FRENCH SECULARISM
THE PRINCIPLE OF LAÏCITÉ:
ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES AND IMPACTS
NIKOU JAHANSHAHI ALEMI
ecularism is defined
as a system in which
religion and state are
separated; i.e. political
and administrative powers
are exercised by
nonreligious authorities.
Nowadays examples of
secular countries include:
France, China, the USA, South
Korea and Singapore. The
governments in these
countries are or purport to
be officially neutral in
supporting religion. Non-
secular states include: Iran,
Egypt, England, Israel and
Saudi Arabia.
Although the US is
secular, representatives are
vocal about their religion,
and the president ends
speeches with ‘god bless the
United States’, therefore,
France would not be defined
as secular in the same way.
French secularism is a lot
stricter it is called laïcité and
does not have an exact
English translation. Laïcité
came about in the 18th
century, during the
Enlightenment period which
ultimately let to the French
revolution in 1789. It is a
founding principle of the
French Republic and is
enshrined in the French
constitution as of 1958, in
the first article, “France shall
be an indivisible, secular,
democratic and social
Republic. It shall ensure the
equality of all citizens before
S
the law, without distinction
of origin, race or religion. It
shall respect all beliefs. It
shall be organized on a
decentralized basis.”
Therefore, in public places,
public schools,
administrative buildings
and court rooms, French
citizens are not allowed to
show any religious
affiliation. Wearing
religious symbols, such as a
kipper, cross, hijab or
turban are all banned.
Laïcité has one main
advantage, it emphasises
equality. A French citizen is
to be regarded as a citizen
first. As a result there are no
official statistics on religion
and minority groups as all
citizens are regarded as
equal. Laïcité aims to
prevent discrimination,
hate crimes and racism. The
majority of French people
strongly believe in and
support laïcité. There is
even talk of adding it to the
French motto, making it
Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité,
Laïcité.
In 2004 wearing
religious items were
banned in French public
schools. Those opposed to
laïcité argued laïcité had
led to elitism, as children
either have to give up their
belief or be able to afford
private school. Other
arguments against laïcité
include the belief that the
ban blinds citizens to
diversity and the fact that
other religions exist,
therefore lowering
acceptance tolerance of
people’s differences.
Furthermore, religious
education is not taught in
schools and as a result has
become a taboo topic. But
critics argue this is an
outrage as it is important
that children are fully
educated. In addition
enforcement of secularism is
often seen as censorship as
it disturbs the individual’s
self-expression.
In conclusion, the French
often support secularism as
a means of promoting
equality but critics argue it
blinds citizens to diversity.
After arguing both sides I
think that secularism
infringes on peoples human
rights as it silences religious
freedom and individualism
in general. Furthermore, I see
there is a double standard in
France, as French holidays
are based on Christian
holidays, Christmas, Easter
and so on, which is not fair to
other religions or true to the
principle of laïcité. I think
that laïcité creates an
equality based on lack of
knowledge and we would be
better of teaching children
to see passed someone’s
religious jewellery or
different beliefs, rather than
ignoring their existence.
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