France is a country of free religion. The most popular religions here are Catholic Christianity, Islam, Judaism. According to a survey conducted in 2010, 27% of French people believe that there is a God, 33% answered that they admit the existence of some kind of energy or higher intelligence, and 40% answered that they do not believe in either God or the presence of human soul, nor energy. In this regard, France can be considered one of the most non-religious states. But culture and faith in this country are closely linked. So what is the predominant religion in France and why are there others? We will talk about this in this article.
Historical overview
In the last millennium, France remained one of those European countries where the religion of Catholicism was considered fundamental. From the time of Charlemagne until the rise of Protestantism in the 16th century, this state was one of the most powerful on the continent, where Catholicism, with the exception of traditional forms, was the only direction of Christianity. In France, the Catholic faith was firmly established, while other parts of Europe, including England, Switzerland, the historical Netherlands, most of Germany and Scandinavia, were dominated by various formsProtestantism.
After the revolution of 1798, the religion of France was taken under state control in order to contain revolutionary sentiment. The monastic communities ceased to exist. But in 1801, Napoleon signed an agreement with the Vatican, thanks to which the position of the church was restored.
Religion in France in the 19th century
For almost this entire century, the country in question was officially considered a Catholic state. But in 1905, a large-scale event happened, thanks to which religion in France underwent significant changes at the beginning of the 19th century - there was a separation of the state from the church. Since then, even though Catholicism has not ceased to be the predominant religion in this country, the Catholic Church, according to the Constitution, has become just one of many other religious organizations. The newly formed secular state endowed its citizens with the right to choose their religion. And today in this country, Catholicism coexists freely with Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and third-party cults.
Religion today
The main religion in France is Catholicism. But today, despite the fact that this religion still has more adherents in the territory of a secular state than any other, the time when most French people considered themselves Catholics has passed. Less than half of the population today calls themselves such. The results of a survey conducted in 2011 show that 45% of the French consider themselves Christians, the majority ofwhich are Catholic. At the same time, 35% do not identify themselves with any religion, and 3% are Muslims.
The number of church parishioners, according to a public survey, is one of the lowest in the world. In fact, this is only 5% of the population, and only 10% of those who consider themselves Catholics attend church services today. But, despite this, the culture of France is still largely Catholic, which was emphasized in his speeches by the previous head of state Sarkozy.
Secularism - the "cornerstone" of the state?
Secularism is today considered the "cornerstone" of France's state self-determination. Compared with Great Britain or the USA, the importance of religion in the life of the society of the state in question is very insignificant. In the UK and the US, politicians often arrange meetings with religious leaders, take pictures with them at official receptions, and many important national events and events are preceded by religious ceremonies. But in France things are different. The public figures of this secular state, even if they call themselves Christians (which is becoming less popular with members of the government at the present time), try to hide their religious life from prying eyes for various reasons.
Special Territory - Province of Alsace
In the province of Alsace and Moselle, the relationship between the state and the church is different than throughout France, despite the approved unityrepublics. Here priests receive state salaries, and religious instruction in public schools and colleges is compulsory. The University of Strasbourg has a theological faculty, the only one in a public university in France.
Protestantism
Protestantism, another religion in France, has its own history. In the Middle Ages, before the term was coined, many people in southwestern France abandoned Catholicism and converted to a heretical type of Christianity known as Catharism. The Protestant faith was adopted in many regions of the country during the Reformation. Although this religion was not encouraged, it was not prohibited either. In 1598, King Henry IV, himself a former Protestant who was forced to convert to Catholicism in order to become the monarch of France, signed the Edict of Nantes. According to this document, the Calvinists, known as Huguenots, were guaranteed freedom of religion and conscience. Many areas of France, especially in the southeast, then converted to Protestantism, and cities such as La Rochelle became the main strongholds of this religion in the country, officially considered Catholic.
The decline and revival of Protestantism
But in 1685 the edict was abolished by Louis XIV, which led to mass emigration of Protestants from France. Religion in France in the 17th century was in some turmoil. According to existing data, about half a million followers of this teaching left the country at that time and settled in Great Britain, North America, Switzerland and historicalNetherlands. Protestantism as a religion in France in the 18th century, after the death of King Louis XIV, began to slowly revive in some territories. And at the end of the French Revolution, it was officially recognized as one of the many existing forms of worship. Today, Protestantism exists in places throughout the country, but most of the followers of this religious movement can be found in the province of Alsace and Northern Franche-Comte in eastern France, as well as in the Cevennes in the south of the country.
Islam
Another religion in France is Islam. There are no exact figures, but, according to a rough estimate, from 6 to 7 million people, that is, about 8% of the population, are Muslims. A third of them, just over two million, observe religious rituals. For comparison: 10 million practicing Catholics live in the country. Most Muslims in France come from North Africa, that is, the descendants of those who once lived in its former colonies - Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
According to a study by sociologist Samir El-Amgar, there are between 12,000 and 15,000 Salafists, or radical Muslims, living in France, but only a small part of them share the views of the so-called Islamists. Since 2000, mosques have been intensively built in the country, and now there are more than 2,000 of them. They are mostly made in a very restrained style. In terms of education, France has 30 Muslim, 282 Jewish and 8485 Catholic schools.
The link between culture andreligions
The culture and religion of France have always been closely intertwined. The art of this country was strongly influenced by Christian and Catholic traditions. In medieval France, the greatest architectural structures were not castles and palaces, but great cathedrals, and sometimes small churches. The best artists and artisans worked on the creation of frescoes, nad altar decorations, stained-glass windows, carved exquisite sculptures intended for interior and exterior decoration of churches. In the literature one can often find references to Christianity. The most famous work in French, the Song of Roland, is the story of the great confrontation between Christians and Saracens, led by Roland, nephew of Emperor Charlemagne. Most of the medieval literature was kept in religious traditions, for example, Celtic legends popular in the Middle Ages. The work of famous composers was also strongly influenced by the religion of France, which can be seen in the works of Fauré, César Franck, Widor and Berlioz.
In conclusion, I would like to say that only the main religions were considered in this article. It must be remembered that there are many more. Each form of religion significantly influences the cultural life of France and finds its admirers in this country.
