The Evolution of Secularism in France: Between Two Civil Religions

Secularism, Assimilation and the Crisis of Multiculturalism

“…Many critics of the law argued against it in the name of a different, non-exclusive, more liberal laïcité: the dissenters interpreted the law as a sign of the restoration of a specific version of laïcité, close to the heritage of the Jacobin Republic. Some saw it, relatedly, as a relapse from a pacified, liberal laïcité into its precursor, the so-called laïcité de combat (e.g., Baubérot 2004aBaubérot , 2010. 4 International critics have explained the law as a digression from or misinterpretation of the defensible, perhaps even crucial principle of secularism or laïcité.…”

“…On the other hand, the French practices of religious governance that do exist have been criticised for not being liberal enough, as they are the legacies of a-liberal or pre-liberal policy traditions and intellectual motives -for example, Rousseauian civil religion (Laborde 2002;Baubérot 2010); the policy tradition of gallicanisme (support-andcontrol of religion) (Bowen 2007b); a combined 'ideological obsession with the religious' and 'a fascination for the monarchy' (Roy 2005: 63). The basic problem for all of these critics is the (neo-)Republican focus on civic unity and, basically, a deficiency in the recognition of the fact of moral and religious pluralism.…”

“…It only opposes religion in as far as it is identified as a producer of law, not in as far as it is a source of morality, belief and meaningful experiences. Therefore, institutionally, laïcité is a liberal variety of secularism: religion is not recognised but the freedom of conscience and the free exercise of religious practice are guaranteed (see also, e.g., Weil 2009;Baubérot 2010).…”

“…They propose, for example, a critical Republicanism (Laborde 2008), a liberal laïcité (Baubérot 2010) or a political laicism (Maclure & Taylor 2011). They want to be sensitive to actual shortcomings in state neutrality towards religion, in contrast to the vociferous contemporary neo-Republican claims and policies which actually undermine the contemporary French state's religious neutrality rather than strengthen it (Laborde 2008).…”

Procesos de laicización en Santa Fe (Argentina): 1860-1900. Consideraciones sobre la «Argentina liberal y laica»

“…Sobre las corrientes galicanas: Di Stefano, 2004; 12 Una apretada síntesis del modelo teórico en: Baubérot, 2010. En relación con el caso argentino: Di Stefano, 2011a.…”