Outline of a Theory of Secularism

Abstract

The World has witnessed a dramatic resurgence of organized religion & religious belief in recent times. This has challenged established political structures, renewed old hosting or fomented new conflicts between religious groups & raised the question of whether modern secularism has the cultural & philosophical resources to enable people with differing faiths to live together. This paper tries to answer this & many other questions Outline of a Theory of Secularism, Is secularism best understood as a doctrine of separation? Why, if at all, must religion be separated from political institutions? What does separation on mean? What values are promoted by such separation? Can secularism be understood independently of such values? Is secularism a comprehensive ethical doctrine which must alienate believes or it a more narrowly defined political doctrine relatively independent of revival ethical and metaphysical conceptions to which believes are committed?