Whither Secularism: Is It a Problem of Definition?

Author(s): RATNA NAIDU

Source: Economic and Political Weekly , JANUARY 19, 2013, Vol. 48, No. 3 (JANUARY
19, 2013), pp. 53-61
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly

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SPECIAL ARTICLE

Whither Secularism: Is It a Problem of Definition?

RATNA NAIDU

This essay proposes a move away from the "dyad" t a public event held on 22 October 2009, Judith

conceptualisation of the secular and the sacred. Jürgen

The Habermas, Charles Taylor and Corne
X A. addressed over a thousand people in the Gre
source of contestation against the secular is not only
New York City's Cooper Union on the question of the
religion but also other institutions in society. The binary
of religion in the public sphere.1 Being embedded in
conceptualisation of the secular and the sacred derived orientations, their approaches to the
philosophical
fered. However
from the reality of fused institutions of an earlier era is of they all converged on the need for r
ment between religion and politics. Taylor called for
limited value. It is argued here that the secular is
redefinition of secularism",2 Butler suggested that p
multifocal as is the secular agenda. The enemies
ligions of the private sphere "may be a fugitive way fo
to the
secular include entrenched interests in thetoeconomy
survive" and
(Mendieta et al 2011: 72), West called fo
thinkers
polity which, in today's highly differentiated (to) become more religiously musical" (ibi
societies,
Habermas even suggested that reasoning had ent
are not guided exclusively by religion. Further, the
"post-secular" phase (ibid: 93).
conditions that define the secular,namely,the separation
These arguments for religion in the political pro
of the state from religious authority, neutrality
be very
of the
confusing for those of us who believe in th
of of
state towards all religions, the establishment thea Enlightenment: that the epistemology of secu
must be kept separate from that of the sacred, i
procedural republic, are all "ideal types" to be used as a
more rigid.
Weberian research tool, but, collectively, these do not in the proceedings published on the basis
In the "Afterword"
encompass the secular problem in its entirety.
of these presentations, Craig Calhoun gives a fascinating his
torical
In this essay the secular is defined as a value, a account of the interventions of religious idiom and the
preferred
use of religious places (Church, Synagogue, etc) to push secular
way of life rooted in secular philosophy. Secularism is the
issues (the anti-slavery and later, the civil rights movement)
ideology which motivates action towards implementing
in the public sphere (ibid: 118-34). Even the Enlightenment,
Calhoun, says,
secular values. The essay presents the difficulties with was a movement among religious thinkers,
a "project
the traditional definition of the secular with of religiously informed public reason", a project
illustrations
dependent on "moderation not of faith but of enthusiasm"
from past and current events, and presents an
(ibid: 125), the enthusiasm of the fanatic "who brooked no
alternate approach. compromise" (ibid: 126).
One is reminded of the Mahatma whose secular credentials
cannot be faulted, yet he led the nationalist movement with
a robust moral and religious fervour. The power of religion in
propelling secular issues in the public sphere can hardly
be denied. One has also to agree with many scholars writing
on this issue, that secular ethics did not emerge from a
vacuum, but are rooted in emancipatory religious texts. The
Ten Commandments, surely, says it all for a functioning
procedural republic.
A key question, though, still remains. How do we synchro
nise the core message of the Enlightenment, operationalised
by secular ideas: liberty, equality and fraternity with the
basic injunctions of all religion? These injunctions, generally,
put limits to freedom, sanction hierarchy and restrain frater
nity between faiths.
Ratna Naidu (ratnanaidu73@yahoo.com) retired as Professor from
These the
contentions are an area of active current debate
Department of Sociology, University of Hyderabad.
which I do not seek to examine in this essay.3 What I would

Economic & Political weekly raga January 19, 2013 vol xlviii no 3 53

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SPECIAL ARTICLE

like to do, though, is to consider the traditional definitionlife.

