Secular state

Topic: Secularism: Western and Indian Models · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "Gender, Religion and Caste"; Class 11, Ch 8 "Secularism"; Class 11, Ch 2 "Rights in the Indian Constitution"

Meaning

A secular state is a state that is not run by priests (not a theocracy), has no official religion, and works for goals that come at least partly from non-religious sources: peace between communities, religious freedom, and equality between religions and within each religion. This matters because the state controls the police, courts, laws, schools and money. How it treats religion largely decides whether religious conflict and discrimination are stopped or made worse.

Explanation

Why the state is the main actor

• Society helps, but only up to a point.
• Education and people learning from each other can reduce religious hatred.

• Brave individuals matter. In riots, Hindus have saved Muslims and Muslims have saved Hindus.

• The state decides the outcome.

• Only the state has police, courts, laws, schools and money at a large scale.
• So the key question is: what kind of state can control religious conflict?

Three conditions for a secular state

• 1. It is not a theocracy.
• Theocracy (a state run by a priestly order) joins religion and government into one. Its leaders are often clergy, and its law is based on religious law [2].
• Examples: the Papal States of medieval Europe, Iran, Vatican City, and the Taliban in Afghanistan (back in power since August 2021). Britannica also lists Saudi Arabia [2].

• Theocracy creates a hierarchy (priests above ordinary people), oppresses people who disagree, and denies freedom to other faiths.

• 2. It has no established religion.

• An established religion is one that the law recognises as the official religion of the state. The state supports it, but priests do not run the government. Such a church usually gets money and special privileges from the state. It usually cannot change its doctrine or worship without the state's consent [3].
• Examples: England (Anglican Church), Pakistan (Islam), Sri Lanka (Buddhism).

• These states leave little room for dissent or equality. Minorities, and dissenters within the main faith, become second-class citizens.

• 3. Its goals come at least partly from non-religious sources. These goals are:

• peace between communities;
• religious freedom;
• freedom from religious oppression, discrimination and exclusion;
• inter-religious equality (equality between religions), for example Hindus and Muslims as equal citizens;
• intra-religious equality (equality within one religion), for example Dalits and upper castes within Hinduism, or women and men within any faith.

Separation is necessary but not enough

• Separation of religion and state means keeping religious bodies (church, clergy, religious courts) apart from government bodies (legislature, executive, courts).
• It is necessary. Without it, the state becomes a theocracy.
• It is not enough. A state run by people who are not priests can still formally favour one religion.
• Separation can take different forms, depending on which values it serves.
• The Western model keeps state and religion strictly apart. Neither one interferes in the other.
• The Indian model keeps a "principled distance". The state may step into religious matters when this serves equality.

The opposite mistake: hostility to religion

• State atheism means a state that is hostile to all religion. Examples are the USSR, and Albania, which declared itself an atheist state in 1967.
• This is not secularism, because it denies religious freedom.

In the Constitution and practice

• No official religion. India has nothing like Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Islam in Pakistan or Christianity in England. The Supreme Court says the Indian state "neither supports any religion nor penalizes the profession and practice of any faith" [4].
• Freedom of religion (Arts. 25–26).
• Art. 25 gives everyone freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practise and propagate religion. This is subject to public order, morality, health and the other fundamental rights. The state can also regulate secular activities linked to religion [4].

• Art. 26 lets every religious denomination (an organised religious group) set up institutions, manage its own religious affairs, and own and run property under the law [4].

• No discrimination (Arts. 14, 15, 16, 29, 30).

• Arts. 14, 15 and 16 give equality before the law and ban religious discrimination, including in public jobs [4].

• Arts. 29 and 30 protect the culture of every section of citizens. They also let minorities set up and run their own educational institutions [4].

• The state can step in to secure equality.

• Art. 17 abolishes untouchability. This is the state intervening inside a religion to secure intra-religious equality.

• M. Ismail Faruqui (1994): secularism does not stop the state from removing religion-linked practices that block development and equality [4].

• 'Secular' in the Preamble: 42nd Amendment, 1976.

• The Constitution (Forty-second) Amendment Act, 1976 added the words 'secular', 'socialist' and 'integrity'. Parliament passed it during the Emergency, on 2 November 1976 [4].
• The Constituent Assembly had left the word out. In 1949 'secular' seemed vague, and some read it as "against religion" [4].

• During the debate on the 44th Amendment (1978), 'secular' was explained as "equal respect for all religions". But the Rajya Sabha rejected the proposed definition in Art. 366, so the word is still undefined [4].

• Part of the basic structure. The basic structure means the core features that Parliament cannot destroy, even under its amending power (Art. 368).

• S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994, 9-judge bench) held that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution. Kesavananda Bharati (1973, 13-judge bench) also said so [4].

• R.C. Poudyal (1994) said secularism was part of the Constitution even before 1976. It means treating people of all faiths equally and without discrimination [4].

• Dr Balram Singh v. Union of India (25 November 2024).

• A petition challenged the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble. The Supreme Court dismissed it [4].
• Art. 368 lets Parliament amend the Preamble. Adopting the Constitution on 26 November 1949 does not limit this power [4].
• The Court said India has built its own meaning of secularism [4].

Don't confuse with

• Theocracy: priests or clergy rule, and the law is religious law [2]. A secular state has no priestly rule and no official religion.
• Established religion: there is an official state religion, but no priestly rule. England is not a theocracy, but it has an established church. So it is not secular in this sense.
• State atheism: the state is hostile to all religion, as in the USSR and Albania (1967). A secular state protects religious freedom. It does not attack religion.
• Mere separation of religion and state: this is necessary but not enough. A secular state must also pursue equality and freedom, both between religions and within them.

Prelims Hooks

• 42nd Amendment, 1976 added 'secular', 'socialist' and 'integrity' to the Preamble. 'Secular' is not defined anywhere in the Constitution, because the 1978 attempt to define it in Art. 366 failed [4].
• S.R. Bommai (1994, 9 judges): secularism is part of the basic structure.
• Dr Balram Singh (2024): the Supreme Court upheld 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble and confirmed that Art. 368 extends to the Preamble [4].
• Art. 2, Constitution of Pakistan, 1973: Islam is the state religion (NCERT says "Sunni Islam"). Art. 9, Constitution of Sri Lanka: Buddhism gets the "foremost place".
• Art. 17 (abolition of untouchability) is an example of the state intervening in religion to secure intra-religious equality.
• Trap: "Separation of religion and state is enough to make a state secular." False. Separation is necessary but not sufficient. Also, Albania (1967) was state atheism, not secularism.

Mains Points

• What Indian secularism is not. Theocracy, established religion, secular state and state atheism form a range. India rejects both ends of this range, unlike Pakistan and Sri Lanka at one end and the USSR and Albania at the other. This is a clear way to define Indian secularism in an answer.
• Equality, not just separation.
• Under Arts. 17 and 25, the state may reform religious practices to secure equality within a religion.
• Critics call this selective intervention.

• Supporters call it "principled distance", backed by Ismail Faruqui (1994).

• The text is settled, so the real test is how the state behaves. Bommai (1994) made secularism part of the basic structure, and Balram Singh (2024) upheld the 1976 insertion. What now matters is whether state institutions act fairly. Only the police, courts and laws can control communal violence at a large scale, which links this topic to police reform and to holding officials responsible for riots.

Related concepts

• Theocracy
• Established religion
• Separation of religion and state

Read more

• The secular state: beyond theocracy and established religion