The term “Secular” means being "separate" from religion or having no religious basis. A secular person is one who does not owe his moral values to any religion. His values are the product of his rational and scientific thinking.
Secularism means separation of religion from political, economic, social and cultural aspects of life, religion is treated as a purely personal matter.
It emphasized the dissociation of the state from religion and full freedom to all religions and tolerance of all religions.
It also stands for equal opportunities for followers of all religions, and no discrimination and partiality on grounds of religion.
Philosophy of Indian Secularism
The term ‘secularism’ is akin to the Vedic concept of ‘Dharma nirapekshata’ i.e. the indifference of state to religion.
This model of secularism is adopted by western societies where the government is totally separate from religion (i.e. separation of church and state).
Indian philosophy of secularism is related to “Sarva Dharma Sambhava” (literally it means that destination of the paths followed by all religions is the same, though the paths themselves may be different) which means equal respect to all religions.
This concept embraced and promoted by personalities like Vivekananda and Mahatma Gandhi is called ‘Positive secularism’ that reflects the dominant ethos of Indian culture.
India does not have an official state religion. However, different personal laws - on matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, alimony varies with an individual's religion.
Indian secularism is not an end in itself but a means to address religious plurality and sought to achieve peaceful coexistence of different religions.
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