Faith-based communities and partners to any inter-religious dialogue support religious pluralism.The challenge is how to ensure that religious pluralism accommodate differences in peace and justice.

The idea of separation of state and religion evolved out of this challenge. Far from being "anti-religious", this prescription suggests that religious toleration can only be achieved through the institutionalization of freedom of conscience. This means the right to worship freely, to propagate one's religion, to change one's religion and even to renounce religion.

Toleration is equated with freedom of conscience. This scheme limits the role of conscience to the domain of private faith. Whereas one has the freedom to choose between competing doctrines and pursue one's belief in private religious institutions, one is linked in common citizenry in public state institutions.

The public order is deemed "secular" in that all considerations drawn from belief in God or a sacred authority in one's private life are excluded from the administration of public life. This separation was promoted as historical experience has shown that religious exclusivity tends to undermine solidarity and peaceful co-existence among different communities. Secularism as separation of religion and state evolved as a means to encourage pluralism!

While we may need to rethink secularism as separation of religion and state, the fact that secularism may have the ability to safeguard religious and political pluralism has to be noted.

Among the Abrahamic traditions, the ideal of justice arises out of the belief in an ethical God who insists on justice and equality in interpersonal relations as part of the believer's spiritual perfection. This idea then promotes the indispensable connection between the religious and ethical dimensions of personal life and introduces religious precepts into the public arena. This implies that religion is not separate from politics.