How secular is the West?

NEARLY forty years ago, when I was already living in Spain, I had to undergo emergency surgery at a public (most private hospitals in Spain at that time used to be run by Catholic religious orders) hospital in Madrid. As I gradually regained consciousness after general anaesthesia in a room shared with two other patients, I heard faint voices talking about me. It was comforting to see my entire family around my bed anxiously waiting for me to wake up.
Soon a couple of pretty nurses in their white uniforms came to check on me. They were kind and efficient. When I queried about my chances of full recovery, one of the nurses, pointing her finger towards a crucifix pinned to the wall right over my head, which I had not noticed until then, said, "Don't worry, you are going to be all right. Our Lord Jesus Christ is watching over you." Then I noticed that the other two beds in the room had similar crucifixes near their headboards. When the nurses left, I told my wife that even though I was a liberal Muslim, I did not like the idea of having symbols of other religions fixed to the wall over my headboard.
Forty years have gone by since that incident. General Franco died in 1975 and a new constitution restoring full democracy and religious freedom was passed in 1978. But symbols of Franco's national Catholicism are still visible everywhere. State ceremonies are conducted in accordance with Catholic rituals and in the presence of the representatives of the Catholic hierarchy. A substantial part of the Church budget is financed by the government from public funds. Yet every year it demands more and more to run its huge establishment, which spreads across the country. The Church owns schools, colleges, universities, newspapers and radio stations through which it preaches its dogma. The current government's proposal to introduce certain reforms in the religious law has drawn heavy criticism from the Catholic Church. The mere mention of the word reform has been characterised as "diehard secularism" by the archbishop of Pamplona. The justice minister has been accused of being a "Christ-hater" because of his proposal to remove the crucifixes and other religious symbols from public places.
Secularism advocates the establishment of civil societies and institutions of government based on reason and not on religious tradition and dogma. So, although in theory, Spain is a secular non-denominational state, in practice, Catholicism's powerful presence can be felt everywhere which gives the impression that in Spain the task of separating the Church and the State has not yet been completed. The vehemence of the reaction to the current government's reform proposals suggests that this task will, most probably, not be completed in the near future.
If this is the situation in a new democracy like that of Spain, are things much different in the older democracies of the West? Let us have a look at only a few examples.
Under the guise of secularism, the United States, remains a deeply religious country. Following the Calvinistic doctrine, the distinction between the Church and the State has been maintained, but it remains the responsibility of the State to guarantee strict adherence to Church doctrine and ceremony. In most oath-taking and public ceremonies, God's name is invoked. Across the country, public school teachers daily lead students with a pledge of allegiance in which the words "under God" are uttered. US coins carry the solemn pledge "in God we trust". No non-Christian has ever become president or vice-president of the US. Before John Kennedy, no Catholic was ever president. In fact, one of the worst accusations the conservative Republicans (many of them are members of the Christian Right) could think of levelling against President Obama in their current hate campaign is that he is a secret Muslim.
Luckily, the Christian Right is not as powerful in Europe as in the US. Even though, in comparison with the US, Western Europe appears to be less religious, many countries invoke God's name in their constitutions. The Italian constitution acknowledges the pre-eminent position of the Catholic Church, which by right enjoys enormous privileges. The Greek constitution recognises the Eastern Orthodox Church as the dominant faith and owes allegiance to Jesus Christ as the head of Eastern Christianity. In Britain, the position of the Church of England is extraordinarily solid. No one except a member of the Church of England can ascend the British throne. Actually, the king or the queen, as the head of state, is also the head of the Church of England. France is perhaps the best example of a secular European state where the constitution has tried to make a clear separation between religion and state. Since 2004, all ostentatious religious symbols have been banned at public places including state schools. Unfortunately, this measure has had unintended consequences. Wearing headscarves at school, which is considered by the authorities as a Muslim religious habit has also been prohibited. (This, in my opinion, is wrong because in the name of secularism, the state has no right to impose dress codes on anyone. Such an arbitrary policy targeting a minority often produces counter-productive results.)
All this goes to prove that the Western democracies are not as liberal or as secular as many in Europe and America perceive them to be. In this, Western political leaders and the media have a responsibility. For the purpose of lowering the level of misunderstanding between the Christian West and the Muslim democracies they should refrain from using simplistic generalisations and derogatory platitudes about Muslim societies. History suggests that focusing on the perceived deficiencies of other peoples simply underscores one's own.

Chaklader Mahboob-ul Alam is a Daily Star columnist.