Advantages And Disadvantages Of Secularism

Secularism: Conflicts and Opportunities Manifested
What is the first thinking you have when you heard the word secularism? What is the first impression you get? As many people stand unable to answer, many others directly think about atheism. This is because they know little fact about secularism, which is that it has something to do “against” religions, so they tend not to distinguish it from the known concept that faces religions in their mind, atheism. This popular kind of thinking cannot be more wrong. Secularism and atheism are different concepts and sometimes even opposites. However, this misconception comes from the wrong use of the word secularism. Secularism in state is a political approach which is based on the separation of the state

The model of secularism presented by the western states makes us really look only at the benefits of the secularism since everyone can notice how much these countries have developed during the past two centuries and how much they are advanced compared to the non-western states, which are not usually secular, such as Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Secularism, however, faces some serious difficulties in these countries. In fact, facing religions and religious people with the decision of putting their power away from politics is always a challenging task. The history of secularism in western countries presented some serious conflicts between the church, which was the dominant religious power in Europe that time, and the state seeking to become secular. Going back to the tenth century, the Holy Roman Empire, which was the greatest force back then, faced the first real dispute with the secular powers. Nowadays, even though the church has become more accepting to the concept of secularism, the case is not the same for Muslims. The number of Muslims in secular western countries has been increasing rapidly in the past years. Coming from Islamic religious states, Muslims and other religions