of Secular inquiry and outlook must, therefore, be as old
secular in the western tradition which is typically directly as the human race but had momentum in western civilis
and solely in relation to the sacred. I argue that secular
ation in ancient Greece. According to recorded history (and
philosophy and values are routinely violated by sources other
much of what happened earlier may be lost for lack of record)
than religion and that the binary conceptualisation ofthe
thebasis for a secular philosophy was firmly laid as early
secular and sacred has obscured the role of a rangeasof600 bce. Scientific investigations were on going and
superstitions, the basis of ethics and morality were all
entrenched interests which contest secular philosophy. While
the French Revolution made religion the villain in conflict
under scrutiny.
Thaïes (624 bce to 546 bce) and Democritus (460 bce to
with the then incipient secular institutions of a medieval age,
the drama of the event has detracted attention from other 370 bce) are prominent among the early scientists. Thaïes'
special interests which undermine secularism. I question the
forte was metaphysics, mathematics, and astronomy. Thaïes
dictionary meaning of the term secular(ism), generally, as the
could determine the height of the pyramids from the length
of their shadows, could calculate the distance of a ship at sea
separation of the state from religion and suggest that the defi
nition of secular(ism) should be broadened and linked to from
its observations taken on the land, and was involved in
roots in secular philosophy. magnetism, electrostatic effects and many similar projects.
I, therefore, deliberately move away from the "dyad"The language of science: theoretical propositions, deductive
conceptualisation of the secular being that which is not
reasoning, observation and knowledge of geometry and
sacred, as also from its etymological roots: the temporal mathematics
as can be traced back to 600 bce to many of
Thaïes' projects. Thaïes' activities in predicting a good
distinct from the eternal, profane time as distinct from
harvest and then undertaking what might today be called
sacred/higher time. This requires a redefinition of the secu
lar. I propose to define secular as a value and in turn define
hedge fund investing, is well known. He would put down de
posits to buy olive presses at a discount and then rent them
"value" in the following paragraph. It is further proposed that
secular values are embedded in secular philosophy and
outa at high prices during peak harvest season.4 Democritus,
famously known as the "laughing philosopher" (Barryman
common sense view of secular philosophy as it emerged in the
West is presented. 2010) (for his scoffing at human follies) is recognised for the
The secular is a value, secularity is an attitudinal attribute,
formulation of atomist physics and was the first also to state
secularism is an ideology and all these are rooted in secular
the principle of causality. Referring to cause and effect rela
tions in nature, he said "By necessity are foreordained all
philosophy/epistemology. Whereas secularism motivates action
towards secular issues, secularity is a preferred attitudinal
things that were and are to come" (Margenau 1950: 395).
value. Values are defined as preferred modes of orientation Some
to decades later, Strato (335 bce to 269 bce) acknowl
specifiable categories of human experience (Dutta 1971). The
edged as the founder of geology, observed the flow of rivers
and the consequent change of the landscape by the accumu
source of values may be secular philosophy, religion, or tradi
lation of mud and soil in different locations. He observed
tions of art and culture. By these definitions, secularity is not
in conflict with the values of religion. One can be simul that falling bodies accelerate by observing the flow of water
taneously both secular and religious since the roots which poured from a spout. Strato, like Democritus saw life force in
nourish these values are not in conflict. Further, secularisation
nature and cause and effect relationships of necessity with
is the process of institutional differentiation between the secu
intent being neutral between good and evil. Hylozoism can
be traced to Strato.5
lar and the sacred. In primitive/medieval societies the secular
and the sacred spaces were fused. Simultaneous with the initiatives to uncover the laws of
nature, were the movements of Sceptics questioning the basis
Secular Philosophy for knowledge of the objective world and also the basis for
social mores, morals, ethics, and laws. Socrates (469/470 bce
Basic to secular philosophy are the twin principles of science
to 399 bce) proposed the negative method of hypotheses
and humanitarianism. While science enables material progress,
the emphasis here is on the attitudinal attributes generated selection.6
by Known as the questioning technique, this methodo
the culture of science. Fundamental to the world of science logy
is a puts constant pressure not only on the refinement of
culture of empirically grounded reasoning, innovation and
knowledge produced about the material world, but also on the
discovery which continuously change our view and the mean
framework of religious rituals, morality and justice to yield
ing of the world around us. more emancipatory windows to the social process. While
The words curiosity, comprehension and compassion are curiosity propelled the discovery of nature's secrets, scepti
basic to the secular outlook. One imagines that these might
cism questioned the parameters of knowledge, the bottom line
be inherent to almost all living creatures. Whereas all organ
being that knowledge produced is non-dogmatic.
isms have built-in survival instincts expressed in the form ofThe reason for reiterating some of these well-known tales
signs, in the human these take the form of symbols which about the earliest scientists is to make the point that the
assign meanings and concepts to comprehension and com genetic code for secular philosophy need to be traced to the
passion. Having assigned meanings, there is the attempt epistemological
at position of these founders: that the natural
assertion to change the environment for a better quality world
of can be understood by observation, and experiment.
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 SPECIAL ARTICLE

