Revision summary
Secularism is a family of settlements, not one wall. Indian practice leaned toward equal respect and principled distance, with unfinished personal-law reform. Revival and majoritarian politics problematise neutrality. Weber’s full disenchantment did not arrive. Specify which secularism rather than treat the word as self-explaining.
Model answer
Introduction
- Secularism names a settlement between state and faith: distance, equal respect, or privatisation of belief. In the present it is a problem because those meanings clash, and because religious publics have not quietly gone home.
Body
Competing meanings
- Western privatisation of religion versus Indian sarva dharma sambhava as principled distance with reform of personal law still unfinished.
- Rajeev Bhargava’s contextual secularism tries to hold principled distance without a wall.
Present problems
- Religious revival and majoritarian politics test the neutrality of the state.
- Personal laws, uniform civil code debates, and Census religion tables keep faith public.
- Max Weber’s secularisation as disenchantment never fully arrived; Durkheim expected new cults, including the nation.
What problematising is not
- It is not a call to abandon equal citizenship.
- It is a call to specify which secularism, whose injury, and which public ritual the state blesses.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD SEC[Secularism] --> P[Privatisation] SEC --> D[Principled distance] REV[Revival majoritarianism] --> TEST[Tests the state] D --> CIT[Equal citizenship]
Conclusion
Secularism is problematic today because it is several doctrines at once, and because religion remains a public power. The live task is equal citizenship under principled distance, not a pretend emptying of the sacred.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Examine any two theories of social change in detail society
Next question in the 2017 paper (Q8). View answer →
-
Does problematising secularism mean giving it up?
No. It means arguing which arrangement protects minorities and civic peace.
-
Is the nation a secular religion?
Durkheimian civil religion can sit beside faiths and also threaten them.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2017 · Q1(a) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Explain how sociology has emerged as a distinct discipline based on rationality and scientific tamper -
2017 · Q1(e) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Can we equate 'poverty' with 'poor living' ? Elaborate your answer -
2017 · Q2(a) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
Discuss the changing equation of discipline of sociology with other social sciences -
2017 · Q2(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 20 marks
Examine the basic postulates of positivism and post-positivism -
2017 · Q2(c) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Elaborate the main tenets of interpretative perspective in sociology -
2016 · Q2(c) · Sociology GS 1 · 15 marks
Is sociology common sense? Give reasons in support of your argument. -
2016 · Q4(b) · Sociology GS 1 · 15 marks
"Participant observation is the most effective tool for collecting facts." Comment. -
2016 · Q5(d) · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
To what extent is patriarchy a cause for the problems of women? Discuss
More from this paper
Q1(a) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Explain how sociology has emerged as a distinct discipline based on rationality and scientific tamper
Sociology
Sociology arose as a science of society after industry and revolution. Comte named it; Durkheim, Marx, and Weber gave it method and objects. Rationality is both a method and, in Weber, a historical process. Scientific temper uses comparison, rates, and social facts. The Census later became a public file for that temper.
Q1(b) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Examine ethnomethodological and phenomenological perspective as critique of positivism
Sociology as Science
Positivism measures external facts; these perspectives study meaning and members’ methods. Schutz described the everyday life-world of typifications. Garfinkel showed order as accomplished, indexical work. Berger and Luckmann treated institutions as objectivated meanings. The critique qualifies rates; it does not delete official files.
Q1(c) · UPSC Mains 2017 · Sociology GS 1 · 10 marks
Illustrate with example the significance of variable in sociology research
Sociology as Science
A variable is a concept with more than one comparable value. It states relations and forces operational definition. Durkheim’s suicide rates illustrate theoretically named variables. Census and NFHS work variables can hide unpaid care if poorly coded. Blumer’s warning is part of the significance, not a footnote.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.