Secularization is the process that results in the elimination of discrimination in social behavior on the basis of religion in a society. Secularization which is based on rationalism is necessary for modernization, since every society now wants to modernize, it is sheltering secularization. After independence, whatever state in India was not a secular state, today there is talk of secularization. Religion reinterpretation, rationalism and liberalism are directly related to secularism. Dr. Srinivas has done a detailed analysis of this process. The process of secularization has become a fundamental feature of society. A few decades ago today, in India, the acts which were considered religious and sacred are seen today as orthodox irrational behavior in vain, the special effect of a religion and caste which has been accepted, is now effective in that way Has not been Various thinkers are of the opinion that in order to speed up the process of secularization in India, the British rule. British rule also brought with it the process of secularization of Indian social life and culture. This trend became progressively stronger with the development of communication tools and the increased spatial mobility of cities and the spread of education. Both the World War I and Mahatma Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience Movements not only activated the political and social terms of the common people, but also contributed to the growth of secularization. The achievement of secularization in India after 1947 is truly remarkable. The Constitution of Independent India states that ‘India will be a secular state. ‘
In terms of condition and direction, there will be no discrimination on the basis of religion, caste, gender etc. among the citizens. The elections for the assembly of Parliament assemblies will be on the basis of adult suffrage and the development of Indian territories will be done on the basis of fair planned programs. Meaning of Secularization: In terms of literal meaning, it is a process in which the existence, importance, identity or development of a person is not associated with religion, the direct relation of secularization is from a logical point of view. Under this, the interpretation of the world is presented as pure thinking. Secularization is the process by which logical knowledge emerges in place of traditional beliefs and assumptions. Prof. Srinivas has clearly written that in ‘secularization’ it is implied that what was previously considered religious is no longer considered to be. Explaining this, he wrote that, there is also a process of differentiation that results in different economic, political, legal and moral aspects of society becoming more and more careful in the matter of each other. Thus Srinivas did not understand secularization in the sense of secularism alone. According to them, the two characteristics of cosmicization are major 1. Firstly, this process is related to the feeling that what we used to believe in earlier was not religious anymore.
2.The second feature is that under this process we try to see and understand every fact with reasoning intelligence. Traditionally in our social life, both these characteristics were completely lacking. No one could argue about the significance of the social system because the entire system was merged with religion. There are several definitions of secularization in the Concise Oxford dictionary. These definitions have been referred to as folkism, skepticism towards religious beliefs and contradiction to religious education. The following definition of secularism is given in the Third International Dictionary. “(Cosmicism) is a system of social ethics that is based on the principle that ethics and behavior should be based exclusively on current life and social welfare, away from religion.” Butter House’s definition of secularism is one such ideology. As it presents a theory of life and conduct, which is against the principle propounded by religion. Its essence is materialistic. Its belief is that human welfare can only be achieved by national efforts. . “But Baker refuses to believe that secularism is an anti-secular concept. They say that “cosmic” is not a synonym for “profane” or other similar words. “Blackshield has supported Baker’s view. He has stated that” secularism does not oppose religious institutions. No, it is opposed to religious uprisings in law, political and education related processes. In this, the emphasis is only on the functional division of attitudes i.e. social division of powers in different types of social activities. “Blackshield says that religion, education and law should not enter into each other’s territories, nor should their territories go beyond boundaries. To the extent that religion is within its own borders remain inside till then the concept of secularism can be considered as secular. It neither supports nor opposes religiosity. Thus, secularism is a situation in the field of social problems in which law and education are free to religious institutions and religious motivations. Cosmicism is a stage of historical development in which law and education are not founded on religion. In this way, if different definitions of secularism are considered, a list of many such topics can be made which are considered under it. Such as: scientific humanism, naturalism and materialism, invincibility and positivism, intellectualism, democraticism and communism, optimism and progressivism, moral relativism and nihilism etc.
Essential Elements of Secularization
- Rationality: Secularization has a direct relation with a logical point of view. Under this, the number of incidents is done purely. All the behaviors in the society are irrational, they are negated by this process. That is why in this process, instead of orthodox, irrational, traditional beliefs and assumptions, logical knowledge emerges. It also involves a process of differentiation, as a result of which the various economic, political, legal, moral and social organs of the society become more and more independent from each other.