"Happy Holiday" greeting card from the White House rather

They were, perhaps, not interested, specifically, in demolish
than the traditional Christmas card. Equally, in Canada,
ing belief in religion. But in their quest and curiosity about
there was an outcry when the secularists found many bricks
nature and its mysteries and discovering the laws of nature
missing
and its predictability, if traditional beliefs and rituals fell on from the Wall when the parents of a Sikh child
insisted on his wearing a kirpan as part of his apparel when
the way side, so be it. Their deterministic view of the universe
has perhaps led later day scholars to regard them as having
attending school.
Such issues apart, there have always been encroachments
atheistic leanings. Beyond elliptical statements like Thaïes'
of the secular into sacred space and vice versa in funda
"All things are full of Gods" (Thaïes, op cit) or Protagoras
well known statement: mental ways which makes one wonder whether the Wall
Concerning the Gods, ever did, really, exist in any nation state. The French Revolu
I have no means of knowing whether they exist or not, tion which initiated the separation of the authority of the
Of what sort they may be, state from that of the church witnessed the most aggressive
Because of the obscurity of the subject and the brevity of human life.7
takeover of sacred spaces by secular forces with total
There is little specific evidence of their attitude towardsdisregard
the for a Wall. The aggression, of course, was neces
transcendental. As for later day scientists, Newton was a sary
con to establish the authority of the state vis-à-vis the all
forming member of the Anglican Church, whereas Einsteinencompassing power of the church at that time. Priests and
was an agnostic. Einstein's views are well documented. To a
bishops became state employees, school texts were sought to
question about his religious beliefs, he famously said: be purged of religion, and there was secular management of
religious
Your question (about God) is the most difficult in the world. It is not a properties.
question that I can answer simply with yes or no. I am not an Atheist.Even
I today, after more than 200 years, the Wall does not
do not know if I can define myself as a Pantheist. The problem in in the United Kingdom (uk), ironically the birthplace of
exist
volved is too vast for our limited minds.8
the rationalists. The head of the state (the Queen) is also the
head of the established church and yet, secular space, insofar
Conditions for the Rooting of Secular Values as it is in the minds of public, is protected by a population
The thinking around the rooting of secular values relies onwhich
the is increasingly irreligious. A recent research report by
existence of two conditions: the House of Commons Library found that during the last six
years
(1) The separation of the jurisdiction and secular authority of there has been a 49% increase in non-believers in this
the state from that of the power of religion and religious basically Christian country.9 In the us where religion and
organisations and the state's neutrality to all religions. religious organisations are vibrant, a more defined Wall exists
(2) The evolution of civil/procedural laws designed to ensure
between the arena of state authority and the authority of
the enforcement of neutral applications of rights through religious
secu organisations.
The Wall has never been an issue in India where the word
lar institutions and especially through the judicial system and
through orders of the courts. secular appeared in the Constitution only in 1976. There has
These conditions for the secular are ideal types. It may be a full flow of influences between the religious/sacred and
been
recalled that the "ideal type" is a construct, a research the
toolsecular, and especially into the political sphere. Faith
developed by Max Weber to be used as a measure for assess schools and other faith-based institutions and pilgrimages are
ing the phenomenon under study at the level of reality. The
subsidised, there is secular management of religious places
ideal type is never real, but as an analytical constructand canfestivals, and in turn, the voice of religious leaders shapes
enable comparative studies of, for instance, secularisation orbanks and the political process.
vote
In general, the notion of separation between religious and
the separation of state authority from religious organisations.
secular authority runs into problems where there is state
As will be seen, in most countries, the reality is replete with
deviations from these ideal types and these deviations create
funding of religion sponsored institutions: schools, old age
conflict about the validity of the secular ideal. However, to
homes, orphanages, pilgrimages, places of worship, etc. Many
some extent these conflicts are due to the very limiting and
taxpayers are non-believers or they may not subscribe to the
narrow nature of the definition of the secular in relation to
particular religious organisation which is subsidised. This
the sacred. divide is at the heart of secular resistance to such state fund
ing since it results in serious deviations from the ideal type of
The 'Wall of Separation' between the State and Religion
a secular state.

The "Wall of Separation" (the Wall) has been an intractable

Neutrality
issue at the core of recent debate with regard to the nature
of the secular state. There are ongoing attempts to remove
The second aspect of the relation between the state and reli
(or put back) bricks from the Wall both on seemingly trivial
gious organisation is the notion of neutrality: that it is politi
issues, but also on issues which are fundamental. In the
cally correct in a liberal democracy for the state to be neutral
United States (us), for instance, the faithful, would like
vis-à-vis all religious/cultural communities.
to take few bricks out of the Wall when secularists name The principal of neutrality and equal distance of the
the Christmas tree, "the Green tree" and they receivestate
a from different religions is not new to India. The principle
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SPECIAL ARTICLE

