Why is France so afraid of religion?

France and some other countries were drawn into a controversy when two students were expelled from school for wearing a head scarf. France widened the ban and proposed a law forbidding the wearing of clothing and symbols openly expressive of religious identity. Besides head scarfs, this law also includes Christian crosses and Jewish yarmulkes. This law caused a wave of reaction. Muslim countries, the United Kingdom , the USA and Germany condemned the law and stressed that its enforcement would cause tension and entrenchment in France . They also asserted that the law was contrary to religious freedom and basic human rights. But, so far, these reactions have not led the French government to retract its decision.      

We must not interpret what happened in France only as a ban on religious symbols; the French fear of religion and religous morality goes back a long time. Those who are aware of the development of social culture and church-state relations in France will know that these kinds of initiatives and the resulting controversies are well known in French society. Moreover, this fear is not limited only to Islam and Judaism; the memory of the murder of Catholics during the French Revolution has not yet been erased.      

The present shape of church-state relations in France was forged by conflict, hatred, anger and slaughter. This struggle began in the eighteenth century against the Catholic Church with the purpose of diminishing the influence of the Church on society. We can say that during this period, society became distanced from spiritual and religious values and came under the influence of materialist philosophy. 

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