Between secularism and theocracy...and principled pluralism

comments     Kevin Tan     Published     Updated

The better alternative to secularism which is often perceived as being devoid of spiritual values is not theocracy but a form of 'principled pluralism' which incorporates universal values accepted by all religions, a speaker at an international conference on religions proposed today.

"Principled pluralism celebrates the fact that there are cultural minorities and communities of diverse religious and cultural backgrounds," constitutional lawyer Philip Koh told malaysiakini after a session at the conference.

He had earlier spoken on constitutional provisions for the separation of Church and State and their implications for religious faith and freedom.

The two-day international conference on religious pluralism in democratic societies started yesterday in Kuala Lumpur. Organised by the Malaysian Association for American Studies, it brought together leading scholars on various religions to discuss inter-faith issues.

Among them were Prof Diana L Eck of Harvard University, Prof Leonard Swidler and Dr Mahmoud Ayoub of Temple University and Prof P Ramasamy of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

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