The Appropriation of State Secularism by Catholics

Romain Espinosa and Fabien Moizeau
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Romain Espinosa: CIRED, CNRS, Nogent-sur-Marne, France
Fabien Moizeau: Univ Rennes, CNRS, CREM – UMR6211, F-35000 Rennes, France

Economics Working Paper Archive (University of Rennes & University of Caen) from Center for Research in Economics and Management (CREM), University of Rennes, University of Caen and CNRS

Abstract: We investigate the long-run evolution of Catholics’ view on State secularism in France. We explore the roots of the opposition of Catholics to secularism that can be traced back as far as the 1789 French Revolution. We provide evidence that the divide between Catholics and supporters of secularism persisted throughout the 19th and early 20th Centuries, affecting votes on the major secularization Laws during the Third Republic. We argue that the dual French educational system, partitioned into Catholic and secular schools, may have contributed to this persistence. We then show that Catholics eventually became supporters of secularism in France, closing the political divide on the issue. However, this shift in opinion can be explained by Catholics viewing secularism as a way of limiting the influence of Islam. We argue that views about the involvement of Muslim/Catholic authorities in public debate are significant determinants of political supply in France. Last, we show that Catholics, who now support secularism, continue to exhibit different voting behavior and attitudes than Atheists (regarding women’s rights and same-sex legislation).

Keywords: Secularism; cultural persistence; voting behavior; Catholicism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D72 K10 O15 Z12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-his and nep-pol
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