Honors Theses

Date of Award

2007

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Croft Institute for International Studies

First Advisor

Susan Grayzel

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

Laicite is the term given to France’s complex policy of separation between church and state. Developing out of a long and tumultuous religious history, laicite set out to resolve the problems that the French state had with religion by eliminating its presence in the public sphere. At its inception, the policy did not have clearly stated objectives. As a result, it was not equally applied and many problems ensued. The most recent debacle involving the application of laicite was Vaffaire dii foulard, or headscarf affair. Citing the principle of laicite, numerous teachers and principals in French schools required Muslim students to remove their headcoverings during class or on school premises. The Muslim community, which is largely composed of Maghrebi immigrants to France, resented the new application of the principle because they believed the French state was discriminating against them as other religious symbols were allowed in schools. The conflict reached the French Conseil d’etat and President Jacques Chirac requested that a special council be convened to review the state of laicite in France. The council that reviewed the policy of laicite in light of the headscarf affair brought attention to several of the policy’s great shortcomings. Three things the policy set out to accomplish were: to create unity among French citizens by eliminating religious factions and dissension in the public realm, to ease the transition of immigrant communities into the French social sphere, and to ensure religious freedom for all. In effect, however, the policy has not simply failed to achieve these goals, but has actually exacerbated the very problems it set out to resolve. It has created discord instead of unity, placed a greater hardship on immigrant commimities, and restricted everyone’s freedom of expression as result of the headscarf ban. France has an obligation to its citizens. The policy of laicite has proven ineffective and a hindrance to the French state’s ability to fulfill its social contract with the people. As such, the policy should be drastically amended or altogether rejected in favor of a more equitable and realistic policy.

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