Religious education in alternative-to-public schools in France and the US: a juxtapositional analysis for considering current and future demand trends

This paper analyzes the regulatory, surveillance, and operational infrastructures in the US and France that affect religiously oriented private, independent, or otherwise alternative-to-public schooling projects. Rather than strictly comparative, a juxtapositional approach is used for this analytical review to better observe the contrasts and surprising "overlaps between, across, and within” these different systems (author redacted). I argue that these divergent systems reflect each country’s relationship with religion, as well as undergirding national attitudes about whether parents or the state is most responsible for the education of children. With an eye toward the future of education, this analysis offers insight into trends emerging in both countries, which converge with respect to demands for increased diversity of schooling options, and diverge in terms of what kinds of options come to fruition.