Muslim and Catholic Experiences of National Belonging in France
Thursday, April 10, 2025 12pm to 1pm
About this Event
Boston College, 24 Quincy Road, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/centers/boisi-center/events/archive/spring-2025-events/muslim-and-catholic-experiences-of-national-belonging-in-france.htmlCarol Ferrara (Emerson College) will deliver a luncheon colloquium on her latest book.
Muslim and Catholic Experiences of National Belonging in France (Bloomsburg 2024) juxtaposes experiences of national identity and belonging among French Muslims and Catholics respectively in order to examine the causes and dynamics of minority marginalization in plural secular societies. Drawing upon extensive ethnographic fieldwork across France within spaces of religious education and interfaith dialogue, the book illustrates the inequities between Muslim and Catholic citizens in opportunities for national belonging, political and civic engagement, and institution-building. This reexamination of Muslim exclusion against the backdrop of Catholic inclusion calls into question popular explanations for minority marginalization – especially those that blame non-adherence to French Republican principles or the exclusionary power of secular discourse. Instead, author Carol Ferrara argues that the boundaries of French belonging are policed by francité -a tacit national imaginary ideal-type that draws upon and reproduces national cognitive biases and undermines the French republican values of secularism, equality, liberty, and fraternity. Given the central role of francité in the politics of belonging, Ferrara suggests that paths toward greater pluralism in France and beyond lie in the reframing of national identity narratives and reimagining the inclusive potential of secular democratic values.