According to western context, what does secularism actually denote?

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 2

The correct answer is Option (2) → Separation of religious and political authority

Option (1) Religious Chauvinism — Incorrect. Chauvinism is an attitude that sees one’s own group as the only legitimate or worthy group and other groups as inferior and opposed; religious chauvinism is this attitude based on religion. Secularism is the opposite of religious chauvinism, so it cannot be what secularism denotes.

Option (2) Separation of religious and political authority — Correct. In the western context the main sense of secularism is the separation of church and state. This separation of religious and political authority marked a turning point in the social history of the west, as religion retreated from public life and became a voluntary personal practice.

Option (3) All religions are same and must be treated equally — Incorrect. Treating all religions alike is the Indian sense of secularism: a secular state does not favour any religion over others and shows equal respect for all religions, rather than separation, for example by declaring public holidays for the festivals of all religions. The question asks for the western sense, which keeps religion and the state apart.

Option (4) Keeping away the hostility between religions — Incorrect. Peace between religions is a social aim, not the meaning of secularism in the west. That meaning concerns the relation between religion and the state, which are kept apart.

NCERT (2025-26): “Secularism … Secularism is among the most complex terms in social and political theory. In the western context the main sense of these terms has to do with the separation of church and state. The separation of religious and political authority marked a major turning point in the social history of the west. This separation was related to the process of ‘secularisation’, or the progressive retreat of religion from public life, as it was converted from a mandatory obligation to a voluntary personal practice. Secularisation in turn was related to the arrival of modernity and the rise of science and rationality as alternatives to religious ways of understanding the world.”

“The Indian meanings of secular and secularism include the western sense but also involve others. The most common use of secular in everyday language is as the opposite of communal. So, a secular person or state is one that does not favour any particular religion over others. Secularism in this sense is the opposite of religious chauvinism and it need not necessarily imply hostility to religion as such. In terms of the state-religion relationship, this sense of secularism implies equal respect for all religions, rather than separation or distancing. For example, the secular Indian state declares public holidays to mark the festivals of all religions.…”