Abstract
The article argues for re-consideration of the secularization so often in the West regarded as an essential condition for a democratic state. Its inbuilt incoherence and problematic consequences suggest that the term secular should be abandoned. Deep-seated reasons for objecting to such a proposal follow, discussing an affront to personal integrity, confronting intellectual apartheid and analysing abuse of religion. A way forward is suggested in learning to accept unavoidable levels of uncertainty, so that generous-minded dialogue can take the place of either/or thinking.
Highlights
The term secularism was first used ca. 1850 by G.J
There has been intense debate concerning the precise meaning of the word secular when applied to liberal democratic states in the West
Awareness of some Transcendent Reality, in most religions termed God, is what justifies using the same word religion to denote the very different and separate forms of organization and practice which religions in the plural reveal. The validity of this secularist approach to democracy tends to be taken for granted in the West today
Summary
The term secularism was first used ca. 1850 by G.J. Holyoake to denote a system that seeks to interpret and organize life on principles taken wholly from the world, without recourse to any religious belief [1]. Awareness of some Transcendent Reality, in most religions termed God, is what justifies using the same word religion to denote the very different and separate forms of organization and practice which religions in the plural reveal. The validity of this secularist approach to democracy tends to be taken for granted in the West today. The assumption is that the public domain must be neutral and that, if it is secularist, it is neutral This means that religious beliefs must be kept for the private domain. This approach is, open to a number of objections
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