was implemented by Akbar as early as in the 1590s.founding

He fathers of the Constitution, and especially Nehru
abolished special taxes on non-Muslims and in the wordswere
of particular that the Muslims who stayed on after Partition
Amartya Sen: should be protected by the state. But 60 years on, in the con
He paid particular attention to the challenge of inter-community rela text of a vibrant democracy, Muslims now constitute signifi
tions and the abiding need for communal peace and fruitful collabora cant vote banks which every political party has to take into
tion in the already multicultural India of the sixteenth century. We account. In general, the neutrality principle is vulnerable in all
have to recognise how unusual Akbar's policies were for the time. The societies because of the pressure of electoral calculus.
Inquisitions were in full swing and Giordano Bruno was burnt at the
Rajeev Bhargava has offered a new phrase to the discourse
stake for heresy in Rome in 1600 even as Akbar was making his pro
nouncements on religious tolerance in India...also arranged system on secularism: instead of neutrality, he suggests a "principled
atic dialogues in his capital city of Agra between Hindus, Muslims, distance" of the state to religious establishments (Bhargava
Christians, Jains, Parsees, Jews and others, even including agnostics 2011). Bhargava would credit the stance of the founding fathers
and atheists (Sen 2009: 37). of the Constitution to the minorities with "principled dis
However, as will be seen in a moment, an emperor's vision tance". Perhaps at the dawn of democracy there was a special
and intellectual articulation of neutrality between religious moment evoking a special stance towards the minorities. But in
groups is of a different genre from the neutrality of a state, general theoretical terms is "principled distance" better than
under pressure from assertive minorities in election-powered "neutrality"? Neutrality is not a value loaded term whereas
modern states. "principles" connote values. There is no "principle" involved in
The architects of the Indian Constitution (1950) ensured electoral calculus and certainly for some decades in India,
multicultural policies long before the term multiculturalism expediency has been the guiding light in matters of relations
came into vogue in the west. The term first gained currency in between state craft and religion. I would, therefore, stay with
Canada to deal with its complex multi-language, multicultural the term "neutrality" even though most liberal democracies,
issues. Nation states were always constituted of a plurality of the world over, would not score highly on this account.
cultures, religions and languages. Such plural societies are
integrated by political arrangements which are hierarchic in Enforcement of Rights of Citizens
implication. The dominant culture/cultures have space in the This brings us to the second important condition for the root
public domain. Harmony between the communities in plural ing of secular values, namely, the evolutions of civil/proce
societies is possible so long as there is no challenge to this hier dural laws designed to ensure the enforcement of neutral ap
archy and there is no demand from various minorities for plication of rights to all citizens. In the west, these laws,
equal space in the public domain. Multicultural policies fine whether of the epistemic variety of common laws or civil laws
tune the process of democracy and offer equal space to all cul apply to all citizens in the entire territory of the nation. A more
ture groups in the political process of the nation state. This or less white, Christian majority culture enabled the evolution
does not come as a benevolent gesture from the state, but of these laws. The roots of the western legal system go back to
evolves through the pressures of various cultural and religious ancient Roman times and the system was of course encrusted
organisations for recognition in the process of electoral poli with flaws of privilege and discrimination which limited their
tics. This is in tune with the postmodern celebration of diversi neutrality in application to the citizens of the state; hence the
ties. The term multicultural society, thus, of course has its significance of the French Revolution. The French Revolution
origin in the new nations of Canada, Australia and us, peopled made frontal attacks on privilege and discrimination. The slo
by resilient immigrant groups. In time, multiculturalism gan: "liberty, equality, fraternity" not only changed family re
replaced traditional policies on integration of minorities and lations by targeting patriarchy (in terms of laws of inheritance,
immigrants, also, in the uk and other European countries. gender equality, marriage made a civil act with provision of
Although the established church is prioritised in most western divorce, etc) but also freed market systems by targeting the
democracies, the multicultural policy of equal treatment for guilds which used to demand compulsory membership and
all religious organisations is now generally the norm. regulated every profession. The French Revolution ensured
In this context, the state's neutrality towards all religious that the state was the only authority over citizens. Other west
organisations and multicultural values are basic to the secular ern democracies followed this ideal making the citizens free
package. However, as with the Wall, practical reality does not from religious and other organisations which lacked secular
reflect a neutral stance of the state between the majority and accountability. Citizens do not have to follow multiple per
the "others" in any western society. Language, culture, and the sonal laws (of faith and state) and have equal entitlements.
traditional church are generally prioritised by the state in In India the Hindu Code Bill was successfully legislated after
western liberal democracies. Independence by the powerful leadership led by Nehru, de
spite strong resistance from religious fundamentalists. The
In India, on the other hand, the critique is that a significant
Muslim vote bank often skews the balance of neutrality. Hindu
The Code Bill brought many of the systemic benefits enjoyed
by women in the west to Hindu women in India. But the neu
carving out of Pakistan merely took out the creamy layer of the
Muslim community from India, leaving behind vast numbers
tral application of these rights to all religious communities was
restrained by values of respect to the internal laws of minority
of poor Muslims in every state of the Indian Union, and more
religious communities. The Shah Bano case brought out
poor without the umbrella of their traditional patrons. The
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vividly the dilemmas of the government caught between the explanation of life. The dyad conceptualisation camouflages
rights of the citizen and that of the community. The Supreme the more basic process of functional differentiation. Recall
Court delivered a judgment in favour of Shah Bano allowing that functional differentiation took place not only between
her a paltry sum of Rs 179 per month alimony from her hus religion and state craft but in all spheres of society. The family's
band who divorced her. The judgment was contested by com function to socialise and educate the next generation was
munity leaders with mass demonstrations. A special bill was hived off to schools and systems of education, the economy
passed by the Congress-led government which upheld the laws was differentiated from the family and the polity, and so on. It
of the community. The citizen Shah Bano was no contest for is secular assertions which pressured functional differentia
the voting clout of the community. Here again, there is devia tion. By tying the secular and the sacred in a binary relation,
tion from the ideal type of the procedural republic which is a we overlook sources of oppression and obscurantism in institu
basic condition for the secular process. The challenge today in tions other than religion. I illustrate as follows.
most nation states is the need to balance the civil rights of the In early democracies, whether in ancient Greece or the pan
individual as against the rights of the community in which the chayats in India, specific categories of people: slaves, women,
individual is embedded. immigrants, etc, were excluded from democratic discourse.
The Wall which should separate the state from religious ac The robust democracies in the west excluded the colonies from
tivities, the state's "neutral" stance towards all religious estabparticipating in the democratic process, the blacks in the us
lishments and the procedural republic are all ideal types. The were denied citizenship rights as late as in the middle of the
secularists in most countries live with the reality of deviationslast century (the civil rights movement was at its peak only in
from the ideal; perhaps this cushions the masses from thethe 1960s) and the original inhabitants of that subcontinent,
trauma of complete rupture from traditions. the Native Americans are still in a state of limbo.
Liberal democracies propelled by secular philosophy are
Defining Secular beyond Its Link to the Sacred textured, deepened and created inch by inch by hitherto
It is seen that the strength and form of the separation of religionexcluded categories of people/issues making demands for recog
from functions of the state, the state's neutrality to all religionsnition and inclusion. Battles are won but the war is never over
and the application of these to evolve a procedural republicsince new issues affecting new categories of people/situations
differ in different liberal democracies. Liberal democracy emerge. One may get some perspective on western liberal
itself is contextual, shaped by particular struggles in specific democracies based on secular values in looking at the issue of
time and space, a sedimented product of the history of particuwomen's right to vote and the right to hold public office.
lar nation states. Liberal democracy is both a form of govern "Liberty, equality fraternity" was the motto of French secu
ment and a process which is propelled by secular philosophy. larism, and yet, women's right to vote and stand for public
The central issue is not merely of separation of religion fromoffice was not granted in France until as late as 1944. The women's
state craft but of the role of the state in protecting humanitari suffrage movement started in France as early as the 1780s, ear
anism (and now, it seems, all living creatures and the planetlier even to the French Revolution (1787-99). It would seem
itself) through the lens of a secular world view. In its originalthat for almost 200 years the battle for power, equality and in
context in 18th century France, secular philosophy providedclusion was a battle only between men. The story is not so dif
the ideology for separation of state and church. This took placeferent in other European countries, possibly the most extreme
through a revolution which pulverised the divine right of thecase is that of Switzerland. The first feminist association was
monarchy endorsed by the church. Secularism questionedestablished in Switzerland in 1868, demanding civil rights and
religion-based endorsements of privilege, hierarchy, exclu the right to university education, but they were able to get vot
sion, etc. I would argue that such endorsements have been ing rights and the right to hold public office only in 1971.
made also by sources other than religion throughout history.In stark contrast, in India Hindu women received all their
In all dictionaries the meaning of secularism is given in relarights in 1956, although their sisters worshipping other gods
tion to the sacred: "a tendency to exclude religious standards were denied civil rights (though not voting rights). The irony is
from public affairs", "ethical standards divorced from religious that Hindu women could leapfrog into modern personal and
traditions" (Penguin), "indifference to or rejection or exclusionfamily laws thanks to men who were intellectually nurtured in
of religion and religious considerations" (Webster), etc. Charlesthe western liberal ethos. While it took much longer for the
Taylor rescues the term from this "dyad" predicament by placinstitutionalised discrimination against blacks and women to
ing it in, what he calls, "The Immanent Frame" (Taylor 2011). break down and take cognition of the emancipatory move
His historical study of the dawn of the secular age (Taylor 2007) ments in the west, India was the beneficiary of the spill-over
in the context of the evolution of Christianity gives a panoramiceffect on the mindset of men and women who had just
view of the expansion of secular space. Taylor suggests that theemerged from fierce opposition to colonial oppression. The
secular came into its own as an autonomous force during the central point is that the source of oppression and anti-secular
period of reformation and the French Revolution. However, hephilosophy in the west was not always religion: no religion
continues to assume a dyad relationship between the secularper se discriminated against black people or women, and,
and the sacred. I propose that the secular was always an autonimportantly, there has never been any hesitation to convert
omous force, a creation science and reason, a search for a better people of colour. Discriminations were/are institutionalised to

