The UM brings religion and republic together in dialogue
How can religious practice be reconciled with life in society, personal beliefs with respect for republican laws? At a time when public debate and current events raise more questions than they answer, the university degree in Religions and Democratic Society aims to fill the gaps in students' knowledge of the principles governing relations between the French state and religions: secularism, separation of church and state, etc.
As summarized by Professor Gérard Gonzalez, head of the university diploma program
The aim is to explain that France is a country where people enjoy extensive religious freedom, which entails rights but also a number of duties and limitations...
Launched last year, this degree from the University of Montpellier, awarded by the Faculty of Law and Political Science, is open to religious leaders while maintaining a principle of diversity, as students rub shoulders with deacons, imams, chaplains, and community leaders.
A completely free degree
This university diploma was initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of the Interior, under the Minister of the Interior's role as Minister of Religious Affairs. Enrollment is therefore free for all students thanks to a subsidy paid by the Ministry of the Interior to the university. Around ten similar university diplomas have been created across the country."The Ministry of the Interior wants to establish a network across the country by opening university diplomas dedicated to this topic," explains Professor Gérard Gonzalez, head of the university diploma program.
All of them operate on the same model: starting with a foundation of general teaching on the values of the republic, the course covers the major religious traditions, from Christianity to Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. It sheds light on them through history, law, and sociology.