Secularism in this country has long been compressed under the heading of a “culture war”. However, the issue is neither a lifestyle polemic nor an abstract constitutional article. The issue is bread. The issue is whether or not we will be paid for the sweat of our brow.
For the worker, secularism means that the state does not favor any faith. Because when the state favors a faith, loyalty, not merit, becomes the criterion in the workplace. The criterion in recruitment, promotion, and public staffing becomes “conformity” rather than talent and labor. This divides the class, isolates the worker and strengthens the boss.
Today, one of the words we hear most often in labor life is “conviction”. Conviction in minimum wage debates, patience in strikes, fate in work murders... However, labor struggle is not about fate, but about rights. And rights are secured in a secular legal order. The mentality that codifies the right to strike as “sedition”, the union as “corruption” and objection as “disobedience” wants to silence the voice of the laborer. This is exactly where secularism comes into play: It prevents the suppression of the search for rights with sacred references.
The picture is even clearer for women's labor. The understanding that confines women to the home and defines the burden of care as “fıtrat” is the biggest obstacle to secure employment. However, demands such as equal pay for equal work, the right to kindergarten and maternity leave should be regulated according to universal labor law, not religious norms. Secularism defends the public existence of women workers.
Public services are also at the center of this debate. When education and health are shaped by religious references, the social state disintegrates. Taxpaying workers cannot receive equal services. However, secularism is the neutrality of the public sector. The tax of the laborer should be spent for the common good of all citizens, not for the benefit of any faith.
Class solidarity grows only with a consciousness of common interests. The worker's sect, identity and lifestyle should not be decisive, but their wages and security. Where secularism is eroded, class identity weakens and identity politics grows stronger. This benefits the boss the most.
Iftar tables, the imposition of hymns in schools, this is precisely why they expect the laborers to pose for their established order. They want them to submit to poverty. The relations of sects with trade and politics are shown as national spiritual feelings. The order they want to establish is intended to perpetuate a system in which poor laborers obey and bosses make more profit.
Today, defending secularism is not just defending a principle, it is defending the dignity of labor. Because secularism is the guarantee that bread is shared on the basis of rights, independent of politics, faith and loyalty. The connection between bread and secularism is precisely here: When one is weakened, the other becomes precarious.
For working people, secularism is not a choice but a need. And this need is not cultural but class-based.