- Work – causal relationship: Another essential element in secularization is the performance of ‘work due’ relations which is also addressed with rationalism. According to Prof. Srinivas, instead of traditional beliefs and beliefs, the establishment of modern knowledge lies. The specialty of the process of secularization is that it tries to destroy mutual beliefs and irrational beliefs as much as possible. Ideas that are mutual and which cannot be tested on the test of work-causal relationship are automatically eliminated by this process. If their existence remains in some way, then they do not get the support of proper public opinion.
- Purity – Assumption of desecration: The notion of piety and impurity has been prominent in Hindu religious conduct. On this basis the distance of different castes is fixed. On this basis, touch, marriage and food have been prohibited among the castes. Every Hindu has the beliefs and deeds of purity and profanity in common life. Such as: shaving was an unholy task for Brahmins. In the last years, these beliefs have eroded, the rules of purity have been replaced by the rules of health and hygiene. Educated Brahmins and Kattapathis have gradually given importance to intelligent interpretation in place of orthodox rules and have called holiness another form of health rules. Srinivas has given the example of the Brahmin women of Mysore and said that educated women are not too much concerned about impurity, but giving importance to the laws of health. On separation from the joint family, she abandons this stereotype of rituals. Many rituals have been abandoned by the process of secularization. Naming and other rituals such as: The shaving of the widow is no longer in vogue, along with the process of leaving and abridging the rites, the rites are also mixed so as to reduce the timeliness in the expressed life. As with marriage, the Upanayana ceremony is also done two days before. Marriage rituals are also getting abbreviated. A Brahmin marriage with all the ceremonies, which used to take 5 to 7 days earlier, is now settled within a day or a few hours. Close relatives are present at the wedding, other guests only attend the reception. Activities such as listening to music etc. by setting the bride and groom on a high pedestal, playing a band, having a refreshment to the guests, etc. have become important. In the traditional system, like the Saptavadi, it used to take 7-8-9 hours. Now very soon the bride and groom are expelled from these works.
Objectives of secularization
- The objective of secularization is the attainment of secularism. Secularism will be called that state of behavior where religion has no undue influence on state, morality and education etc. In America, secularization means that the state and the church in society maintain their existence without affecting each other. This is the reason that the state government does not give grants to educational institutions run by the church there. The meaning of secularism in India is somewhat different from the meaning taken in the West. Here secularism means that the state does not give shelter to any religion, but it does not mean that if a religious institution runs an educational institution, then the state government will not grant it. If necessary for cultural development and for the co-existence of different communities, the state government can direct various religious institutions. Such as: cow slaughter is banned by the central government whereas some religions consider this type of ban undesirable. There is a system in India that the faults of religion should be removed through legislation and insistence. Such as: Various defects of Hinduism have been removed. Faults of the religion of Islam can also be overcome in this way. Now the traditional attitude towards religion in India has changed. Although the ‘Parsanal flame’ of Muslims is yet to be modernized, Indian society itself has been a hindrance in the path of secularism in India. Both Hindus and Muslims have been fulfilling their respective objectives through sect religion. After independence, various political parties are now fulfilling political objectives through religion, which is an obstacle in the path of secularism. Government and opposition parties do not appear active for complete secularism. Jawaharlal Nehru said at the time of taking power on August 14, 1947 that during this half-night when the whole world is sleeping, India will wake up to an independent life. Secularism will be the basis of this independent life. That nation cannot survive for long, which will be based on communalism and religion. India will be only a secular and democratic state where every citizen, irrespective of their religion, will get equal rights.
- The second objective of secularization is the attainment of a secular state. A secular state is one where every citizen gets equal opportunity on the basis of equality and where society does not interfere in the activities of citizens on the basis of religion. D. E. Smith, while explaining the secular state, wrote that the state which guarantees the freedom of religion to the people, recognizes every follower as a citizen, should not be constitutionally related to a particular religion and neither It is the progress of a particular religion and should be related to decadence. Secular state literally means a state which does not believe in any particular religion. Therefore, the secular state sees a person as a citizen and not as a member of a particular religious group. In a secular state, the rights and duties of people are not explained on the basis of religion. Article 15 of the Constitution of India declares that the state will not discriminate on the basis of religion, species, caste, sex and place of birth. Thus, we see that due to secularization, India has emerged as a secular state where there is religious discrimination. However, religion no longer has a place in society that was five decades ago.