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protect special concerns by people with power and authority.
Since in ancient times power and authority was fused with
religion, much of the discriminatory features, especially
against woman were laid at the door of religion.
Relationship between Religion and the Secular
How, then, are secular attitudes a challenge to religious in
junctions? Consider that humanitarianism is not alien to reli
gion. Indeed humanitarian values may be basic to all religious
discourse. Whereas welfare of the individual (man/woman/
child), here and now, is the measure of secular humanitarianism,
the culture of humanitarianism differs in different religions.
Humanitarian ethics of a particular religion is predictive of the
overall explanatory scheme which offers rationale for norms
and values for everyday life in that religion.
Different religions have institutionalised systems of philoso
phy and practice to enable consciousness of god. Religion
encourages certain type of behaviour patterns and discourages
others, restrains and guides motivation and always grounds
these in ultimate existential questions which seek answers in
the transcendental. Religious values indicate the cosmic world
of imagination which in turn have an effect on culture and
psychology of the members of a community. Religion's func
tional imperative lies in the fact that while humans have infi
nite creative potential, there is never a moment when he/she
can be conscious of being an absolute creator and absolutely
free to determine the course of events. Religion/faith provides
the explanatory framework for this core resistance to human
freedom. Secular questions do not seek answers for this core
unexplainable reality and only seek answers to the mysteries
"new nations" of Australia, the us and Canada. This did not
happen for hundreds of years when the very authority of kings
and emperors had divine sanction, as also when democratic
rights to assert were incipient vis-à-vis powerful warlords. The
reform movements and the French Revolution were a culmina
tion of secular assertion. This particular secularisation took place
in Christendom. The "Immanent Frame", whether of Charles Tay
lor (2011) or earlier as presented by Max Weber in his Protes
tant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism10 thus involve the search
for the seeds of secular thought only in the Judeo-Christian tradi
tion. However, the point being made here is that curiosity, com
prehension, compassion and assertion are clearly propelled by
secular values and need not emerge from any religious tradition.
Religious and secular values involve different but not oppo
sitional systems of philosophy. Secular values evolve from sci
entific facts and are part of a philosophy which neither denies
nor recognises the relevance of religious philosophy which, in
turn, is based on non-observable deities and faith-based facts/
values. Scientific humanism and religiosity can and do coexist.
It may be a matter of state craft and evolution of a legal frame
work which could protect the rights of both the individual and
that of the religious community.
The secular story is embedded in the story of mankind and
not in opposition to religion. I propose that the definition of
secular in the form of the "dyad", namely, that which is not sa
cred, suffers from a negative formulation whereas secular is in
fact a positive, autonomous value system.
Perils of Multiculturalism and Secularism
Multicultural values are of course essential to a secular state

