A New Temple and the End of Secularism
This week, a new temple opened in India. The Ram Temple is built on a sacred site where a mosque stood for 500 years, recently dismantled by the Indian government.
The site is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram (aka Vishnu). This sounds like a dispute between Islam and Hinduism but is better understood as the undoing of secularism.
India was a predominantly Buddhist region from the 400s onwards. Islam arrived in the 700s, and the English colonised India in the 1700s. At the time of independence in 1947, India had Hindus (84%), Muslims (10%), Christians (2.3%) and Sikhs (1.8%).
Colonialism is presently a dirty word, but the English brought advancements in education, medicine, law and order, governance, and secularism to India. From the Christian tradition came the idea that the state could govern with justice for all people without favouring one religion. This is secularism – separating the state from religious institutions.
Of recent, we in the West imagine secularism and atheism are inseparable – as if secularism is the product of atheism. Not so – secularism comes from Jesus when he says render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.
The Indian Prime Minister (Modi) and the State are intervening in domestic issues with a biased religious agenda. To be Indian is to be Hindu. Erdogan is doing the same in Turkey, rededicating the Hagia Sophia as a mosque. Putin is making the Russian State more Orthodox, The Military Junta are making Myanmar more Buddhist, and Trump is pitching to Evangelical conservatives.
What does all of this mean? Why is this happening? There are two insights to grasp. What is passing secularism? The notion that justice is for everyone (not just the majority religion) and that secular states exist to care for all citizens is running out of momentum.
In its place is (re-)emerging religious nationalism. Cultures need an over-arching story that binds us together (and against them). Secular Atheism lacks a compelling story, so the likes of Modi, Putin, Erdogan, (and Netanyahu and Trump?) are using the story-telling capacity of religion to gather the faithful around a cause. Seasons of instability give rise to insular nationalism.
Jesus does not fit this mould. We are known for our love, including love for our enemies. Everyone is made in God’s image, including people from other tribes, tongues and religions. Another blessing of Christendom is fading.
By Rev. David Rietveld