This document provides a summary of 3 key points about secularism and state policies toward religion in the United States, France, and Turkey:
- The US maintains a strict separation between church and state but allows religious expression in public life. France promotes a stricter form of secularism that limits religious expression in government affairs and public spaces.
- Turkey originally adopted France's strict secularism model after the fall of the Ottoman Empire but has seen an increasing Islamization of public life under the AK Party government since 2002.
- There are debates around striking the right balance between respecting religious freedom and ensuring an impartial secular state. The US, France, and Turkey represent different approaches but all aim to define appropriate religion