Liberalism, Secularism, and the Modern West

Focusing on the relation between religion and state in general and between religion and politics in particular, the present article seeks to indicate that the process of the political philosophy in the west in the modern era –whose starting point according to the article is the political thought of Hobbes and Locke-is undergoing a development quite different from the ancient philosophy in essence. In other words, this article is an attempt to show that the division of the classic philosophy of the west has not merely been a matter of historical aspect. Rather, based on the reading that is presented for freedom andthe relation of religion and politics in the modern philosophy, the modern state in the west is differentiated from the current of political thought and the way of its application in essence. Therefore, it seems that the process of the freedom seeking project leading to liberalism includes not only the features of freedom but modernity andsecularism. Referring to the views of two classic thinkers of the west i.e. Hobbes and Locke, the present article seeks to show this link in western liberalism explaining western liberalism with its two basic principles i.e. secularism and western modernity.