Arguments Against Secularism

Richard Dawkins once wrote, “Secularism is categorically not saying that the religious may not speak out publicly or have a say in public life. It is about saying that religion alone should not confer a privileged say in public life, or greater influence on it. It really is as simple as that.” Secularism, by definition, is the belief that religion should not be part of the affairs of the state or part of public education. The principles of separation of church and state and of keeping religion out of public issues are examples of secularism. Several countries have undertaken this political system such as, The United States of America, Canada, France, Russia, and China. The arguments in support of secularism vary widely; for instance, in European

In spite of the acceptance of some level of commitment to a notion of secularism in the past two decades, Western Countries have been dealing with hardening attitudes towards immigrants or any person that is considered different. The rise of parties with an anti-foreigner agenda, in some of these countries, and the shocking events of 09/11 were two of the factors that came to shake secularism, a notion that was far from being well-established and defined. The questions of the moment relate to the degree to which cultural diversity should be accepted, and how it should be accommodated. The answers among Western secular countries vary. The majority of the European countries have a tradition of a moderated kind of secularism. In the course of time, Western societies have been opening up to different cultures and faiths, becoming less and less parochial. Multicultural strategies have been applied so that each person can choose their own values, allowing cultural communities to flourish naturally (Zucca, p.502). This accommodative model goes beyond toleration and, in Tariq Modood’s opinion, ‘meets the test of core democratic values while avoiding the dangers that fear-induced exclusion of religion from the public sphere would entail’ (Modood, p.1). However, there are also countries in Europe, such as France, which constitute an exception to this moderated secularism model. France is the example of a European