> > But this whole "secularism" debate is an oddly Indian phenomenon - and I > would > be curious to find out how many nations with a significant minority > religion > spend a great deal of effort in which the members of the majority religion > squabble among themselves about the need to be secular. > > The question of secularism does not arise at all in an Islamic nation, so > those countriees can be ruled out in one go. >
> But as far as i know - it is only in India here there are big debates where > the members of the majority religion are debating with each other as to > whether they are secular enough or not. > One of the things I found frustrating in India was how people would assume their ignorance of counterexamples implied the nonexistence thereof. For example, one of the states I see struggling hardest with secularism is, like India, officially secular with strong religious traditions. That being Turkey. But they're Islamic which contradicts the thesis above. As far as I can tell, all secular democracies struggle with how to deal with religion and government. -- Charles
