grant justice depending upon the religious backgrounds, the
economic conditions of the people, the status of that particular religion in
the society (i.e. is it a minority; always discriminated) Thus the courts
nowadays adopt the foolproof way of looking into the actual facts in each
case which poses a conflict between religious sentiments and secularism.