ABSTRACT
This article, focuses on a critical discussion of normative secularism. In debating secularism in political philosophy, has convincingly argued that one should firstly distinguish between the level of institutions, practical politics and their justifications and secondly between first-and second-order justifications. The core aspects of Priority for Liberal Democracy an extensive interpretation of the freedoms of political communication and of its anti-paternalism in opposition to all versions of exclusivist secularism. In defending the priority for liberal democracy against all kinds of secularist threats, the appeal to the 'secular' character of the state or to 'political secularism' is counterproductive because secularism is again part of the problem. Combined threats to liberal democracy from bureaucracy, scientism, technocracy and professionalism are more serious than the short-term threats from religious fundamentalism in politics. One might say that religions are particularly prone to theocracy because belief, particularly Revealed Belief, would be grounded in transcendent sources.
