Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Politics, economics, ethics and religion in French academia

  • Data, Measures and Methods
  • Published:
French Politics Aims and scope

Abstract

The aim of this note is to present the main results of a survey carried out in 2011 which gathers information on French academics’ opinions and attitudes toward politics, economics, religion and ethical beliefs. The sample of respondents is large (N = 2,000) and the survey allows a comparison between academics and the overall French population by replicating questions of traditional surveys (EVS and Dynegal). We observe that French academics are considerably more left-wing, more hostile to free-market economy and more atheist than French citizens. Interestingly, a significant share of academics tends to adopt ethical guidelines that are similar to those of religious people.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and Dynegal (2013) for French population

Figure 2

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population

Figure 3

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population

Figure 4

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population

Figure 5

Source: Academics opinion (2011).

Figure 6

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population

Figure 7

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population

Figure 8

Sources: Academics opinions (2011) for academics population and EVS (2008) for French population. For the questions, see Figures 6 and 7

References

  • Boudon, R. (2004) Pourquoi les intellectuels n’aiment pas le libéralisme. Paris: Odile Jacob.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bréchon, P. (2006) Valeurs de gauche, valeurs de droite et identités religieuses en Europe. Revue française de sociologie 47(4): 725–753.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brym, R. and Nekhaie, R. (1999) The political attitudes of Canadian professors. Canadian Journal of Sociology 24(3): 329–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caute, D. (1964) Communism and the French Intellectuals. New York: Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Draper, J.-W. (1874) History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science. New York: D. Appleton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cipriani, G. P., D. Lubian, and A. Zago. (2009) Natural born economists? Journal of Economic Psychology 30: 455–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ecklund, E.-H. (2010) Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ecklund, E.-H., Park, J.-Z., Sorrell, K.-L. (2011) Scientists negotiate boundaries between religion and science. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 50(3): 552–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fosse, E. and Gross, N. (2012) Why are professors liberal? Theory & Society. 41(2): 127–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • François, A. (2013) Les Européens et l’économie de marché. Futuribles 395: 93–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • François, A. and Magni-Berton, R. (2015) Que pensent les penseurs ? Les opinions des universitaires et scientifiques français. Grenoble: PUG.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, B. S., and Pommerehne, W.W. (1993) On the fairness of pricing: An empirical survey among the general population. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization 20: 295–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goossens, A., and Méon, P.-G. (2010) This is an economist’s argument! The impact of studying economics and other disciplines on the belief that market transactions make everyone better off. Working paper 10-012. Brussels, Belgium: Université libre de Bruxelles, Centre Emile Bernheim.

  • Gross, N. (2013) Why Are Professors Liberal and Why Do Conservatives Care? Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Halsey A.-H. and Trow M. (1971). The British Academics. London: Faber & Faber.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Judt ,T. (1992). Past Imperfect: French Intellectuals 1944–1956. California: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haucap, J., and Just, T. (2010) Not guilty? Another look at the nature and nurture of economics students. European Journal of Law and Economics 29(2): 239–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L. and Thaler, R. (1986). Fairness as a constraint on profit seeking: Entitlements in the market. American Economic Review 76(4): 728–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurzman C. and Owens, L. (2002). The sociology of intellectuals. Annual Review of Sociology 28: 63–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladd, E. and Lipset, S. (1976) The Divided Academy: Professors and Politics. Toronto: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazarsfeld, P. and Thielens, W. (1958) The Academic Mind. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacCulloch, R. (2004) The impact of income on the taste for revolt. American Journal of Political Science 48: 830–849.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magni-Berton, R. (2013) La morale fondée sur des principes. In P. Bréchon, F. Gonthier, (eds.), Atlas d’Européens. Valeurs communes et différences nationales. Paris: Armand Colin.

  • Marks, G., Hooghe, L., Nelson, M. and Edwards, E. (2006) Party competition and European integration in the East and West. Different structure, same causality. Comparative Political Studies 39: 155–175

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakhaie M.-R. and Brym R.-J. (2011) The ideological orientations of Canadian University Professors. Canadian Journal of Higher Education 41(1):18–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rios, D. and Magni-Berton, R. (2003) La Misère des Intellectuels, Paris: L’Harmattan.

  • Sperber, N. (2010) Three million Trotskyists? Explaining extreme left voting in France in the 2002 presidential election. European Journal of Political Research 49(3): 359–392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would thank Nicolas Eber, Pierre-Guillaume Méon, Nicolas Sauger and Pierre Bréchon for their help on the survey design. All errors remain ours.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Lille 1 (LEM), Villeneuve d’Ascq Cedex, France

    Abel François

  2. LIEPP, Paris, France

    Abel François & Raul Magni Berton

  3. University of Salzburg (SCEUS), Salzburg, Austria

    Cal Le Gall

  4. Sciences Po Grenoble, PACTE, Univ. Grenoble-Alpes, Saint-Martin-d’Hères, France

    Raul Magni Berton

Authors
  1. Abel François
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cal Le Gall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Raul Magni Berton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abel François.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Table A1 Detailed description of the outcomes by scientific domains
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

François, A., Le Gall, C. & Magni Berton, R. Politics, economics, ethics and religion in French academia. Fr Polit 14, 363–379 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-016-0002-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41253-016-0002-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation