Secularism is generally the assertion that governmental
practices or institutions should exist separately from religion
or religious beliefs. Alternatively, it is a principle of
promoting secular ideas or values in either public or private
settings over religious ways of thought. In one sense,
secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule
and teachings, and freedom from the government imposition of
religion upon the people, within a state that is neutral on
matters of belief, and gives no state privileges or subsidies to
religions. (See also Separation of church and state and
Laïcité.) In another sense, it refers to a belief that human
activities and decisions, especially political ones, should be
based on evidence and fact rather than religious influence. (See
also public reason.) The purposes and arguments in support of
secularism vary widely. In European laicism, it has been argued
that secularism is a movement toward modernization, and away
from traditional religious values. This type of