Secularism or Religious Intolerance: An Examination of France’s Concept of Laïcité

By: Jacob Vande Zande

Over a decade ago, France passed a law that prohibited the use of conspicuous religious symbols in public schools, and by doing so, ignited intense religious disagreement that continues today.[1] More specifically, the law prohibits “the wearing of signs or outfits by which pupils ostensibly manifest a religious affiliation” in public schools.[2] While the text of this law is neutral on its face, the law has a disproportionate impact on students of minority religious groups. Some clear evidence of the law’s impact is in how it prevents Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish public school students from wearing headscarves, turbans, and yarmulkes as an expression of their religious beliefs.[3] Ultimately, the debate surrounding this law is a reflection of the concerns related to France’s commitment to secularism as a foundation of the state’s structure and the harms it may inflict on French society.[4] Therefore, this blog will examine this issue by briefly describing secularism in France, explaining the international communities response to the 2004 headscarf ban and France’s response, and finally analyzing the arguments concerning the problems with France’s strong commitment to secularism.

The concept of secularism has been a significant feature of the French Republic for over a century as the French government has adopted the principle of laïcité, which is the French concept of secularism that opposes religious involvement in government.[5] The 1905 French law on the separation of the churches and state announced France’s commitment to secularism by abolishing its former system of recognized religions.[6] While the term laïcité’s official adoption is relatively new, France’s commitment to some degree of public neutrality in the context of religion has been around since the French Revolution.[7] In addition, France expressly conveyed its dedication to secularism in its 1958 Constitution, which states that “France is an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic, guaranteeing that all citizens regardless of their origin, race or religion are treated as equals before the law and respecting all religious beliefs.”[8] Although French law related to religion is often defined by its secular and neutral approach, France still protects the freedom of conscience, and consequently, the freedom to practice religion.[9] Nevertheless, France still has a high level of restriction on religious freedom. According to Pew Research Center in 2017, France is one of 12 states, among the world's 25 most populous nations, with a high level of religious restrictions, and in Europe, France has the second highest level of religious restrictions, behind only Russia.[10] Ultimately, while France grants religious freedoms, it is clear that France stands out as one of the more restrictive democratic countries when it comes to religious freedom.

Furthermore, France’s secular approach of neutrality towards religion became quite apparent after its 2004 ban on conspicuous religious symbols in public schools, which caught the eye of the international community. In its 2004 report, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed immediate concern for France’s new law, asserting that “[t]he French government's promotion of its understanding of the principle of secularism should not result in violations of the internationally recognized individual right to freedom of religion or belief.”[11] Additionally, in 2012, after a student, who was expelled from school for wearing a keski, brought suit, the United Nations Human Rights Committee held that “France's restrictions on the wearing of religious symbols or clothing in state schools breached a student's right to religious freedom under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”[12]

Nevertheless, France did not change course, instead French advocates defended support of the ban by emphasizing the detrimental impact of proselytization on children in school on account of their vulnerability to external influences.[13] They argued that the law was an issue of public order and not religious freedom because the specific religious practice prohibited by the ban caused disruption.[14] Moreover, even more recently, France has not backed down from its commitment to secularism despite facing new challenges, and according to the Secularism Monitoring Centre’s 2014 guidance memo “the country needs secularism now more than ever.”[15] France insists that secularism is “neither pro, nor anti-religious,” rather secularism “enables all citizens, whatever their philosophical or religious beliefs, to live together, enjoying freedom of conscience, freedom to practice a religion or to choose not to, equal rights and obligations, and republican fraternity.”[16]

However, it is clear that France places secularism and public neutrality toward religion over religious freedom by prioritizing the protection of secular values over the protection of religious freedoms.[17] Some even argue that as far as states that are committed to secularism, France stands out as a state that especially values its strong secular government to the point of “evincing outright hostility toward religion in the public sphere.”[18] They maintain that France’s secular approach that seeks to be neutral actually places the state at odds with the religious people and results in religious contention from minority religious groups that feel like French secular values are suppressing their right to live according to their religious beliefs.[19] The problem with public neutrality toward religion is that a society that values religious freedom must be open to accommodating religious beliefs at times, but France’s prioritization of secularism and public neutrality makes the occasional allowance for accommodation impossible.[20] Therefore, if France desires to resolve the tension between its commitment to secularism and religious freedom, it must be open to providing equal protection to both secular and religious beliefs.[21]

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[1] Anika J. Hermann, Hansdeep Singh, and Jaspreet Singh, Ten Years of Religious Discrimination in France, The Daily Beast (July 12, 2017), https://www.thedailybeast.com/ten-years-of-religious-discrimination-in-france.

[2] Law 2004-228, Art. 1.

[3] Hermann, supra note 1.

[4] Antony Barone Kolenca, Religion Lessons from Europe: Intolerant Secularism, Pluralistic Neutrality, and The U.S. Supreme Court, 30 Pace Int'l L. Rev. 43, 78 (2017).

[5] France Diplomatie, Secularism and Religious Freedom, Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (2011), https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/coming-to-france/france-facts/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france/article/secularism-and-religious-freedom-in-france.

[6] 1905 French Law on the Separation of the Churches and State; France Diplomatie, supra note 5.

[7] Arthur Kutoroff, First Amendment Versus Laïcité: Religious Exemptions, Religious Freedom, and Public Neutrality, 48 CNL. INT’L J. 247, 249 (2015).

[8] Constitution of the Fifth Republic; France Diplomatie, supra note 5.

[9] France Diplomatie, supra note 5.

[10]  Michael Lipka, Religious Restrictions Vary Significantly in The World's Most Populous Countries, Pew Research Center, (April 13, 2017); Pew Research Center, Global Restrictions on Religion Rise Modestly in 2015, Reversing Downward Trend, Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project (April 11, 2017).

[11] Michael K. Young, Annual Report of The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, 53 (May 2004).

[12] Bikramjit Singh v France, UN Doc CCPR/C/106/D/1852/2008.

[13] Kutoroff, supra note 7, at 272.

[14] Id.

[15] Secularism Monitoring Centre, Guidance Note, Secularism Today (2014).

[16] Id.

[17] Kutoroff, supra note 7, at 249.

[18] Kolenc, supra note 4, at 69.

[19] Id. at 72-73.

[20] Kutoroff, supra note 7, at 278.

[21] Id.