Meaning of Words

Submitted by Sigmund Derman (United States), Mar 4, 2015 at 10:06

I think you are right to discuss the different meanings of "secularism." I've noticed that among Jews secular can simply be a less confrontational way of saying "atheist" or "agnostic." It also can mean what I think it should mean, favoring separation of church and state. To some, secular means "sort of religious, believing in G_d but not really caring that much about the whole thing." When you have advocated for "moderate Islam" I interpreted that as a call for secular Islam in the sense of separation of church and state. After reading what you just wrote above, I think I may have misunderstood you somewhat but I am not sure there is much practical difference. It's hard to believe that a "moderate" Muslim, as you present it, really would want "moderate Islam" to be enforced by the political system of a country. To the extent that he or she would want "moderate Islam" to rule, I wonder how moderate that person would really be.

The other side of the coin is the distance between a very strong religious view and atheism (or agosticism). I think that a Jew can be a Reform or Reconstructionist Jew and still have a strong belief in G_d (I know that some Jews will dispute this). Likewise, there are many very moderate Christian sects which still offer the possibility of a strong bond between their adherents and G_d. Is something like that available to Muslims? I don't just mean being a "lapsed Muslim", I mean having an actual organized congregation of faith that is establish along "moderate" lines. It would seem that such a version of Islam might be attractive to many.

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