A Short History

What does it mean to call Western society 'secular'? What is secularism? And how should we understand the the concept of 'secularism' in international relations, particularly the clash between radical Islam and the West? The word 'secular' has come to mean that which belongs to this life, to the here and now, in this world. It is widely used as a shorthand for the ideology which shapes contemporary society without reference to the divine. However, according to Graeme Smith, 'secularism' represents a great deal more. He offers a radical reappraisal of the notion of secularism and its history, beginning with the Greeks and proceeding to modernity and the contemporary period.