Faith and the French: Catholicism and education in France

France is a country with a Catholic culture and a strictly secular state in which the treatment by Catholic schools of the role of religion in school has been, and continues to be, very contested. This situation has prompted an enormous literature, including significant contributions from Catholic theorists and practitioners. Three principal aspects of the Catholic response are identified and examined. These are the ending of the confrontation between the Catholic and the secular school, the acceptance and promotion of a vision of teaching and learning that is peculiar to the Catholic tradition, and a commitment to promoting the religious dimension of teaching and learning.