Secular countries differ sharply in where religion sits institutionally

Evidence

In short, the assumption that liberal democracy ushers in a directaccess society seems to me questionable. The forms of mediation characteristic of modern society certainly differ from medieval Christian—and Islamic—ones, but this is not a simple matter of the absence of “religion” in the public life of the modern nation-state. For even in modern secular countries the place of religion varies. Thus although in France both the highly centralized state and its citizens are secular, in Britain the state is linked to the Established Church and its inhabitants are largely nonreligious, and in America the population is largely religious but the federal state is secular. “Religion” has always been publicly present in both Britain and America. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 32 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Secularization in Belfast privatized institutions but not popular religion’s territorial marking. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized:…, 2305; Secularism’s public presence of religion varies across modern nation-states. — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 32; Secular societies can coexist with religion through state separation. (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Secularism’s public presence of religion varies across modern nation-states. #expands (0.93) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 32