SurMaVie strives to promote secularism with clear messages in public spaces. Understand what secularism is, its origins, and its application.

Secularism: a fundamental principle of the French Republic

Secularism is a founding principle of the French Republic, enshrined in the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. It guarantees freedom of conscience and religious expression while ensuring the neutrality of the state with respect to beliefs. Unlike simple religious tolerance, secularism imposes a strict separation between the public sphere and personal beliefs.

Why was secularism conceived?

Secularism is the result of a long struggle for the emancipation of the state from religious authority. Under the Ancien Régime, the Catholic Church played a central role in political and administrative affairs. The French Revolution laid the foundations for a distinction between religious and political power. The 1905 law brought a century of tension to a close by affirming that the Republic does not recognize, pay salaries, or subsidize any religion.

The principles of secularism

Secularism is based on three fundamental pillars:

1. Freedom of conscience and worship : Everyone is free to believe or not to believe, to practice a religion or not to practice any.

2. State neutrality : Public institutions (administration, schools, justice) neither promote nor combat any religious belief.

3. Separation of public and private spheres : Beliefs are a private matter and should not dictate the laws and rules of society.

The application of secularism in France

In France, secularism is strictly enforced in public services. Republican schools are secular, where instruction is delivered without reference to any religion. Public officials are bound by a duty of neutrality, and ostentatious religious symbols are prohibited in certain institutions to preserve republican unity.

A French exception in the face of Anglo-Saxon multiculturalism

Unlike Anglo-Saxon models, which are based on multiculturalism, France advocates republican integration where national identity takes precedence over community affiliation. In countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States, the state officially recognizes religious communities and encourages their expression in the public sphere. However, this model has shown its limitations, leading to community compartmentalization and increased identity tensions. In France, secularism guarantees unity by refusing to allow religious affiliation to become a political or legal criterion.

A model to defend

Today, secularism is threatened by community demands that seek to challenge its neutrality. The challenge is to preserve this fragile balance and to remember that secularism is not an oppression of religion, but a protection of individual freedom against any form of religious interference in the public sphere. It remains a re an essential barrier against community withdrawal and a guarantor of republican values.

Order our stickers which highlight secularism , as a protective value in our lives, both individually and collectively.