Why Secularism?

Before Europe became secular, it went through 178 years of destructive religious wars. From 1522 to 1700 the reformation and counter-reformation caused 17 million deaths in war, famine, disease, and massacres. The pinnacle was reached in 1618-1648 called the Thirty Year War that alone caused the death of 8 million people. Finally, from mutual exhaustion, the Treaty of Westphalia was signed in 1648. Slowly these wars came to a close by 1700. The Treaty settled on the doctrine of non-interference in each other's states and accepted religious pluralism. It was only then that the Age of Enlightenment began and Europe achieved 200 years of peace and enormous prosperity (which they sadly used to conquer the rest of the world but that's another story). Those who argue for secularism in Pakistan hope that we don't have to go through 178 years of war to realise that discrimination by the state on the basis of religion cannot bring peace or prosperity in Pakistan.