France's secular political culture, Catholic heritage, and tumultuous relationship with Islam have had a significant impact on 21st-century interpretations, perceptions, and politicisations of religious education in French society. Since religious education is relegated to the French private school system, it is decentralised, complex, and vastly…

Historians have long presented France's "civilizing mission" within its colonies in secular terms ignoring women's presence as both actors and subjects. This is particularly true in Algeria where the colonial government's explicitly prohibited proselytism. This article emphasizes women's roles pursuing both secular and religious goals in…

The particular circumstances of French history explain why that nation has adopted an unusually severe policy in attempting to suppress the wearing in schools of the Muslim headscarf. The long struggle to create French identity and then to resolve the bitter conflicts between traditional supporters of the Catholic Church and those of the secular…