what is secularism?
Answers
Secularism may refer to any worldview or principle which defines the secular at a given context, and prioritizes, justifies or promotes it over the non-secular.
Answer:
Secularism may refer to any worldview or principle which defines the secular at a given context, and prioritizes, justifies or promotes it over the non-secular.[1][2] "Secularism" has a broad range of meaning. While its definition as the separation of religion from civic affairs and the state is the most common,[3] it may connote anticlericalism, atheism, naturalism, banishment of religious symbols from the public sphere and much more.[4]
As a philosophy, secularism seeks to interpret life on principles taken solely from the material world, without recourse to religion. It shifts the focus from religion towards "temporal" and material concerns.[5]
In political terms, secularism is the principle of the separation of government institutions and persons mandated to represent the state from religious institutions and religious dignitaries (the attainment of such is termed secularity).[6] There are distinct traditions of secularism in the West, like the French and Anglo-American models, and beyond, as in India,[4] where the emphasis is more on tolerance for all religions rather than separation. The purposes and arguments in support of secularism vary widely, ranging from assertions that it is a crucial element of modernization, or that religion and traditional values are backward and divisive, to the claim that is the only guarantor of free religious exercise.