Christianity in France

In the past, France had enjoyed a great religious legacy. Along with the Great Britain, the United States of America, France, at some points in history, has undergone a shipwreck of faith, particularly in regard to her former Judeo- Christian values and influence, which were once highly esteemed by the French people. (Well, Western Europe is in the state of both moral and religious decadence)However, the religious life of the French people should not be a matter of silence but something to be revisited and learned from. We cannot shut up France’s past or ignore its effects on the present life of many French citizens, and discount the contributions that many great men and women of faith from France had on Western Christianity. The past, in respect to the nation of France, has so much to offer to us and contribute to the future of the French people and to the benefit of Western civilization in general. With the birth of Jean Cauvin (John Calvin), the country of France had played a decisive role in the Protestant Reformation. Jean Cauvin, a French Protestant theologian was probably the central figure to reform Christian Theology after its several years of "theological abuse, decadence and misfortunes” in the hands of Catholic Church Masters. Cauvin unashamedly stood for what he believed to be the essential teachings of the Christian faith emerged from the very pages of the Old and New Testaments. A faith many died for; one that was once proclaimed by the saints and is sustained by Jesus Christ, himself. A faith that Christ's disciples and apostles, Apostle Paul, and the early followers of Christ, then and the early church fathers proclaimed with their heads stand tall.



Cauvin, nonetheless, espoused a body of teachings that is often labeled "Calvinism" or "Reformed Theology." Some students of theology and church history could rightly confirm that the calvinistic doctrine is not "a new theology" per se but an exposition on various doctrines (teachings) of Scripture. In his teachings, notoriouly preserved in The Institutes of the Christian Religion. Cauvin upheld and celebrated the sovereignty of God in all things, divine providence, justification by faith alone, Scripture alone, and Christ alone, the priestly role of Christ concerning human salvation, and a particular view of the atonement of Christ, etc.

Today, Cauvin would be deeply saddened to learn about the current state of Christianity in France. In the present, the French dissociate themselves with anything Christian, with Protestant Christianity itself. They unremittingly endeavor to produce a total exodus of the Christian faith in the French society. Today, it is proven that few people attend worship service (or the Catholic mass) on Sunday morning. Christianity does not have a place in the hearts of many French men and women anymore. It becomes a history of the past. The million dollar question could be rightly stated in this manner: Is there any hope for this present generation in France or for many to come? We just have to wait impatiently and look forward with great anticipations!

In a recent survey conducted by the French Embassy (L’ambassade francaise), it is confirmed that “France is a secular state with a Catholic tradition and culture. Up until the mid-nineteen-sixties, the Catholic Church was an important institution and 91.7% of newborns were baptized. In the early nineteen-sixties, church-going started to decline in France’s most devout regions and differences between regions faded. According to a survey conducted in March 2003, the main religions of the French are Catholicism (62%), Islam (6%), Protestantism (2%) and Judaism (1 %°), while 26% of the French report that they have no religious affiliation. The same survey showed that 41% of the French think that the existence of God is unlikely or impossible and 58% think that it is certain or probable.

The individualization of morality inevitably leads to greater tolerance for differences. The predominant trend is a diversification of value systems and not a weakening of values. The French are increasingly tolerant of others’ morals, but they make a distinction between choices that only involve individual morality and behavior that has repercussions on others. They waver between liberalism, in the name of freedom of thought, and demanding regulation to enforce republican values"

The striking news is that Nicolas Sarkozy, current president of the republic, might be a potential figure and instrument to turn in the hearts, minds and souls of the French people to their great Christian legacy. His attempt is not to divorce faith and the public life. He endeavors to bring past religious memory to the present . In a speech delivered to numerous religious authorities and others, president Sarkozy acknowleged France’s “essential christians roots” –the role of faith in the public life, the role of the clergy in the society, the importance of religious values and effects on people, and the importance of theism. For many, such statements do not have a place in the public square or in the french culture. In a recent speech at the Basilica of Saint John of Lateran, Sarkozy makes the following remarks, "Jamais je n'ai dit que la morale laïque était inférieure à la morale religieuse." "Ma conviction est qu'elles sont complémentaires et que, quand il est difficile de discerner le bien et le mal, ce qui somme toute n'est pas si fréquent, il est bon de s'inspirer de l'une comme de l'autre." Moreover, he adds "A man who believes is a man who hopes," said the president. "And the interest of the republic is that there be a lot of men and women who hope." He advocated a new "positive secularism" that "doesn't consider religions a danger, but an asset." And he declared, "In the transmission of values and in the teaching of the difference between good and evil, the schoolteacher will never be able to replace the priest or the pastor" (“dans la transmission et dans l'apprentissage de la différence entre le bien et le mal, l'instituteur ne pourra jamais remplacer le curé ou le pasteur’).

"Le drame du XXème siècle n'est pas né d'un excès de l'idée de Dieu, mais de sa redoutable absence", a-t-il également souligné.

"Si les religions sont impuissantes à préserver les hommes de la haine et de la barbarie, le monde sans Dieu, que le nazisme et le communisme ont cherché à bâtir, ne s'est pas révélé tellement préférable", a-t-il ajouté.

"Et jamais je n'ai dit que l'instituteur était inférieur au curé, au rabbin ou à l'imam pour transmettre des valeurs. Mais ce dont ils témoignent n'est tout simplement pas la même chose. Le premier témoigne d'une morale laïque, faite d'honnêteté, de tolérance, de respect. Que ne dirait-on pas d'ailleurs si l'instituteur s'autorisait à témoigner d'une morale religieuse ? Le second témoigne d'une transcendance dont la crédibilité est d'autant plus forte qu'elle se décline dans une certaine radicalité de vie", a-t-il dit.

The Newsweek’s commentator rightly remarks “Those are fighting words in strictly secular France. Suddenly, faith, once an entirely private affair, has infused the president's political discourse. In Riyadh on Jan. 14, Sarkozy referenced the Lord 13 times in a speech to Saudi Arabia's Consultative Council, evoking a "transcendent God who is in the thoughts and the heart of every man." That was news to France's estimated 15 million atheists and agnostics, a quarter of the country.

So there’s hope for the French people. Hope they can believe in. Let’s pray for the Spirit of God to move quickly and mightily in the hearts of the French people, so that France can once again reclaim its great christian heritage. With the closing words of Sarkozy, "A man who believes is a man who hopes."

See the following links for full details:

Religion in France
Dîner du Crif: Sarkozy défend sa conception de la laïcité devant la communauté juive
The President’s Passion Play
Nicolas Sarkozy embraces God as good for society, igniting debate over church and state in France.

Also see the following works
Enlightenment Aberrations: Error and Revolution in France
by David W. Bates.
The Devil and the Religious Controversies of Sixteenth-Century France by Carleton Cunningham
France in the Enlightenment by Daniel Roche Translator Arthur Goldhammer
The enlightenment as secularization of baroque eschatology in France and in England by Miroslav John Hana
Beyond Enlightenment: Occultism And Politics In Modern France by David Allen Harvey