The French notion of laïcité, or secularism, has sparked a number of controversies on the global stage, particularly in the United States, in recent months. A number of voices have raised concerns about French model of laïcité, some even calling it “illiberal.” Others have drawn an unfavorable comparison with the U.S. model of separating church and state.
Historically, France and the United States share more than they sometimes remember. Laïcité itself is a notion that originated during the Enlightenment and that also inspired the United States. The United States embraced the idea of sharply limiting the state’s influence over religious affairs through the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment in 1791. France adopted the same principle in 1795 before abandoning it and then fully embracing it in 1905.
