Dr. Muqtedar Khan on The Myth of Secularism: Religion and Politics are Mutually Constitutive
As a Muslim intellectual living in the West, researching and teaching political theory and political philosophy, I have always marveled at the durability of the idea of secularism. For a civilization that boasts considerable sophistication in most areas, to assume that politics and religion constitute two separate realms or that the two can be separated is uncharacteristically na‹ve. This belief, not in separation of church and state, but in the separability of church and State, in my opinion is one of the enduring myths of modernity. This myth rests on the false assumptions of pure politics and pure religion. Secularism is a device that seeks to protect religion from the corruption of politics and politics from becoming usurped by religion.
Dr. Khan's commentary brings some common sense and parity to a subject at the core of our nation's existence – religious freedom in the greater society and expression of religious beliefs by those in government. Read the rest here.