Oh, and I should add, in light of Garfinkle's post, that there probably is a big difference in the way we are using the term "secularism"; I am using it to refer to an emergent phenomenon of certain cultures/societies--a practical means of dealing with many people of different beliefs on a regular basis. We might call this "bottom up" secularism; it's just something people do because it works for them. You are most likely referring to what we might call "imposed" or "imitative" secularism, where a leader or reformer attempts to make society more secular from above--Attaturk in Turkey, for example, or Peter the Great in Russia. In this case, secularism isn't so much a cooperative position of co-existence, but a commitment to "progressive", 1st-world ideals in the hope that imitation will lead to success, and the idea that religion is, to some extent, a backwards, retarding force that prevents progress and so must be somehow officially opposed, reformed, or removed from the public sphere.
Thus we have Peter the Great outlawing beards in Russia, in an attempt to "modernize" the country and make it more like Western Europe; In India we have Nehru's Hindu Code Bill.
So, to an American, "the promises of secularism" is a phrase that doesn't make much sense, because we weren't made any promises, but I can see how that would make perfect sense to someone who was told that secularism is an important step in the process of becoming a 1st world country.
And then we might really ask, so, how has secularism done? Have the people it was somewhat imposed upon come to appreciate it? Or is there backlash against government interference?
Here in the US, of course, things are mixed, since we do have these wide cultural variations, but the laws are officially supposed to be secular. So, for example, we have this continual struggle over abortion, or court rulings that "Intelligent Design" cannot be taught in government-run/funded schools because it is just Creationism (a religious doctrine) masquerading under another name.
Whew. I'm glad that's cleared up. Now, what were we talking about?