“If I were a
dictator, religion and state would be separate. I swear by my religion. I will
die for it. But it is my personal affair. The state
has nothing to do with it. The state would look after your secular welfare,
health, communications, foreign relations, currency and so on, but not your or
my religion. That is everybody's personal concern!”
― Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)
These are the words
of a wise leader of Indian freedom movement, who was an inspiration to millions
of people in the world for his message of non-violence and love for truth.
It is important for
us to remember that Gandhi was not an atheist or agnostic. He was a devoted
Hindu and a believer in God like Muslim, Christian, Zoroastrian, Baha’i, Sikh
and Jewish believers. However, for him the religion of an individual was a
personal matter. No one should impose a religion or a belief on others. It was not
for the State to tell people which religion to follow or which god to believe
in (there are different views about god in many religions and his attributes,
etc.). In the middle ages, State and Church in European countries were united.
But that changed. The secularisation process became the norm and new ways of
looking at the roles of state and religions became widely accepted.
Secularism is rooted
in the political idea that state and relgion have two different spheres and
roles. They should remain separate and we should not allow anyone to mix them.
People should follow whatever religions they want to follow without the
interference of the state. As a result, there is no more religious coercion
from the state or public bodies/institutions on the people. People have freedom
of religion, freedom to practise any religion, freedom to convert to any other
religion if any choose to do so, freedom to leave or reject religion and accept
agnosticism, atheism, humanism or any other viewpoint. In democratic countries and
their civil societies, these freedoms are essential ingredients of a civilised
existence.
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