Ideas Secularism on trial
Mar 19, 2026
Benjamin Berger, a law professor at Osgoode Hall specializing in constitutional and criminal law, explores Quebec’s laïcité law and its Supreme Court challenge. He teases how secularism can mean neutrality, exclusion or pluralism. He explains laïcité’s French roots, how secularism hides state ties to religion, and how focusing on secularism can distract from deeper justice questions.
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Secularism Is Overdetermined In Law
- The term secularism is deeply indeterminate and carries many conflicting meanings in law and politics.
- Benjamin Berger shows examples from Supreme Court cases where secularism meant pluralism, exclusion of religion, or anti-religion depending on context.
Secularism's Thin Core Is State Religion Distance
- At its thin core secularism simply seeks distance between state authority and religious authority, but offers no single method to achieve that.
- Berger calls secularism a repertoire of moves, meaning choices like laïcité or pluralist neutrality decide how distance is enacted.
Secularism Pulls The State Closer To Religion
- Invoking secularism often brings the state into intense scrutiny and regulation of religion rather than true distance.
- Using Quebec's law Berger notes the state must assess clothing and belief, requiring expertise about religious symbolism.