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On 9 December 1905, a law was passed in France separating the church and the state.^[1] Its official title, "Loi du 9 décembre 1905 concernant la séparation des Églises et de l'État," translates as "Law of 9 December 1905 Concerning the Separation of the Churches and the State."
The law was based on three principles: the neutrality of the state, the freedom of religious exercise, and public powers related to the church. This law is seen as the backbone of the French principle of laïcité. The law famously states "The Republic neither recognizes, nor salaries, nor subsidizes any religion".

Contents

History

Effects

Politics

See also

External Links

References

History

Although officially established through the 1905 law, the concept of state secularism in France is often traced to the French Revolution beginning in 1789. Before that time, Roman Catholicism had been the state religion of France. However, the revolution led to various changes, including a brief separation of Church and State in 1795, ended by Napoleon's establishment of the Church of France in 1801.^[2] An important document in the evolution toward religious liberty was the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man, stating that "No one may be disturbed on account of his opinions, even religious ones, as long as the manifestation of such opinions does not interfere with the established Law and Order."^[3] Nevertheless, the French national government continued to fund four official religions into the 20th century: Roman Catholicism, Calvinist Protestantism, Lutheran Protestantism, and Judaism. It built churches, temples, synagogues and other religious buildings from taxes levied on the whole population (not just those affiliated with those religions).

Effects

The law put an end to the funding of religious groups. At the same time, it declared all religious buildings property of the state and local governments; the government puts such buildings at the disposal of religious organisation at no expense to these, provided that they continue to use the buildings for worship purposes. Other articles of the law included prohibiting affixing religious signs on public buildings, and laying down that the republic no longer names French archbishops or bishops (although this was modified in practise from 1926).
Because Alsace-Lorraine was at the time a part of the German Empire, the 1905 law, as well as some other pieces of legislation, do not apply there (see Alsace-Moselle). Similarly, the 1905 law did not extend to French Guiana, at the time a colony, and to this day the local government of French Guiana continues to fund Roman Catholicism. Another modification occurred when Aristide Briand subsequently negotiated an agreement with the Vatican whereby the state has a role in the process of choosing diocesan bishops.

Politics

The leading figures in the creation of the law were Aristide Briand, Émile Combes, Jean Jaurès and Francis de Pressens.
Initially, the Roman Catholics were seriously affected, as the law declared churches property of the state and local governments. One point of friction is that public authorities had to hand over the buildings to religious organisations (''associations cultuelles'') representing laymen, instead of putting them directly under the supervision of the church hierarchy. This caused civil disobedience and even riots by Catholics. The Holy See urged Catholic priests to fight in the name of Catholicism. Pope Pius X issued the Vehementer Nos encyclical denouncing the law as contrary to the constitution of the church. It did, however, free the church from state control as well, since they could raise more funds than the modest amounts the state provided and they could choose their own bishops. This was not entirely new however since Catholics in the United States, Poland, and Ireland funded their churches without state support.
One may see the situation from another angle, namely that this law currently ''de facto'' favours traditional French religions, in particular Roman Catholicism, at the expense of religions of more recent expansion in France, such as Islam: while most Catholic churches were built before 1905, and thus are maintained largely at the expense of the government, followers of Islam and other religions have to pay the full price of founding and maintaining religious facilities. This is the reason why certain French politicians, such as Nicolas Sarkozy, favour funding other religions.^[4] The 1905 law, however, is often considered politically untouchable. Rivals of Sarkozy, such as Jacques Chirac and Dominique de Villepin made a point that no change was foreseen to the law.^[5]

See also

★ Concordat of 1801

★ Catholic Church in France

★ Briand-Ceretti Agreement

★ French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools

★ French legislation for the prevention and repression of cultic groups

External Links

★ The deep roots of French secularism, article by Henri Astier on BBC News online, Sept 1st, 2004

★ The Secular Principle by Jean Baubérot

★ One Hundred Years of French Secularism by Mélina Gazsi

★ Dossier from the French National Assembly

★ 100th Anniversary of Secularism in France, Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life.

References

1. from wikisource (in French); updated official version from Légifrance (in French)
2. The Secular Principle by Jean Baubérot
3. 100th Anniversary of Secularism in France, Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life.
4. ''The reflection he proposes is of significant historical and theoretical depth, even to the point of considering important legal changes that bring into question a taboo of the French republic, the law of 1905 on separation between Church and state. '' Even the République Needs Religion by Carlo Cardia, Avvenire, May 3, 2006, translated in www.chiesa
5. Jacques Chirac statements respecting secularism and the French republic