Characteristics of Secularization
- Development of Rationalism: Due to secularization, the matter of being dependent on religion for every event ends. The primitive man believed every social event to be a gift of religion and supernatural power, but as the work of rationalism developed, the explanation of the causal relations grew and the importance of religion diminished due to the knowledge of the real reasons. Now everyone considers logical behavior to be appropriate.
- Loss in religiosity: Due to secularization the importance of religious institutions has reduced now. The reason for this is that in the name of religion, the status of high or low is no longer determined. The more religious rituals a person used to perform earlier, the more respect they were given. But now the same person is said to be a backward person who finds success in his actions and failure in religion. Therefore, it is clear that as the process of secularisation progresses, the importance of religion decreases, and thus religiousness declines.
- Increasing Differentiation: Earlier religion was considered to be the dominant factor behind each event and every event was interpreted on the basis of religion whether it is crime or disease, death or natural outbreak, but now every event Different and real causes are discovered in which the effects of religious and spiritual power are generally least accepted. Due to this condition the amount of differentiation increases. There are different people doing specific types of tasks. Hence the distance between them is natural.
- Help in achieving modernization: At present the wave of modernization was in full swing. Every society now wants to call itself modern, for which it is necessary to bring changes in traditional practices. Secularization also changes traditional practices. As before independence, the spirit of various religions and religiosity was flourishing in India. But the natural wave of secularization that arose from the freedom struggle itself greatly reduced this effort. As soon as India attained independence, it declared itself a secular state, its traditional behavior patterns changed completely. Currently such changes are taking place in the country which are necessary for social development and modernization. Therefore, it can be said that secularization is helpful in modernization.
- Development of equality: In ancient times many types of social differences were found in India, there was a wide differentiation in India on the basis of religion, caste, gender etc. There was a provision of different punishment in different religions for committing the same type of crime. But due to secularization, the discrimination of this car automatically ends and equal opportunities are available to all people.
- A Scientific Concept: Secularization is a scientific concept. Performance of work relationship is not appropriate due to the influence of religion. So people become irrational. Secularization emphasizes rationality and asserts the same thing in which work exhibits causal relationships.
- Humanitarian and Neutral Concept: Secularization is a concept that refers to the behavior of a human being as a human being. It is not that in any imaginary way, it speaks of inhuman treatment of human beings on the basis of caste. This process encourages humanitarian behavior. At the same time there is a neutral concept in which on the one hand no discrimination is found on the basis of religion, while at the same time there is also given complete freedom to accept any religion.
- Factors of the type of secularization: India’s secularization started at a time when religion was strongly affecting society. This period was the arrival of British rule in India. As a result of the efforts made by the British to deepen the foundations and foundations of their empire in India, the process of secularization along with processes like urbanization, industrialization, Sanskritization itself automatically started. The efforts made by the British to establish their foothold and increase trade encouraged the process of secularization. Such as: The British developed large industries, trade, ports, cities, means of transport, which automatically hurt the religionism, caste restrictions were relaxed and the process of secularization started to be equal to the process of Sanskritisation.
Following are the reasons for the spread of secularization in India:
- Westernization: Westernization is the credit for starting the process of secularization in India and pushing it forward. Western culture has promoted materialism and individualism so much that due to it the decline in religion and its related behavior is natural. India has been known as the traditional country. The tradition is directly related to religion. The process of westernization has violated the tradition and emphasized on practices that are logical, practical and beneficial. This is the reason that has promoted the process of secularization.
- Urbanization and Industrialization: People living in cities are separated from religious superstitions due to their exposure to various types of industrial inventions. As various types of industrial institutions are being established in the cities, the density of population is increasing. It is no longer necessary that one religion prevails at one place and followers of the same religion reside there in large numbers, in cities and industrial centers, followers of different religions work together and exchange ideas. Huh . Due to this situation, the fanaticism of the particular religion ends and the feeling of co-existence develops. Hence it can be said that urbanization and industrialization are helpful factors in the process of secularization.
