Juliana MacPherson on Seperation Between Church and State in France

By: Juliana MacPherson

April 5, 2007

With the 2007 presidential elections fast approaching, France has reached a new point in the debate on laïcité—the country's version of separation between church and state. Recently, a large and increasingly vocal Muslim population has called into question the complete absence of religion in public affairs, and for the first time in over one hundred years, the public feels that their tradition of laïcité may be threatened.
On December 9, 1905, France introduced a law for the separation of church and state which has become the foundation of France's current secular policy. The ruling called for a complete isolation of the religious and political spheres, and demands state neutrality in religious debate. The text also specifies that "la République ne reconnaît, ne salarie ni ne subventionne aucun culte," thus forbidding the state from formally recognizing or funding any religion. This laïc policy has long been considered one of the pillar's of France's republic, as well as a means to avoid racism and protect freedom of religious thought.

Nicolas Sarkozy, presidential candidate for France's moderately right-wing party Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) and current minister of the interior, has recently brought this policy into question. Since entering the political arena, Sarkozy has been extremely involved in France's Muslim population and the laïcité debate. Not only did he help to found the Conseil Français du Culte Musulman (CFCM) in 2003, but he was also responsible for first disrupting the the secular waters in 2004. At this time, Nicolas Sarkozy helped to pass a new decree which forbade students from wearing conspicuous religious symbols in the secular public schools. Although the anger has died down over the past few years, this law originally caused a large controversy, for it seemed to gloss over the Christian population while affecting minority religions that required wearing a burqa, veil, or yarmulke.

Over the past year or so, Nicolas Sarkozy has made a seemingly anti-laïc effort to amend the 1905 text and allow the state-funded construction of Islamic mosques. A significant percentage of the Muslim population is below the poverty line, and Sarkozy hopes that creating their own cultural premises would help to bring a greater sense of community to the Muslim population and to France in general. More specifically, he argues that contrary to the Catholic population—, which benefited from the free construction of churches prior to 1905, —history hasn't provided France's Muslim population with their own places of worship. Sarkozy thus hopes that the state-funded construction of mosques would help to achieve equality and mutual respect among the various religions of France.

Despite his good intentions, Sarkozy's proposal has been fiercely rejected by other political figures of the right, including current president Jacques Chirac. Most of France is in disagreement as well, for a recent survey found that three-quarters of the population wish to leave the 1905 law as it is. Furthermore, were a change to be made, the modification of this law would only aid a fraction of France's population: among the estimated 5 million Muslims in France, only 15 percent attend services on a regular basis, whereas nearly three-quarters support France's laïcité. Furthermore, many feel that not only would this amendment exclude atheists and other minority religions, but it would be spending money that could be going towards public services to benefit all citizens equally.

Although Sarkozy's proposal has been harshly judged, a large section of France's population (approximately 18 percent) does feel that certain aspects of the 1905 law could be adjusted. However, they agree that what Sarkozy is suggesting is not simply a simple modification of the 1905 law, but the erasure of one of its two articles. Sarkozy's plan would undoubtedly create a major change, and many fear that opening Pandora's box could lead to a significant transformation in French politics.

With Islam now the second largest religion in France, laïcité is being challenged in other ways as well. Issues such as getting holidays off from school and work, allowing Muslim women to refuse treatment from male doctors, and separating public pools according to sex call into question whether Muslims should be granted special rights within public life and the political system. Should Muslim women be permitted to wear veils to secular public schools? At airport security checks, should they be permitted to pass through without removing their shoes or outer garments like the rest of the passengers? All these issues are under consideration, and show that even with one hundred years of laïcité under its belt, France continues to face new obstacles. Whatever the outcome of the 2007 presidential elections and this twist in the laïcité debate, it's clear that times are changing, and that the increasing Muslim population is posing new and difficult challenges in French politics.
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