CH 310Dr. Dieter Mitternacht

Presentation byRobert E. Graham

(AA., BA., MA Theol. Cand.) 11 May 2010

Christianity in France

Notre Dame de Paris at night

Personal Introduction Moved to France after leaving

High School in 1996 and lived there for nearly ten years

Commissioned as a Deacon in the Lutheran Church at the age of 18

Ordained by Pastors Jacques Henslée and Léon Prix on 15 May 2002 in Saint-Brevin, attending the Église Protestante Evangélique

After moving to Tours in 2005 I worked in the ministry of the Franciscan Tertiaries (Ecumenical) and attended Paroisse Notre Dame la Riche (Catholic) and the Basilique Saint-Martin de Tours (Catholic)

Saint-Brevin

Paroisse Notre Dame la Riche

Basilique Saint-Martin de Tours

Brief History of Christianity in FranceFrance has been a Christian country since at least the last

half of the second centuryOne of the earliest and most well known Christians of

France is the Church Father Saint IrenaeusDuring the time of the Roman Empire, France was scene of

many bloody persecutions of Christians by the RomansChristianity first became a state religion of France with the

conversion of Clovis I in the last half of the fifth centuryThe Protestant Reformation was represented in France by

the Huguenots, French Presbyterians Bloody wars and persecutions followed the Protestant

Reformation, with many Huguenots leaving France for other parts of the Empire

The French Revolution, the leaders of which were primarily deists and atheists, attempted at times to separate religion from government and at other times to entirely eliminate it

Brief History of Christianity in FranceThe Revolution closed churches, destroyed crosses, church

bells and outlawed external signs of worship, while instituting “civic religions”

After the French Revolution, the new government attempted to separate the French Church entirely from Rome and place it under government control

The French Revolution and the Reign of Terror saw new persecutions of Christians in France, including wholesale massacres

Brief History of Christianity in France This official anti-Church attitude lasted until Napoleon Bonaparte

re-established relations with Rome, giving the Church a privileged role in society and government in exchange for the Church’s recognition of the legitimacy of his rule

Napoleon also recognized and protected Lutheranism, Calvinism (the Huguenots) and Jews in France

After Napoleon, France’s political systems changed many times, going from monarchies to republics to empires and back to republics (on average) every 16 years

With each change in political system, the status of the Church, as well as society’s attitudes toward the Church, has changed as well

The anti-Church attitude of the Revolution was revived with the rule of the Third Republic (in the late 1800s). This was represented by the adoption of many secularist laws which aimed to remove religion from all aspects of political and social life in a movement referred to as Déchristianisation.

This culminated in the adoption of the Loi du 9 décembre 1905 concernant la séparation des Églises et de l'État

Brief History of Christianity in FranceThe long term effect of this cycle of religious zealotry, anti-

religious persecution, and official dechristianization was to dissuade the traditionally Catholic French from religious sentiment almost entirely, except for brief revivals during the past 150 years

As religious sentiment was abandoned and officially discouraged, it ceased to be passed down from generation to generation, to the point that France today is almost entirely secular and French society has a decidedly ambiguous attitude towards the Church and Christianity

Demographics

Total Population: 65,447,374

Church Attendance8% of Catholics attend weekly worship services15% of all French citizens attend regular religious services

(compared to only 10% of British citizens)31% attend worship “occasionally”46% attend services “only for baptisms, weddings and

funerals”

Challenges and Personal ReflectionsApathy and hostility towards the ChurchDeclining Church attendanceAssert and develop relevance in French societyLaïcité and opposition to encroachment on Civil LibertyEffective work with the Muslim Population of FranceSpirituality among the FrenchOpportunities for the Church

Merci!