Let’s Talk about Money. Questions and Challenges Around the Public Funding of Humanist Organisations

This chapter explores how analysing public funding for secularist/humanist organisations can complement historical and legislative approaches when comparing their situation with that of religious communities. In the line of theoretical works running from Jean Padioleau to Philippe Bezes and Alexandre Siné. Our main argument is that budgetary and tax instruments often reveal a more complex story than the political discourse or even the main legislation. Such instruments’specific features, the conditions under which they are obtained, and the distribution of the amounts concerned enable a concrete comparison of public funding for humanist organisations and faith communities. It considers the expectations placed on these organisations by the public authorities that support them financially. It can contribute to discussions on typologies and categorisations of secularist/humanist organisations, their internal organisation, and political positions.