ABSTRACT
In Bangladesh, secularism and state religion coexist in the constitutional framework after the 15th Amendment of the Constitution in 2011. In contrast, the founding Constitution of 1972 recognised secularism as a ‘fundamental’ principle of the Constitution and the state. During the successive military regimes (1975-1990), secularism was removed while several Islamic religious expressions were inserted into the Constitution, and Islam was declared the ‘state religion’. Secularism was later reinstated during a new political environment, while Islam was retained as the state religion. This constitutional innovation ignited a debate over whether a secular state could have an official religion. The chapter dialogically examines that debate from historical, political, theoretical, and praxiological perspectives. It shows that the justifications on both sides are persuasive, although not incontrovertible. In this context, the chapter invites a new discourse to address the unresolved issues of national identity, secularism, and the religions’ roles in public life.
