Laicism

Laicism, also called Laïcité or French Secularism, is a stance regarding institutional religion which believes that religion and society shouldn't mix and faith should be left as a purely personal matter. Although laicism is commonly used interchangeably with secularism, it differs from the Anglo-American interpretation of secularism in the regard that the latter does not seek to make religion a purely personal matter just one which is free from the state.

Original French Secularism
Introduced in 1905, secularism originally represented the victory of anti-clerical republicanism, which, ever since the 1789 French Revolution, had stigmatised the Roman Catholic Church as a bastion of reaction, ignorance and superstition. In concrete terms, the 1905 law dramatically limited the power of the Church by enshrining three key principles: strict separation of Church and State, freedom of conscience and freedom to exercise any faith. State schools became religious-free zones.

Views
The beliefs of Laicism (french secularism) are essentially based on three pillars:


 * State neutrality


 * Freedom of conscience


 * Pluralism

In a more political and philosophical sense, laicism also means a desire to prevent the hold of one religion on society, by ensuring, in addition to the neutrality of the State, the confinement of the religious fact to the private sphere.

Criticism
Lacism is criticised by proponents of the 'Anglo-Saxon' or 'Anglo-American' interpretation of secularism for being too authoritarian in nature. As religion is often inseparable from public life the notion that the state should prohibit all examples of it from public life largely becomes anti-religious meaning that instead of the state securing religious freedom by the means of not allowing for religious institutions to use state power to suppress other religious institutions (as is done in secularism) it instead turns the state equally against all religious institution except in areas it deems personal.

How to Draw
Laicism_flag.svg
 * 1) Draw a ball,
 * 2) Fill it with greyish-blue colour,
 * 3) Draw an white atom symbol in the middle,
 * 4) Draw four while swooshes: two in the top left and two in the bottom right,
 * 5) Add the eyes and you're done!

Friends

 * [[File:Jacobin.png]] Jacobinism - Vive la révolution!
 * [[File:Kemal.png]] Kemalism - I admire the way you turned Turkey into a secular state. Too bad that those Neo-Ottomanist buttholes ruined it.

Frenemies

 * [[File:StateathFedora.png]] State Atheism - We need to remove religion from culture, but I don't think killing religious people is a good idea.

Enemies

 * [[File:Christy.png]] [[File:JewTheo.png]] [[File:Muslim 2.png]] [[File:Hind.png]] [[File:Bud.png]] Theocracies - You are the worst government systems of all time.
 * [[File:Ottoman.png]] Neo-Ottomanism - Ataturk is better than you, filthy theocrat!
 * [[File:Hindutva.png]] Hindutva - STOP CALLING ME "SICKULAR" YOU THEOCRAT MANIAC!!!
 * [[File:Confess.png]] Confessionalism - Nah, secularism is the bedrock of a free society. Don't ask why I ban public religious expression.

Wikipedia

 * Laicite
 * Centre d'action laique
 * Anti-clericalism
 * 1905 French law on the Separation of the Churches and the State

Gallery
Laicyzm