Religious freedom sacrificed on the altar of the state 19dec03 Following the recommendation of a committee of French MPs, French President Jacques Chirac yesterday called for a new law banning conspicuous forms of religious dress in public schools. Not surprisingly, this has met an angry response from French religious leaders; the implications for their congregations are obvious. The significance of the recommendation, however, is counter-intuitive. It has more profound implications for secularism than it does for those it immediately affects. This is because it threatens the paradigmatic foundations of liberal secular thought. To the extent this decision embodies a development...