About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about secularism, focusing in particular on: (i) the historical closeness of state and church in global Western states, which began to separate in the eighteenth century; (ii) political secularism being the pulling apart of political and religious spheres within a state; (iii) the contribution of capitalism and science in the removal of religion from aspects of political and social life in Western Europe; (iv) the first amendment of the United States constitution, adopted in 1791, which reads that congress will make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise; (v) the first article in the 1905 French law on the separation of churches and state, which guarantees free exercise of religion; (vi) the second article in the 1905 French law on the separation of churches and state, which states that the republic does not recognise, pay or subsidise any religious sect; (vii) a contrast between the United States’ and the French implementations of religious freedom being akin to ‘of’ and ‘from’ respectively; (viii) understanding religious secularism to mean that religion is both separate and subordinate to state and political authority.

About the lecturer

Dr Thomas Sealy is a lecturer in ethnicity and race in the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol. Dr Sealy research interests are in multiculturalism, racism and secularism. Some of Dr Sealy’s recent publications include ‘The relation between multiculturalism, interculturalism and cosmopolitanism in UK diversity politics’ (2023) and ‘Preventing radicalisation in Belgium’ (2022).