Laïcité Part 3: Public Education Becomes a Battleground

In the 19th century, public education in France  was made mandatory and secular. The Catholic Church, which  previously had controlled and administered education, viewed this as a hostile act of anti-clericism. They faced off against the proponents of secularism in what was known as "The Conflict of the Two Frances." Today, more than ever, schools are battleground over secularism, religious expression and separatism.

This podcast is part of  "Paris: A City of Ideas," a series created and narrated by Roger Mummert (rogermum@aol.com).
For more information: www.theparisproject.net

This podcast was created by Roger Mummert for www.theparisproject.net.

Transcript

Public Education Becomes a Battleground

The application of laïcité to public education evolved over time. Throughout much of the 19th century, education rested in the hands of the church. Free public education for boys and girls was established with the Jules Ferry Laws of 1881-82. Public schools (l’ecole républicaine) were mandatory and secular. Lay teachers provided “moral and civic instruction” in place of the religious instruction of church-based schools. The church decried this as “anti-clericism.”

Secularism in education was reinforced in 1905 with the passage of the Law of the Separation of the Churches and the State. From this point forward, the state would operate public schools, free from any religious influence. New schools bore the creed “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” on their facade, and secularism prevailed within their walls. 

A basic tenet of the 1905 law is “freedom of conscience and worship.” This allows for freedom of religious expression just as it allows for freedom for atheism and a variety of religious views. The law also ensures that no one can be obliged to express their religious views, and there can be no social penalty for the expression of religious or philosophical views. The state never asks citizens about religious affiliation, and in social circles the French are reserved in discussing such choices. The public domain is religiously neutral. In fact, any public building constructed after 1905 may not display a religious symbol. 

The 1905 law was “more than a law,” in the view of Jean Baubérot, who is considered the founder of the sociology of secularism. “It completed the establishment of the Republic,” which is defined in the Constitution as “indivisible, secular, democratic, and social.”

Secularness was made the official policy of the French State by the  Constitution of the Fourth Republic in 1946. Importantly, secularness is more than a goal: The State "has a duty" to organize "free, public and secular public education at all levels,” according to the preamble to the 1946 Constitution.

This was reinforced by the Constitution of the Fifth Republic in 1958: “France…shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs.”