The Shifting Stands of Secularism: Bangladesh’s Response to Religious Conservatism

Abstract

This article explores the shifting discourses and practices of secularism and Islamisation in Bangladesh, focusing on how the country’s secular identity has shifted since its beginning. The study addresses the central issue of how successive regimes have reinterpreted or diluted it to serve ideological and political objectives. This study argues that, although Bangladesh was founded as a secular state in 1972, the constitutional amendment in 1988 that declared Islam as the state religion reflects a significant and historical tension between secularism and religious identity. This tension has given rise to a distinctive form of secularism that Bangladesh has upheld throughout its history. We further contend that the relationship between religion and secularism is multifaceted in the context of the country, where the secular principles of Bangladesh do not denote the elimination of religion. Religious actors have the freedom to express their faiths in the public sphere, even though, to some extent, they undermine secular principles. The article also examines one secular political strategy – the slogan “Dharma Jār Jār, Utshob Shobār” (one’s religion is one’s own, but festivals are for everyone) – which highlights individual religious beliefs and identity while promoting communal celebration. The debates surrounding this slogan reveal how religious inclusivity is celebrated and contested in public life, reflecting deeper tensions between communal harmony and religious boundaries. It contributes to the broader understanding of secularism by demonstrating how secular principles in Muslim-majority contexts, like Bangladesh, are pragmatically reconfigured in response to political and religious pressures.