"There is no such thing as universal, limitless tolerance. John Locke did not tolerate the Catholic church or atheists"

Burqas? Veils? 
Stanford visiting scholar Denis Lacorne 

speaks on secularism in France and the U.S.

BY CORRIE GOLDMAN 

By comparing laws relating to religious symbols in public spaces in France and the United States, French political scientist Denis Lacorne homes in on the reasons for the apparent "tolerance gap" between the two societies. He will speak at Stanford's Humanities Center on Feb. 25.
In France, the government prohibits Islamic women from wearing the Islamic veil (hijab) in public schools or the full veil (burqa) in public spaces, even though France, like the United States, is a secular state that honors the separation of church and state.

The ban on veils and burqas in certain settings is one example of how France and the United States have taken differing approaches to legislation relating to religious tolerance.

On Feb. 25, French intellectual Denis Lacorne of Sciences Po, a university in Paris, will discuss the reasons for the apparent "tolerance gap" between French and American societies.

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Author of Religion in America: A Political History, Lacorne is a frequently cited observer of American politics and culture who writes commentary for publications including Huffington Post and Le Monde. He is now a distinguished visitor at the Stanford Humanities Center.

In a recent conversation, Lacorne shed some light on the topic at hand, as well as some observations about what the French think of Barack Obama.

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