Saturday University: Secularism - universal principle or political instrument?

New perspectives on the history of secularization in France and Germany France is considered one of the most secular countries in Europe. This fact is often associated with the republican principle of laïcité, which was fought for in fierce cultural battles against the dominance of Catholicism and has prescribed a strict separation of state and church in France since 1905. More recent studies, however, relativize the idea of a French religious-political special path. In Germany, too, the emergence of the constitutional state is closely linked to the idea of secularity; here, too, different levels of meaning of secularity as a universal principle, as a legal norm or as a political program have been competing with each other since the 19th century. Using examples, the lecture deals with contradictions and tensions between the different understandings of the term and argues that today's debate about religion, identity and neutrality cannot be understood without its historical foundation.

Course number: 261100435