Editing Secularism (section)

== State secularism ==
{{Main|Secular state|Separation of church and state}}
[[File:MapChart_Map_5mSXczfn.png|thumb|alt=Current Secular States|Current Secular States]]

[[File:State Religions.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|left|Countries with a [[state religion]]]]

In political terms, secularism is a movement towards the separation of religion and government, often termed the separation of church and state. This can refer to reducing ties between a government and a [[state religion]], replacing laws based on scripture (such as ''[[Halakha]]'', ''[[Dharmaśāstra]]'', and ''[[Sharia]]'') with [[Civil law (legal system)|civil laws]], and eliminating [[Religious discrimination|discrimination on the basis of religion]]. This is said to add to democracy by protecting the rights of religious minorities.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). p. 14. "[Legal secularists] claim that separating religion from the public, governmental sphere is necessary to ensure the full inclusion of all citizens."</ref> Separation of church and state is one possible strategy to be deployed by secular governments. From the democratic to the authoritarian, such governments share a concern to limit the religious side in the relationship. Each state may find its own unique policy prescriptions. These may include separation, careful monitoring and regulation of organized religion such as in France, Turkey, India and others.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=Jacques Berlinerblau |last=Berlinerblau |first=Jacques |title=How to be Secular |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |page=xvi}}</ref>

In accord with the belief in the separation of church and state, secularists tend to prefer that politicians make decisions for secular rather than religious reasons.<ref>Feldman Noah (2005). pp. 6–8.</ref> In this respect, policy decisions pertaining to topics like [[abortion]], [[Birth control|contraception]], [[embryonic stem cell]] research, [[same-sex marriage]], and [[sex education]] are prominently focused upon by American secularist organizations such as the [[Center for Inquiry]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 15, 2006 |last=Kaufman |first=Marc |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401176.html |title=Think Tank Will Promote Thinking |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029121345/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/14/AR2006111401176.html |archive-date=2017-10-29 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cfidc.org/declaration.html |title=Declaration in Defense of Science and Secularism |publisher=Cfidc.org |access-date=2011-03-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117073312/http://www.cfidc.org/declaration.html |archive-date=2009-01-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Religious fundamentalists often oppose a secular form of government, arguing that it contradicts the character of historically religious nations, or infringes on their rights to express themselves in the public sphere. In the United States, for example, the word "secularism" became equivalent to "anti-religion" due to such efforts.<ref name="uooavbjacq">{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacques-berlinerblau/secularism-is-not-atheism_b_1699588.html|first=Jacques |last=Berlinerblau|title=Secularism Is Not Atheism|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=2012-07-28|access-date=2013-05-27|archive-date=2017-10-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018101452/https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacques-berlinerblau/secularism-is-not-atheism_b_1699588.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Religious minorities, however, often support secularism as a means of defending their rights against the majority.<ref>Feldman, Noah (2005). p. 13.</ref>

State secularism is most often associated with the [[Age of Enlightenment]] in Europe and it plays a major role in [[Western culture|Western society]]. Some of the best known examples of states considered "constitutionally secular" are the United States, France,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/france-facts/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france-63815/article/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france |title=Secularism and Religious Freedom in France |access-date=2020-10-26 |archive-date=2020-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030014337/https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/france-facts/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france-63815/article/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france |url-status=live }}</ref> Turkey, India, Mexico,<ref>Schmitt (1962); Blancarte (2006).</ref> and South Korea, though none of these nations have identical forms of governance with respect to religion. For example, in India, secularism does not completely separate state and religion, while in France, secularism precludes such mutual involvement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Das Acevedo|first=Veena|date=27 December 2018|title=Secularism in the Indian Context|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/secularism-in-the-indian-context/54DC764998B762B94326B7F8035ECB85|journal=Law & Social Inquiry|volume=38|pages=139|access-date=15 May 2020|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102223852/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/secularism-in-the-indian-context/54DC764998B762B94326B7F8035ECB85|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Laïcité: a Model or a Threat for Freedom of Religion?|url=https://religiousfreedominstitute.org/lacit-a-model-or-a-threat-for-freedom-of-religion/|website=Religious Freedom Institute|date=24 May 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-15|archive-date=2020-08-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807020142/https://www.religiousfreedominstitute.org/cornerstone/lacit-a-model-or-a-threat-for-freedom-of-religion|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Frameworks ===
Separationist secularism enforces the separation of church and state. Under this system, the state does not support any religious group and does not enforce religious laws. Challenges facing separationist secularism include how the government should regulate secular activities of religious groups and how to govern separately from religion when citizens, including government employees, are religious. The [[federal judiciary of the United States]] interpreted the [[Constitution of the United States|United States Constitution]] as supporting this system during the 20th century, based on the ideas of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson.{{Sfn|Berlinerblau|2021|pp=53–62}}

''Laïcité'' is a secularist framework developed and used in France. Under this system, the state has legal supremacy over religion and enforces the restriction of religion in the public sphere. It was established by a [[1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State|1905 law]], and subsequent laws have restricted the use of religious iconography in public or by children.{{Sfn|Berlinerblau|2021|pp=64–65}} Kemalist secularism, or ''laiklik'', is an adaptation of ''laïcité'' that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk established in Turkey in the 1920s and 1930s.{{Sfn|Berlinerblau|2021|pp=112–116}}

[[Accommodationism]] is a system of actively supporting religion in general without favouring a specific religious sect. Under this system, the state applies few restrictions to religion and often provides religious organizations with financial support. India uses this system, incorporating Western ideas of secularism in combination with the Indian tradition of religious and ethnic pluralism. One source of disagreement regarding accommodationism in India is the right of Muslims to live under both the civil code and Sharia simultaneously and the complications that result from this. Accommodationism also has a [[Accommodationism in the United States|history in the United States]], and the U.S. has increasingly moved toward accommodationism in the 21st century.{{Sfn|Berlinerblau|2021|pp=76–}}

[[State atheism]] is a total ban on religion. Under this system, the state enforces laws that do not allow religious practice or the expression of religious beliefs in society. Unlike other secularist frameworks, state atheism does not permit freedom of thought or the separation of government from personal belief. Because of this distinction, state atheism may or may not be considered a form of secularism. It is typically associated with [[Marxism]] and [[Communist state]]s, in which it is described as "[[Marxist–Leninist atheism|scientific atheism]]".{{Sfn|Berlinerblau|2021|pp=99–110}}