The secular state: beyond theocracy and established religion

Detail

1. 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 too. In riots, Hindus have saved Muslims, and Muslims have saved Hindus.

• The state decides the outcome.

• The modern state has huge power: police, courts, laws, schools and money.

• So how the state behaves largely decides whether religious conflict and discrimination are stopped or made worse.

• So the main question is: what kind of state can control religious conflict?

2. First condition: the state must not be a theocracy

• Theocracy means a state run directly by a priestly order, where religion and government are joined into one.

• It is government "by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided". Leaders are often clergy, and the law is based on religious law [2].

• Examples:

• The Papal States of medieval Europe, which the Pope ruled as a king.
• The Taliban in Afghanistan, back in power since August 2021.
• Iran, ruled under the "rule of the jurist" (velayat-e faqih), where a senior Islamic jurist is the Supreme Leader.

• Vatican City. Britannica also lists Saudi Arabia as a present-day example [2].

• Why theocracy is harmful:

• It creates hierarchy, because priests rank above ordinary people.
• It oppresses people who disagree.

• It denies freedom to people of other faiths.

• So: religious bodies and state bodies must be kept apart.

3. Separation is necessary but not sufficient

• Separation of religion and state means keeping religious bodies (church, clergy, religious courts) apart from government bodies (legislature, executive, courts).
• It is necessary, because without it you get theocracy.
• It is not sufficient, because a state run by non-priests can still formally favour one religion.

4. Established religion: favouring one faith without priests in charge

• Established religion (or established church) is a religion recognised by law as the official religion of the state. The state supports it, but priests do not run the government.
• Such a church usually cannot change its doctrine, order or worship without the state's consent. In return, it usually gets money and special privileges from the state [3].

Country	Arrangement	Legal anchor
England	The Anglican Church (Church of England) has been established since the 16th century. The monarch is its Supreme Governor.	Established by law; NCERT also cites Christianity in England
Pakistan	Islam is the state religion	Art. 2, Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 ("Islam shall be the State religion"). (NCERT: "Sunni Islam")
Sri Lanka	Buddhism gets the "foremost place", and the state must protect it	Art. 9, Constitution of Sri Lanka
Bangladesh	It has both a state religion (Islam) and a secularism clause	This mix is under review; check the latest position

• What goes wrong: such states leave little room for dissent or equality. Minorities and dissenters within the main faith are second-class.
• The opposite mistake is state atheism. Here the state is hostile to all religion.
• Examples: the USSR, and Albania, which declared itself an atheist state in 1967.
• This also fails, because it denies religious freedom.

5. The truly secular state

• Secular state: a state that is 1. not theocratic, and 2. not formally allied with any religion (no established religion), and 3. pursues goals that 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 a religion), for example Dalits and upper castes within Hinduism, or women and men within any faith.

• Separation can take different forms, depending on which of these values it serves.

• This is the starting point of the Western vs Indian models comparison. The Western model keeps strict mutual exclusion. The Indian model keeps a "principled distance".

6. Features of India's secular state (NCERT Class 10)

• 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 to profess, practise and propagate any religion, or none. This applies to individuals and to communities.

• Art. 25 gives everyone freedom of conscience. It is subject to public order, morality, health and 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 on religious grounds.

• 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 may intervene in religion to secure equality.

• Example: Art. 17 abolishes untouchability.
• The Supreme Court (M. Ismail Faruqui, 1994) said secularism does not stop the state from removing religion-linked practices that block development and equality [4].

7. Constitutional status of 'secular'

• 'Secular' in the Preamble.

• The words 'secular', 'socialist' and 'integrity' were added by the Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act, 1976. Parliament passed it during the Emergency, on 2 November 1976 [4].

• 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), decided by a 9-judge bench, held that secularism is a basic feature of the Constitution. Kesavananda Bharati (1973), decided by a 13-judge bench, also said so [4].

• R.C. Poudyal (1994) said secularism was implicit 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 allows Parliament to amend the Preamble.
• Adopting the Constitution on 26 November 1949 does not limit this power.
• The Constituent Assembly left the word out because in 1949 'secular' seemed vague, and some read it as "against religion". India has since built its own meaning of secularism.
• During the debate on the 44th Amendment (1978), 'secular' was explained as "equal respect for all religions". But the proposed definition in Art. 366 was rejected by the Rajya Sabha [4].

Prelims Hooks

• Theocracy = rule by a priestly order. Established religion = an official state religion without priestly rule. Do not confuse them: England is not a theocracy, but it has an established church.
• Art. 2, Pakistan Constitution 1973: Islam is the state religion (NCERT says "Sunni Islam"). Art. 9, Sri Lanka: Buddhism gets the "foremost place".
• Albania declared itself an atheist state in 1967. This is state atheism, not secularism.
• 'Secular', 'socialist' and 'integrity' were added to the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment, 1976. '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 SC upheld 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble and confirmed that Art. 368 extends to the Preamble [4].
• Art. 17 (abolition of untouchability) is an example of the state intervening in religion to ensure intra-religious equality.
• Trap: "Separation of religion and state is enough to make a state secular". False. Separation is necessary but not sufficient.

Mains Points

• A spectrum of state–religion relations. Theocracy, established religion, secular state and state atheism form a range. India's model rejects both ends, as Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the USSR/Albania show. Use this to define Indian secularism by what it is not.
• Indian secularism serves equality, not just separation. Under Arts. 17 and 25(2), the state may reform religion to secure intra-religious equality. Critics call this selective intervention. Supporters say it is "principled distance" (Ismail Faruqui, 1994).
• The Preamble debate is settled law. Bommai (1994) made secularism part of the basic structure. Balram Singh (2024) upheld the 1976 insertion. The real test now is how fairly the state behaves, not the words in the text.
• The state's power cuts both ways. Individual courage and education help, but only state institutions (police, courts, laws) can curb communal violence at scale. This links to arguments on police reform and riot accountability.