Toward a social psychology of laïcité. Identifying and measuring two distinct conceptions of laïcité

By Élodie Roebroeck, Serge Guimond
English

Laïcité, the cornerstone of the French model, is a much-debated subject. Recent analyses converge toward the idea that, far from being a monolithic principle, laïcité could have different meanings. However, there is currently no rigorous empirical study to resolve this issue. Two samples, one of university students (n = 305) and the other of middle and high school pupils (n = 993) were interviewed to examine the structure of attitudes toward laïcité. The two sets of data were the subject of principal components factor analyses. Two distinct factors emerged with remarkable consistency: “historical laicité,” which combines equality and freedom of conscience, is distinguished from the “new laïcité,” centered on the principles of separation and neutrality. The relationship between these two dimensions and other measures confirms the importance of this distinction. The limitations and implications of these results for future research are discussed.

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