of the natural/material world, and advocate freedom of the since the individual is rooted in specific cultures which give
individual to pursue his/her avocation in that world. The clash meaning to life. However, there is no built-in contradiction
of the sacred and the secular happens because each religion between the culture/religion embedded individual and the
not only depicts the world of gods but also the material world "unencumbered" individual (unencumbered by differentials
and social organisation of men and women. The imagery of of religion/race and other identity attributes), just as there is
religious language functions as a controlling mechanism aiming no logical opposition between religion and secular philosophy.
to secure the material world consciousness to god conscious However, the basic problem which has emerged today is the
ness in a stable relationship. This stable relationship between pursuit of multicultural and secular values as ideologies and
the world of god and the material world becomes vulnerable adopted by nation states in their policy framework.
with each scientific discovery, each new theoretical formula Multiculturalism and secularism are ideologies, as is evident
tion of the phenomenal world, resulting in new ways of adapt in the -ism attached to these terms. As ideologies these terms
ing and coping with the vicissitudes of both the physical and motivate action. Multicultural and the secular are values; they
social environment. As new dimensions of reality are revealed are a preferred way of societal life. There is no coercive ele
by science, the world requires new ways of defining relations ment underlining the concepts, "multicultural" and "secular",
between man and his environment including his fellow men there is no assumption of a complicated bureaucracy to ensure
and women. The religious reformation movements, new inter the vitality of ongoing multicultural or secular processes.
pretations of scriptures and new religious revelations are However, as with all ideologies, there are unintended conse
attempts to restore equilibrium between consciousness of god quences, often negative, in the official adoption of multicultur
and the consciousness of the world. There is a clash between alism and secularism.
secular values and religious values during the interim periods As an ideology, multiculturalism encourages the state in
of social change when religion must come to terms with new various anti-secular directions, the most pernicious of which is
visions of the world offered by scientific discoveries and secu identity politics. This is inevitable in electoral politics which is
lar interpretations of social relationships (Dutta 1971: 63-70). the basis for a functioning liberal democracy. Religious lead
The penetration of secular values into the religious sphere ers, in particular, have an interest in maintaining boundaries
is easier when functional/institutional differentiation be from the "other" and they are encouraged towards funda
tween public and religious authority already exist as in the
mentalist injunctions so as to keep the "flock" intact.

