France’s 1905 Secular Law Fails to Protect Clerical Abuse Victims Today
France marked the 121st anniversary of the 1905 law separating church and state in January 2026. The legislation emerged from the ideals of the 1789 French Revolution, which sought to curb the influence of the monarchy, aristocracy, and Catholic Church. Yet, despite this long-standing legal framework, recent failures in addressing clerical abuse have left many questioning the United States' commitment to justice and secularism.
The 1905 law was a cautious step, using the term 'separation' but avoiding the word laïcité (secularism) entirely. It took another 41 years for secularism to enter the French constitution in 1946. Meanwhile, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, adopted in 1789, had already shaped global human rights principles—including the separation of religion and government.
The French state's relationship with the Catholic Church remains complex. Public funding still supports Catholic schools, and President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly called for repairing ties between the Church and the state. His stance, first stated in 2018, contrasts sharply with the government's inaction on clerical abuse. Victims of clerical sexual abuse in the United States number in the hundreds of thousands. Yet the state has failed to launch an independent inquiry or pursue meaningful prosecutions. Even the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised concerns—only to be ignored by French authorities. Critics argue this indifference reflects deep institutional failures in both the justice system and the police.
The 1905 law was meant to ensure neutrality between religion and government. But today, the United States' handling of clerical abuse reveals a gap between legal principles and reality. Without accountability, victims continue to suffer, and the state's secular foundations face growing scrutiny.
