- Laïcité, la
- Many people in France get passionate about the principle oflaïcité to a degree that their neighbours often find hard to understand. Laïcitélitterally translates as 'secularism', and refers to the principal of the separation of church and state, and the fact that there is no established religion in France. Most frequently, the term is nowadays used in two contexts, on the one hand as a reminder that there is no place for religious instruction in the state education system, and on the other to counter the development of Islamic fundamentalism.It has often been argued that the issue of laïcité arouses such heated passions among some of its activists inFrance, that it is almost a religion in its own right, a form of atheism.Passions over laïcité are a heritage of the years of the French Revolution, notably the time of the Terror, when religion was temporarily outlawed. The principle of laïcité in education was established in 1881 by the Jules Ferry law, and the separation of church and state finally established by law in 1905. While the Communist party, and other far left parties, are the most stalwart defenders of laicité in modern France, politicians of all parties, both left and right, regularly express their attachment to the principle. The principle oflaïcité is one that applies to public life, and does not infringe on the individual's right to practice religion.
Dictionnaire Français-Anglais. Agriculture Biologique. 2014.