Secularism is on the rise within the United States. Religious nonafiliation has increased dramatically, while other measures of religiosity—worship attendance, belief in God, belief in scripture—are waning.

It is a major premise of this study that “the secular” is conceptually prior to the political doctrine of “secularism,” that over time a variety of concepts, practices, and sensibilities have come together to …

To be secular in this sense means to leave religion behind, to emanci- pate oneself from religion, overcoming the nonrational forms of being, thinking, and feeling associated with religion.

Secularism is a political philosophy that addresses the relationship between religion and the state: put briefly, it advocates the separation of religion from the state.

It is best understood as the idea that there is a fiercely secular public realm, which needs to be enforced, to maintain separation from religion and religious conflict.

In a secular state, every person is free to choose his religion and manifest his beliefs within the recognized limitations of the freedom of religion and conscience.

Secularism is an important source of political authority in International Relations theory and practice. Secularists identify something called ‘religion’ and separate it from the domains of the state, the …