Laïcité and multiculturalism: the Stasi Report in context¹

Abstract

French republican universalism--expressed most strongly in the principle and practice of laïcité--and multiculturalism have constituted opposite poles on questions of citizenship and integration. The report of the Stasi Commission on laïcité on 11 December 2003 and the following legislation on the donning of religious symbols in French public schools have once again, spurred debates over the meanings and practices of laïcité. The report and the law have been interpreted in different ways. Some have presented them as a reaffirmation of a historically constituted laïcité under new circumstances, others as a divergence from the real problems of racism, unemployment and gender inequality. In this article, I offer an alternative reading by supplementing a critical reading of the report with an analysis of its historical and immediate institutional context. I evaluate the Stasi Report in its immediate context of institutional change, and in the historical context of selected developments concerning laïcité since the 1905 law separating churches and State. I argue that the Stasi Report marks a fundamental break with French republican universalism, and I show that this break occurred contemporaneously with key gestures of multiculturalism: the establishment of the French Muslim Council and the creation of Muslim high schools under contract with the French state. This double movement to narrow the boundaries of laïcité, and for the state to expand the boundaries of identity-specific, Muslim public institutions and private schooling constitutes a reorganization of the public sphere in France which qualifies as a move towards multiculturalism.

The Psychological Effects of Terrorism are Moderated by Cultural Worldviews [Les Effets Psychologiques du Terrorisme sont Modérés par les Normes Culturelles]

“…The second dimension is related to the political principle of "laïcité" (see Akan, 2009). This principle is related to the French law of 1905 separating Churches and State (see Baubérot, 2012 Milot, 2013).…”

“…1 Following Akan (2009) and Roebreock and Guimond (2015), we use the term laïcité rather than secularism, because the latter is often confused with the concept of "secularization" (Baubérot & Milot, 2011). In fact, these two concepts are clearly distinct (see also Cohu et al, 2016).…”

The dynamics of public opinion following terror attacks: Evidence for a decrease in equalitarian values from Internet Search Volume Indices

“…We also decided to use SVI entries for the token 'laïcité'. In France, laïcité is a legal principle that guarantees the State and civil servants' neutral stance towards religion for ensuring freedom of religion in public places (a form of State 'secularity'; see Akan, 2009) and was first introduced by the 1905 law entitled 'On the separation between State and Cults'. It is often thought of as the 'cornerstone' of the French Republican Ideology, which refers to the 'model of integration and organization of community life … model which aims at ensuring freedom, equality and brotherhood' (Kamiejski, Guimond, De Oliveira, Er-Rafiy, & Brauer, 2012, p. 53).…”

Marseille's Not for Burning: Comparative Networks of Integration and Exclusion in Two French Cities

“…In recent years, however, there has been a greater willingness on the part of the state to combat racism and discrimination through new identity-specific laws and regulations and through multicultural policy and outreach programs of various kinds (Akan 2009). Yet because of the deep loyalty to Republican rhetoric and Downloaded by [Tufts University] at 13:24 04 November 2014 practices, even these minimal efforts are often hampered by the difficulties of obtaining group-based statistics on racial discrimination or government funding for organizations on the basis of communitarian forms of collective identity.…”