Secular Religion for Democracy by T.S.Khanna

November 28, 2006 T.S.Khanna on

Secular Religion for Democracy

In primitive societies, autocrats were accepted as a legitimate force by traditions, customs, or habits. In religious societies, political power is legitimized for religious leaders through myths and legends. In democratic societies, the political quest of government, for its legitimacy and stability, must focus on the relationship of power to the citizens’ perception of justice, reason, and morality.

It is relatively simple to identify such relationship in a society with a common culture but it becomes a most complex issue in a secular democracy with diverse religions and cultures.

There seem to be three major sources of influence on human culture; religion, education, and economics. The nations with a single predominant religion can accommodate with relative ease the cultural variations due to different levels of education and economic status of the citizens. However, the cultural variations generated or influenced by diverse religions are hard to compromise. In a secular democracy, it is not easy to visualize and establish a sustainable relationship of power to justice, reason, and morality that may be acceptable to the citizens with diverse religions.

It seems that secular democracies can thrive for a certain period. Beyond that period, suicidal forces develop to cause its breakdown. During the thriving period, the prevailing mindset of the leaders is unfortunately not tuned to identify the growing cells of social cancer. Yet, the best time to get rid of the cancer cells is when one is in the best of health, otherwise.

To continue to thrive, secular democracies need to develop and establish a supportive secular religion. The secular religion may be developed by a compromise of values of the mainstream religions of the nation, essentially ignoring their customs, ceremonies, signs, and symbols. The primary values of religions, namely, belief in God, love for God’s creation, kindness, helping the less fortunate, charity, honesty and integrity, maintenance of peace, pursuit of excellence, and performance of duty, that unite the religions may be emphasized in the proposed secular religion. The auxiliary values that divide religions may be ignored in developing the secular religion.

Once such a religion is established, secular governments may

1. Provide incentives for citizens to adopt the secular religion without having to abandon their respective religions;

2. Make it mandatory for all public officials to adopt the secular religion;

3. Forbid the public display of any sign, symbol, dress, or any activity that may identify one’s religion; and

4. Disallow tax deductibility for religious donations; true spirit of a religion does not thrive or survive on money and those who wish to donate must be willing to do so regardless of the tax benefit.

The proposed secular religion would serve as chemotherapy for the cells of social cancer in secular democracies. The case in point is that of the USA and India, the flagships of secular democracy with many similar problems.

Constitutional Amendment

November 22, 2006

Constitutional Change

In the life of every organization, there comes a critical time when its conceptual framework must be pointedly reviewed in light of the factual experiences. Usually, it is either the pride of the past successes or the present lack of collective vision of the leaders that obstructs such a review. Such neglect can be suicidal.

In the prevailing paradigm of secular democracy, any suggestion to review individual liberties may not be fashionable even if absolutely essential. Today, some of the liberties seem to be responsible for growing sense of insecurity in democratic nations.

The liberty to prominently display one’s religion in public seems to be running counter to the public interest. The person doing so does not violate any law and yet the public feel uncomfortable and suspicious. It would be in the individual’s interest, religious group’s interest, as well as in the public interest to curtail certain religious activities and liberties. Among some other needed constitutional amendments, we need a constitutional amendment to forbid

1. Public display of one’s religion by dress, signs, or symbols---- an individual’s religion must not be evident from his/her looks, and preferably, not even from the name;

2. Religious parades or processions in public places;

3. Tax deductibility from charitable contributions to any religious institution.

A Lesson From Experience by T.S.Khanna, 10-18-2001

October 18, 2001.

A Lesson from Experience

It is amazing that the USA has done so much for so many countries during the last century and yet some of them have become its enemies. It reminds me of an old adage, “ What did I do for you that you are against me?” Realization of the impact of jealousy is hard for people living in the countries, never in a position to help others. The New York tragedy of September 11, 2001, is a case of acute jealousy. All the countries harboring or promoting terrorism, openly or inwardly, against the USA are the ones whose dust was turned into dollars by the USA during the last half of the last century.

Poverty and ignorance provide the gullibility for a few to establish and promote their power based on a twisted vision of religion. They want their followers to remain ignorant, poor, weak, and non-questioning faith-bound to prevent any challenge or danger to their power. Their followers with a myopic vision make an easy prey for programming their minds to blindly support their leaders and ferociously fight their enemies, i.e., whoever does not support their power base. The advancing technology has given them immense power to fight against their enemies.

A civilization that promotes individual liberty, education, freedom, opportunity, scientific and logical thinking is automatically an enemy to those who like to keep commanding power based on a warped vision of religion.

Unfortunately, most of the countries that gained independence with the inspiration and assistance from the USA during the last century have been gaining population, poverty, ignorance, and corruption---an optimum mix of ingredients for religious exploitation. The main reason for this unfortunate plight is that sudden independence and democracy installed the ignorant and the corrupt in powerful governmental positions, legitimizing nepotism and corruption to the extent from where they cannot retract on their own. The future for those countries is bleak and burden for the USA unbearable.

Now the USA must consult its experience of the past century to formulate its policy for Afganistan---a country emerging as a strong candidate for assistance. People of Afganistan possess many qualities essential for progress; they are hardy, healthy, courageous, intelligent, and determined people. They need only a unity of purpose to work together for economic progress.

As I see it, to build a strong Afganistan, the United Nations (UN) may be involved in a 15-year development plan. During this period,

1. The UN may provide services for its defense needs and no arms aid be given to the government,

2. Establish a strong Civil Service Agency (CSA) to place only the most qualified persons (including women) in decision making governmental positions. The CSA may be answerable only to the UN and may recruit the qualified people from abroad when suitable local talent is not available. To minimize ethnic and religious prejudices, the CSA may also be given the responsibility to evaluate or review the performance of the government officials.

3. Establish a strong Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for a constant watch over the governmental operations with powers to take an efficient and effective action. The ACA may be responsible to the UN only and make sure that the UN aid or the aid from the USA is not misused to swell up the Swiss Bank balances of the political leaders of Afganistan.

4. Establish high quality educational institutions to provide the best opportunity for the local people.

After fifteen years of active involvement, the UN may recede leaving behind a strong tradition of an efficient, effective, and clean government. This is what most developing countries need most. They do not need a constant flow of the American taxpayers’ dollars and America does not need new enemies. Let Afganistan set an example of leadership for other developing countries