Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2020
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Croft Institute for International Studies
First Advisor
Robert Brown
Second Advisor
William Schenck
Third Advisor
Emily Fransee
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
This thesis explores the impact of citizens’ attitudes toward religious freedom on their attitudes toward four socio-political issues: abortion, same-sex marriage, importance of Christianity to nationality and whether Islam is viewed as incompatible with nationality in a Western European context. I focused specifically on France, Germany and the UK as these countries represent three distinct approaches to the separation of religion and government. I aim to isolate and investigate the impact of the concept of laïcité, the French interpretation of secularism, and see if laïcité and attitudes toward laïcité impact citizens’ attitudes differently toward socio-political issues. My research found that laïcité does have a differential impact on attitudes toward abortion, importance of Christianity, and compatibility of Islam. The effect on same-sex marriage was not statistically different in France relative to Germany and the UK. Overall, this research shows that laïcité does have a different impact on attitudes in France with respect to three socio-political issues and aims to further investigate the notion of Islam’s compatibility, or incompatibility in Western European countries with freedom of religion for all citizens.
Recommended Citation
Culp, Rachel, "French Exceptionalism: The Impact of Laïcité" (2020). Honors Theses. 1481.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1481
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