- Advanced means of transport and communication: When the means of transport were not developed, people could not go to far places even if they wanted to. Being in one place, they used to behave according to their religious sentiments. Due to lack of development in the means of communication, what is happening in other places and societies were not available to the people. This was also one of the reasons that people maintained religious fundamentalism. But as religious conduct and rituals are changing, discrimination of untouchability or discrimination in food and rigidity on the basis of religion is no more possible. If the followers of different religions are traveling together in a train or bus, they cannot maintain untouchability even if they want to, because they do not even know the caste, religion of all the passengers. If a society gives any relaxation in the traditional behavior pattern of a particular religion, then its information is communicated to other societies through the means of communication, so there is a talk of change there too. Now the villagers move towards the city for small tasks. Seeing the living conditions there, they are impressed and are ready to abandon their traditional behavior model (which is dominated by religion). Now the rural people are also ready to accept all those things which are beneficial for them. Even if it is related to any other religion.
- Current Education System In ancient education, students were taught religious grounds. Education was also the medium of preaching. The format of education was such that there should not be any degradation in the religious mold. There was no provision of education for those who could not make themselves religious. Only religiously holy people could get education. The impure people such as the Shudras and Spishyas were forbidden to acquire knowledge. Religion used to be the focal point of education. The Brahmins whose main task was to teach: They laid more emphasis on religious acts and laws. But religion did not have an important place in the new education system. Special education has been arranged for those considered impure. They are being taught by encouraging them. Followers of different castes and religions read and write and eat together. Religious complexity has ceased due to this condition. Now religious institutions and caste-specific educational institutions are being asked to change their names, just as there is no discrimination on the basis of religion in educational institutions. Similarly, discrimination based on gender discrimination is also ending now. Now women have also become logical and they are taking all kinds of education. His approach has also become evolutionary and independent. She has started trying to identify her existence, she has started assessing its importance as an essential part of society. It is a well-known fact that the practice of traditional practices in India in which religious practice is predominant, women were not allowed outside the house. Therefore, his approach was traditional. They have been given equal rights in modern education, due to which their attitude is changing towards traditional practices and their behavior is now turning more towards secularism. Thus we see that due to the current education system, the process of secularization is getting faster.
- Religious and Social Reforms Movement: Various religious and social reformers misrepresented the discrimination and religious hypocrisy of religion and its dependent caste party. Due to this situation, the perception of people became somewhat neutral towards religious rituals. The followers of different religions were asked to live and work together. The Bhakti movement of the medieval period also contributed significantly to this field. The efforts of Rajaram Mohanrai, Syed Ahmed Khan, Ranade, Swami Dayanand, Gandhi etc. also proved to be helpful in the process of secularization. Brahma Samaj, Arya Samaj, Prayer Meeting, Ramakrishna Mission and Theosophical Society also proved helpful in removing religious complexity. Therefore, it can be said that the social and religious movement has also helped in secularization.
- Social legislation: Various social legislations were also helpful in promoting secularization. Hindu marriage is no longer considered a religious rite or religious act as the concept of religious duties prescribed behind it is becoming secondary. Now it is becoming a social bond or compromise. Therefore, inter-caste marriages are also being justified because scientific inventions have made it clear that all the castes belong to the same groups whose aim is to achieve gender satisfaction in the accepted manner of society and mutual cooperation is becoming possible. Therefore, the matter of scheme purity is also considered to be religious and hence disposable. It is not necessary for different castes to follow the same religion. The legislation also considers such marriages appropriate. Similarly, the Prevention of Untouchability Act of 1955 emphasizes that those who were called untouchables till now have the same relationship with various institutions as other upper castes. There will be no discrimination on the basis of untouchability or religion. Since the Indian constitution has declared India a secular state, the government will make every effort to pursue secularization. The selection of representatives to run a government in a democratic state is an adult franchise in which there is no discrimination on the basis of religion and caste, but additional facilities to bring all people (historically backward persons) to the same level. Are being given Various types of social welfare programs are also being run by the government to promote secularism. 7. Political parties: Various political parties have also proved to be helpful in the process of secularization like Congress, Samajwadi Party and Communist Party etc. At the time of the creation of the Congress (1885), there were some leaders in it who were in favor of secularization as a social policy. As the number of educated and westernized people increased in this party, the demand for secularization also became stronger. Pt. Nehru, whom the Congress chose as its leader after independence, was a strong supporter of secularization. Dr.Radhakrishnan said at the time of Pandit Nehru’s death that “The main objective of Pandit Nehru was to remove the irrational elements of religion from people’s minds so that the social upliftment of the people could happen.