Secularism in Public Education: Evidence from a Ban on Religious Symbols in Belgium
Joint with Skerdilajda Zanaj (University of Luxembourg)
Abstract: This paper studies the effects of a ban on visible religious symbols in schools, introduced by the secular public school network in Flanders, Belgium. Although formally neutral and applying to all visible religious symbols worn by students and staff, we show that the policy was consequential for Muslim-background female students, for whom the headscarf is a visible expression of religious identity. Using harmonized PISA data and difference-in-differences designs, we estimate the effects of the ban on academic achievement and socio-emotional well-being. We find no significant effects on standardized test scores. By contrast, the ban led to a substantial and robust deterioration in self-reported socio-emotional well-being. The results show that restrictions framed as institutional neutrality can impose sizable non-academic costs on minority students, even in the absence of measurable effects on test performance.
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