Secularity and the Foundations of Religious studies in Kazakhstan: a critical analysis of state-sponsored pedagogy and securitized secularism

This article critically examines the mandatory course ‘Secularity and the Foundations of Religious Studies’ in Kazakhstan’s secondary education system, analyzing how state-sponsored pedagogy reflects a shift from post-Soviet liberalization to securitized secularism. Utilizing qualitative content analysis of mandatory ninth-grade textbooks and synthesizing frameworks of assertive secularism, the religion-state gap, and governmentality, this study demonstrates how the state utilizes curriculum ideology to manage public religiosity. The analysis traces how the 2011 Law on Religious Activity institutionalized a restrictive regime under the international branding of the ‘Kazakhstan model’ of interfaith harmony. By decoding textbook taxonomies of ‘traditional’ versus ‘non-traditional’ confessions and establishing regional benchmarks—particularly with Uzbekistan’s parallel trajectory—the paper argues that this curriculum functions as a defensive civic mechanism designed to preempt radicalization while establishing state authority over theological discourse. Rather than fostering open-ended pluralism, this pedagogical approach implants institutional vigilance within students. Ultimately, the findings contribute to global debates on how assertive secular states instrumentalize public education to construct self-regulating secular subjects and navigate the tension between constitutional neutrality and the active management of spiritual life.