It has been twenty years since the law governing the wearing of signs or outfits demonstrating religious affiliation in public schools, colleges and high schools was promulgated.
“In public schools, colleges and high schools, the wearing of signs or outfits by which students ostensibly demonstrate religious affiliation is prohibited.
The internal regulations recall that the implementation of a disciplinary procedure is preceded by a dialogue with the student”
, provides the law of March 15, 2004 on the wearing of religious symbols in educational establishments.
This article of the Education Code is succinct, but it establishes a vision of secularism that is unique and specific to France.
The text aims to put an end to the various controversies surrounding the wearing of the Islamic veil in French public middle and high schools which, since the end of the 1980s, have inflamed minds.
At the heart of the debate, the difficulty in reconciling freedom of worship and secularism.
To reach a consensus, Jacques Chirac formed the Stasi Commission in 2003, whose 20 members ended up proposing, among other things, the ban on outfits and signs demonstrating religious or political affiliation in schools and public establishments.
Twenty years later, this practice of French secularism in educational establishments continues to contrast with the rest of Europe.
The president of the French Commission on Secularism Bernard Stasi is congratulated by Jacques Chirac after receiving the Legion of Honor, January 30, 2004. JACQUES DEMARTHON / AFP
Two different visions
Within the European Union, only Kosovo and Albania have adopted regulations identical to those of France.
90% of the Kosovar population happens to be Albanian, and among them, a large majority is Muslim.
However, the wearing of the Islamic headscarf is prohibited in public schools, despite the numerous protests and demonstrations that have attempted to move the lines.
Apart from these countries, Europeans have not included in their legislative corpus a general ban on the wearing of religious symbols at school.
In Belgium, such a ban only concerns teachers and varies from one Community (French, Flemish or German-speaking) to another.
In the French Community, the 1994 decree defines a regime of neutrality prohibiting the wearing of any political, philosophical or religious symbol by teachers.
As for students, schools decide for themselves what procedure to follow in their regulations.
Although the majority of them prohibit students from wearing the veil, the issue is still regularly debated, both at the secondary and higher education levels.
Like Belgium, the German legislator only speaks on the wearing of the veil by teachers.
After leaving the
Länder
free to regulate themselves, the Constitutional Court announced in 2015 that unless there was a
“concrete danger”
threatening the neutrality of the State, the ban on the wearing of the veil by a teacher is unconstitutional.
In the eyes of Philippe Portier, political scientist and director of studies at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, these back and forths in the regulations reflect a hesitation on the question of religious symbols at school.
Despite a more liberal line, the debate exists and has not been resolved as in France.
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Articulation between reason and religion
For countries like Denmark, the Netherlands or Spain, the wearing of headscarves in schools has been accepted without much debate.
In Spain, it may be occasionally prohibited in establishments whose regulations allow it, but the measure must be justified by a desire to protect the student from pressure from their peers or those around them.
The main objective is therefore to protect freedom of religion on the one hand, while preventing pressure to practice religion on the other.
The rare disputes in the country have resulted in a change of establishment by the student.
Finally, England, a country known for its multiculturalism, intends to welcome all communities.
The wearing of religious symbols or clothing is therefore accepted at all levels of society, in schools as well as in the public service.
Philippe Portier explains the notion of
“Britishness”
as the cornerstone of British national identity.
“In England,
” he explains to Le
Figaro, “we would consider it an attack on national liberalism to ban the veil in schools.”
Even after a debate on the question, notably reinforced during the Brexit period, the British do not consider that the external wearing of an identity could undermine this
“Britishness”
.
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A vision that runs counter to that of France, where we consider that “wearing an ostensible religious sign locks you into a closed identity”
, as Philippe Portier explains.
“In other countries where the relationship with religion has been less conflictual, there is no antinomy between belonging to a religion and accessing a critical conscience
,” he continues.
The English, Belgians and Germans
“are no less modern than us, they articulate reason and religion differently.”
Lack of pedagogy around the law
In France, the 2004 law is largely well received and integrated into customs, confides Nicolas Cadène, lawyer and former general rapporteur of the Observatory of Secularism, and it is respected by the population
“with a few exceptions”
.
The difficulties surrounding it are more linked to a lack of pedagogy.
“A young audience will be opposed to secularism presented as prohibitive,”
he argues
, “but if we explain this idea of discretion in a phase of learning knowledge, they can understand it without problem.”
In Europe, on the other hand, a continent less secularized than France, the majority opinion perceives French law as excessive, considering that clothing appearance does not carry enough weight to be an obstacle to learning.
A debate that is still current in many countries, and inseparable from questions of community withdrawal.
“Many studies show that when the population is homogeneous, we observe more community withdrawal,”
explains Nicolas Cadène
.
Social diversity is important to combat attacks on secularism
.
France encompasses greater religious diversity than in most countries.
It is one of the ten least religious countries in the world and brings together the largest Muslim and Jewish communities in Europe.
This plurality should therefore allow a better exercise of secularism.
However, the problem of social diversity remains more significant than among its neighbors.
There remains a great difficulty in mixing audiences,
“especially when confessional minorities are predominant in vulnerable environments,”
explains Nicolas Cadène
.
When the mixture is really done, there is no problem
.
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