Berkley Center

I am a junior in the School of Foreign Service currently studying abroad at Sciences Po in Paris and am very interested in the place of religion in society, as it is a question constantly being discussed and debated in France, a country whose views on the issue differ dramatically from those in the United States.

France was for centuries know as the fille ainée de l’Eglise (the eldest daughter of the Church) because the centrality of Catholicism and the importance of the clergy in French society and politics. Following the Revolution however, the country was swept in another direction embracing the republican ideal of laicité, a somewhat stricter form of secularism. Under this system, religion was separated not only from the affairs of the state but also from the public sphere all together. Momentously controversial laws banning burqas and niqabs as well as other religious symbols came about because of France's insistence on a maintaining a république laique at all costs.

But while questions about the political, social, and judicial roles of religion generates massive public interest and passionate debate in France, the practice of religion itself is on the decline and remains an intensely private affair. I hope to examine further this interesting religious duality that exists in France and look into why religion in France seems to be more of an intellectual issue than an issue of faith, that is, passionately debated and studied but not practiced.