French anticlericalism and its various transformations

This article offers a set of hypotheses, notions and perspectives for a synthetic analysis of French laicite, from a socio-historical viewpoint. The author puts forward different notions such as "clericalism" and "anticlericalism", "first and second thresholds of laicization" and pacte laique (eventual resolution of conflict). After outlining the main historical stages of French laicite-creation of the "laique morale" in the 1880s, separation between State and churches (1905), and inscription of laicite within the Constitution (1946), Bauberot considers laicite in an ideal-typical view, as a constant tension between "freedom of conscience" (freedom giving rise to pluralism) and "freedom of thought" (freedom as emancipation from authoritarian systems of thought). After this, the author considers present-day relations between laicite and the old and more recent religions that can be found in France, and also contemporary transformations of what is religious.