58 January 19, 2013 vol XLViii no 3 raun Economic & Political weekly

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 SPECIAL ARTICLE

Multicultural values at their best enable the evolution of over these neighbourhoods, built their own institutions, places
secular humanistic values through communication with other of worship and business places. The immigrant/migrant com
cultures/religions. The syncretic movements in India which munities are separated from national culture by structural fac
were a blend of multiple religious beliefs involving a process of tors such as housing, school education and lack of shared
cultural reciprocation is an illustration of the immense poten spaces for imbibing the culture of the nation.
tial of the values of a multicultural regime. There was vibrant Multiculturalism emerged during the last three decades not
sharing of cultural/religious traits between the communities only in tune with postmodern liberal philosophy, but also be
in the bhakti movement and those led by sufi saints. These cause of the importance of the vote banks constituted by im
movements gave new directions to values and special empha migrant and minority communities. The lure of vote banks
sis to equality as a fundamental value. Both these movements and multiculturalism set in official trends in "politically cor
de-emphasised the role of the clergy and brought about syn rect" gestures which often enrage and offend the Christian
thesis between Hindu and Muslim cultures. Other such syn majorities. As discussed earlier there is resentment that the
cretic sects are the Lingayats, Syrian Christians in Kerala official greeting card is a "Happy Holiday" card rather than a
which combine a Jewish heritage with Hindu traditions in Christmas card. Nativity plays and carol services are taboo
their Christian faith, and the Mahima which is a fusion of in state institutions, officially "winter lights" have replaced
Vedantism and Buddhism. Christmas lights in government institutions and some munici
Spontaneous multicultural interaction and communicationpalities the Christmas tree is referred to as the "Holiday Tree";
deepens and strengthens a national culture. But multicultural traditional Easter or Christmas rituals are cancelled in some
ism destroys this impulse, especially in the context of electoralschools and institutions and substituted by interfaith events.
politics. As an ideology it encourages the careful nurturing ofHow is one to make sense of these politically correct niceties in
separate identities, boundaries of cultures become less porous the context of ghetto neighbourhoods, unemployment and
and separatist mentalities emerge and, of course, by implicapoverty and the feeling of alienation and non-acceptance?
tion, internal reforms are discouraged. While multiculturalism's "enthusiasm" offends the majority
Multiculturalism superimposed on race prejudiced nation since the traditions they value are undermined, it does not
states has had tragic consequences. The July bombings in 2005please the minorities sufficiently to engage their hearts and
in London by second-generation Muslims, born and broughtminds with the national culture. Multiculturalism merely
up in England put a question mark on the British policy ofcommunalises the political process.
multiculturalism. In earlier decades, the policies of integration Certainly multicultural values contribute to a more diverse,
and assimilation used to be in place in western democracies. rich national culture, but I would argue that multiculturalism
But the hegemony of national cultures began to be underpursued as an ideology freezes communication between cultures/
mined by ghettoisation in housing and social activities. In the religions and contributes to a divisive, alienated, strife ridden
us, Canada, Australia, the so-called new nations, the imminational culture. Similarly secularism as an ideology has nega
grant communities are dispersed over large territories and thetive consequences. When ideologies (Marxism, socialism, cap
problems of ghetto formation are accordingly reduced. Howitalism, communism, etc) are adopted and pushed at an offi
ever, tiny Denmark (5.4 million people), for instance, suddenlycial level, there is a tendency to overreach and often defeat the
woke up to the pressure of 2,00,000 Muslim residents. France purpose for which they were adopted.
has enormous problems integrating five to six million Muslim
immigrants from the former French colonies of north Africa.Secularism's Overreach
Islamic militancy in the "zones", the outer suburbs of Paris is Secularism's overreach is evident when Denmark refuses p
an every-day problem because these ghettos are home to themission to build a mosque in Copenhagen, France passes
most impoverished of French citizens. The story is the same insecularism law in 2004 which prohibits the display of religio
Germany, Belgium and so on. The immigrants in the suburbs symbols such as the hijab, the turban, the cross and the skullca
of Paris are traditional and devout Muslims and live in an (followed by Belgium and Germany amongst others) and t
Scandinavian
ethos very different from the feminist and secular culture of countries monitor parenting skills by "secula
Paris, only a few miles away. standards. Questions have been raised as to whether the
That the uk's policy of multiculturalism has not scratched
are true measures of secularism or display the ethnocentrism
of the majority. Secularism's overreach is inevitable when
the surface of the problem of integrating immigrant communi
ties became clear when for the first time terrorists had vast bureaucracy is set up by a government to ensure stan
ards of secularism without sufficient concern for the under
emerged from the innards of a western nation. The 7 July 2005
suicide bombers were young (in their late teens and early 20s)
ing existential problems of individual and family. Much inf
and born of immigrant parents. Among the men behind the
mation about such bureaucratic methods emerged during t
recent debates on the forcible removal of the Bhattachar
strike, at least two had fled Africa as children and had found
safety in the uk. Safety, yes, but multiculturalism obviously
children in Norway to a foster home. Without going into th
did not create acceptance. merits of that specific case one marvels at the informati
available via the media as a result of that incident. The Child
In the uk, as immigrants moved into lower or middle class
areas, the original inhabitants moved out. Immigrants took
Protection Service (cps) in Norway provide foster parents with

