SECULARISM

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON SECULARISM

 SECULARISM

• Secularism is the principle of

the separation of government
institutions and persons
mandated to represent the
state from religious institutions
and religious dignitaries.

• The term "secularism" was first

used by the British writer
George Jacob Holyoake in
1851.[5] Although the term was
new, the general notions of
freethought on which it was
based had existed throughout
history.
Secularism is a principal that mainly involves two basic
preposition

• Strict separation of states

from religious institutions
Believers of different religion are equal before law
2. Separation of religion and state is the foundation of
secularism
It ensures that religious groups don’t interfere in
the affairs of state
Advantages of Secularism
1.Secularism protects both believers and non-believers

• Secularism seeks to ensure and protect

freedom of religious belief and practice for
all citizens. Secularism is not about
curtailing religious freedoms; it is about
ensuring that the freedoms of thought and
conscience apply equally to all believers
and non-believers alike.
2. Religious Freedom

• Secularism seeks to defend the absolute

freedom of religious and other belief, and
protect the right to manifest religious belief
insofar as it does not impinge
disproportionately on the rights and
freedoms of others. Secularism ensures
that the right of individuals to freedom of
religion is always balanced by the right to
be free from religion.
3.Secularism is about democracy and fairness
• In a secular democracy all citizens are equal before the
law and parliament. No religious or political affiliation
gives advantages or disadvantages and religious
believers are citizens with the same rights and
obligations as anyone else.

• Secularism champions human rights above

discriminatory religious demands. It upholds equality
laws that protect women, LGBT people and minorities.
These equality laws ensure that non-believers have the
same rights as those who identify with a religious or
philosophical belief.
4.Equal access to public services
• We all share hospitals, schools, the police and
the services of local authorities. It is essential
that these public services are secular at the
point of use so that no-one is disadvantaged or
denied access on grounds of religious belief (or
non-belief.) All state-funded schools should be
non-religious in character, with children being
educated together regardless of their parents'
religion. When a public body grants a contract
for the provision of services to an organisation
affiliated to a particular religion or belief, such
services must be delivered in a neutral manner,
with no attempt to promote the ideas of that faith
group.
5.Secularism is not atheism

• Atheism is a lack of belief in gods. Secularism

simply provides a framework for a democratic
society. Atheists have an obvious interest in
supporting secularism, but secularism itself does
not seek to challenge the tenets of any
particular religion or belief, neither does it seek
to impose atheism on anyone.

• Secularism is simply a framework for ensuring

equality throughout society – in politics,
education, the law and elsewhere, for believers
and non-believers alike.
6.Secularism protects free speech and
expression
• Religious people have the right to express
their beliefs publicly but so do those who
oppose or question those beliefs.
Religious beliefs, ideas and organisations
must not enjoy privileged protection from
the right to freedom of expression. In a
democracy, all ideas and beliefs must be
open to discussion. Individuals have
rights, ideas do not.
Countries having Secularism
Secularism in india
• Secularism in India means equal treatment of all religions by the
state.

• With the 42nd Amendment of the Constitution of India enacted in

1976, the Preamble to the Constitution asserted that India is a
secular nation. However, neither India's constitution nor its laws
define the relationship between religion and state. The laws
implicitly require the state and its institutions to recognize and
accept all religions, enforce parliamentary laws instead of religious
laws, and respect pluralism. India does not have an official state
religion. The people of India have freedom of religion, and the state
treats all individuals as equal citizens regardless of their religion. In
matters of law in modern India, however, the applicable code of law
is unequal, and India's personal laws - on matters such as marriage,
divorce, inheritance, alimony - varies with an individual's religion.
Muslim Indians have Sharia-based Muslim Personal Law, while
Hindus, Christians, Sikhs and other non-Muslim Indians live under
common law. The attempt to respect unequal, religious law has
created a number of issues in India such as acceptability of child
marriage,[4] polygamy, unequal inheritance rights, extrajudicial
unilateral divorce rights favorable to some males, and conflicting
interpretations of religious books.
• Secularism as practiced in India, with its marked differences with
Western practice of secularism, is a controversial topic in India.
Supporters of the Indian concept of secularism claim it respects
Muslim men’s religious rights and recognizes that they are culturally
different from Indians of other religions. Supporters of this form of
secularism claim that any attempt to introduce a uniform civil code,
that is equal laws for every citizen irrespective of his or her religion,
would impose majoritarian Hindu sensibilities and ideals, something
that is unacceptable to Muslim Indians. Opponents argue that
India's acceptance of Sharia and religious laws violates the principle
of equal human rights, discriminates against Muslim women, allows
unelected religious personalities to interpret religious laws, and
creates plurality of unequal citizenship; they suggest India should
move towards separating religion and state.

• Secularism is a divisive, politically charged topic in India.

Organistions working for secularism

• Secularist organizations promote the view that moral

standards should be based solely on concern for the
good of humanity in the present life, without reference to
supernatural concepts, such as God or an afterlife, any
desire for doing good as a reward after death, or any
fear of punishment for not believing after death. The term
secularism, as coined and promulgated by George
Jacob Holyoake, originally referred to such a view.[1]
Secularism may also refer to the belief that government
should be neutral on matters of religion, and that church
and state should be separate. The term is here used in
the first sense, though most organizations listed here
also support secularism in the second sense.
• List

• International

• Atheist Alliance International

• The Brights' Net is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to "building a constituency" and
"constructively address[ing] the marginalized situation of persons who have a naturalistic
worldview."

• European Humanist Federation is a union of "numerous humanist organisations from most

European countries" whose purpose is to promote humanism and secularism in Europe.

• International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) is "the sole world umbrella organisation
embracing Humanist, atheist, rationalist, secularist, skeptic, laique, [sic] ethical cultural,
freethought and similar organisations world-wide." IHEU is a union of over 100 Humanist or
secularist organizations in more than 40 countries. It is an international NGO (Non-governmental
organization) with special consultative status with the United Nations.

• International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation (IHEYO), IHEU's youth wing

• International League of Humanists

• International League of non-religious and atheists

• Rationalist International

• Sunday Assembly
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