Article

Between secularism and religion. The education in France before and after 1905

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Abstract

1905, when the law establishing the separation between Churches and State was promulgated (December 9), is a landmark date for French secularism. Concerning the secularization of the education system, however, that law did confirm a number of measures taken since the 1880s. The first part of this article analyzes these measures. We must distinguish two periods: the beginning of the decade, when female education was favoured (indeed, women were the real stakes between Catholic Church and French Republic), education becomes compulsory and primary education becomes free and secular. However, a common opinion should be corrected: in spite of a certain secular wishful thinking, in France there is no "free, secular and compulsory" school system, since the existence of a confessional private education has always been maintained. In the early twentieth century, after the Affaire Dreyfus, teaching entrusted to religious congregations has been suppressed (1904). The second part shows the failure of the 1905 law on secularism in schools, which was, in fact, quite significant, given the refusal to harden secular education, and constitutes a turning point in comparison to the years 1901-1904, when a "full secularism " was sought. Despite the separation, the possibility of chaplaincies is maintained, and the subsequent policy mitigates the effects of the 1904 law. The third party tracks the main events concerning secular education after 1905. The debate has now shifted to the issue of private schools' public funding. The Debri law (1959) largely allows public funding to those schools that sign an agreement with the State. After 1989 the question becomes quite different, primarily focusing on religious symbols worn by students in public schools: such symbols are prohibited by a law promulgated March 15, 2004, that, however, does not put an end to the debate.

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