Economic & Political weekly January 19, 2013 vol xlviii no 3 59

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SPECIAL ARTICLE

substantial benefits - salary, pension, paid holiday, regular

The dyad/binary depicts a pair, element having a valence
"time off" from the foster children, home and car allowances
of two, a bonding/link between two, thus, secular and the
and so on. In addition, the cps, which has an annual budgetsacred
of is depicted as binary exclusive of all other framework of
7.7 billion nok, employs social workers, psychologists explanation
and or action. The contestation in this essay is that the
secular is multifocal as is the secular agenda.
others. With such a sizeable budget to spend, it is not surpris
ing that parents, particularly immigrants with "different" The secular tryst with humanitarianism has to take into ac
count
child-rearing practices are caught in this "industry". Twenty not only the situation in the current multi-religious,
multicultural
three per 1,000 children in foster care are non-immigrants, 35 nation states but also the power and authority of
autonomous economic processes. The juggernaut of invisible,
per 1,000 are children born in Norway to immigrant parents
invincible flow of capital and technology and ideas across
while 51 per 1,000 are the children of first generation immi
grants (Naravane 2012). national boundaries is, perhaps, as powerful as any religion.
The technology driven global capitalist world is a different
I have given more illustrations regarding the perils of multi
culturalism and secularism from western countries (rather than,
planet compared to the medieval societies of the pre-i8th century
era. The dyad conceptualisation of secular and the sacred was
for instance, India) because on a scale of 10, western countries
would, by many commentators, be rated higher on most secu
perhaps useful for the priority concerns of an earlier time, namely,
lar issues. As such, it is easier to pick on role models whichthe
areurgent need for the institutional differentiation between secu
at the top of the scale than those which are at the bottom. lar and sacred space. Today, the delinking of the two concepts
would
Note the shining example of the recent appointment of a enable more differentiated and realistic analysis of secular
assertions. Secular assertions tussle against entrenched interests
Muslim woman, Hadia Tajik of Pakistani origin, as Norwegian
in the maintenance of the status quo whether of religion, power,
Culture Minister. Surely this is a secular response to the likes
of Anders Breivik and the anti-secular diatribe of his ilk. authority,
The capital or culture. This is why secularism seems to cam
appointment could be interpreted as signalling multiculturalouflage different notions to interested parties: ethnocentrism to
some, Islamophobia to others, and in India it is alleged that it
value at its best and not necessarily the divisive multicultural
ism as outlined above. Perhaps Hadia Tajik will enable more
fudges the reality of vote bank politics. Delinking the secular from
communication between the majority indigenous communi that which is not religious would release the concept from a nega
ties and the minorities, and root multicultural values while
tive formulation, and enable the concept to point to a positive,
discouraging divisive multiculturalism. powerful, autonomous value system.
In conclusion, I would like to make two points:
Conclusions First, we witness today a vastly energised religiosity and at
the same
It is interesting that in the seminal publication Rethinking Sec time there is no alternative to secular principles of
ularism, the authors who are most uncomfortable with the
governance. Further, religious organisations have robust and
deepare
binary conceptualisation of the secular and the sacred roots, in comparison secular values are incipient espe
from the academic discipline of international political cially
theoryin countries like ours where multiple personal laws are
and those who have written extensively on world politicsstilland
applied. Therefore, secular values and secularity require
are engaged in comparative studies across nations. nurturing, not as an ideology but as an attitude, not through
In studying religion-based humanitarian aid workersthe political system but via the judiciary, the media, the educa
in sev
tion
eral countries and continents, Lynch (2011) has a problem system and the creative arts, all these have a role to play
with
rigid secular-sacred binary. Similarly Juergensmeyer and
in instilling secular habits in society.
Second
Hurd squirm in the secular-sacred straitjacket, the former in in today's multicultural state systems, relativistic
ways of thinking and viewing things become or should be
looking at religious and secular aspects of violence (Juergens
meyer 2011) and Hurd (2011) at the political processescome habitual to all. Ethnocentric valuing of one's own culture
in Iran
and Egypt. From a comparative study of fundamentalism,ought not to be necessarily accompanied by the devaluation of
Appleby (2011) concludes that "fundamentalism is not other
anticultures. The evolved citizen inevitably learns to think
and feel in terms of more complex categories and the test of
secular". Talal Asad asks "If blasphemy indicates a religious
oursecu
limit transgressed, does it really have no place in a free, times is how and when these attitudes will filter down to
lar society?" (2011: 282). He then goes on to illustrate
allwith
sections of the population.
other legal constraints on communication in a capitalist soci
ety, such as copy right, patent, trademark, property rights
NOTES on

works of art and ideas and goes on to ask: "if a work of art.. .is
[An invitation from the University of Hyderabad to deliver a lec
publicly re-produced in a distorted form by someone other
their Distinguished Lecture series, titled "Is Secularism a Fairy Ta
than the original author with the aim of commenting 22
onAugust
it... 2007 enabled the articulation of the seeds of this essay
are legal conditions infringed?" the University for providing me that platform. I also thank Amb
Tulsi for reading the first draft and for cheering me on in writi
I would like to suggest that all these questions which are be
piece. Tulsi in particular has been most generous in giving her tim
ing raised by scholars on secularism could be answered more
her support for this essay. She has been in continuous dialogue w
fruitfully if the dyad conceptualisation of the secular and
onsacred
the issues raised and enabled the restructure and focus up f
were to be wiped clean from the slates of all dictionaries.
the problem of the "definition" of the secular. This helped me in

6o January 19, 2013 vol xlvili no 3 B353 Economic & Political weekly

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 SPECIAL ARTICLE

out the peripherals to be used for a book length detail/22989878html). See also the Daily Mail,
work. I am also indebted to Tulsi for her edito 5 March 2012.
10 Weber (1905); Talcott Parsons (1930) transla
rial help.]
1 Proceedings of the event were published in
Mendieta, Eduardo and J VanAntwerpen (ed.)
and Afterword by C Calhoun (2011).
2 Taken from the title of Charles Taylor's essay
"Why we need a Radical Redefinition of Secu
larism" in Mendieta and VanAntwerpen (2011).
3 For our home grown debate on the issue of sec
ularism, see, Bhargava, ed. (1998).
4 "Thaies", Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia,
8 September 2012, viewed on 29 July 2012
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thales).
5 "Strato of Lampsacus", Wikipedia the Free Ency
clopedia, 17 June 2012, viewed on 8 April 2012
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strato-of
Lampsacus).
6 "Socrates", Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia,
viewed 13 September 2012 (http:// en.wikipe
dia.org/wiki/Socrates).
7 "Protagoras", Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia,
29 August 2012, viewed on 17 July 2012
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protagoras).
8 "Religious Views of Albert Einstein", Wikipedia
the Free Encyclopedia", 19 September 2012,
viewed on 31 July 2012. The quotation is taken
from Viereck, George Sylvester (1930): Glimpses
of the Great (London: Duckworth), pp 372-73.
9 Press TV news, "Britain to become Secular in
20 Years", 4 March 2012 (www.prestv.ir/
Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Co),
PP 69-70.
Hurd, E S (2011): "A Suspension of (Dis) Belief: The
tion (London: Allen & Unwin). See my critique Secular-Religious Binary and the Study of
on this issue: Dutta (1968). International Relations" in Calhoun et al (2011),
pp 166-84.
Juergensmeyer, M (2011): "Rethinking the Secular
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