How did European ideas about secularism influence colonial rule?

European ideas about secularism significantly influenced colonial rule by shaping how imperial powers managed the religious and social lives of indigenous populations. In the context of the British raj in India, colonial authorities adopted a complex approach that balanced official policies of noninterference with active intervention in practices deemed objectionable.1

While early colonial legal frameworks, such as the 1772 Judicial Plan and the 1793 Cornwallis Code, granted religious freedom by allowing communities to follow their own traditional laws regarding marriage and inheritance, the colonial state simultaneously asserted its authority to reform society. For example, the British government outlawed suttee in 1829, justifying this intervention by framing it as a necessary restriction on practices they deemed morally unacceptable, despite their stated policy of religious neutrality.1

This dynamic reflects a broader colonial tension: the use of secular administrative tools to maintain order and interreligious peace—such as criminalizing acts that insulted religious beliefs—while selectively overriding local customs to align with European notions of humanity and governance. These colonial strategies established a precedent for state involvement in religious affairs that continued to influence post-independence debates regarding the definition and application of secularism.1