| 1905 French Law On The Separation Of Church And State |
Article Index for 1905 |
Shopping 1905 |
Website Links For 1905 |
Information About1905 French Law On The Separation Of Church And State |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT 1905 FRENCH LAW ON THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE | |
| history of catholicism in france | |
| secularism | |
| separation of church and state | |
| french law | |
| political history of france | |
| 1905 in law | |
| french law on the separation of church and state | |
| 1905 in france | |
| law on the separation of church and state | |
|
On (in French) 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". HISTORY See Also: Religion in France 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. The Secular Principle by Jean Baubérot 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." 100th Anniversary of Secularism in France , Pew Forum on Religion in Public Life. 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 Catholic s 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 '' and Dominique De Villepin made a point that no change was foreseen to the law. Jacques Chirac statements respecting secularism and the French republic SEE ALSO
EXTERNAL LINKS
REFERENCES |
|
|