COUNTRY
FrancePOPULATION
65,630,692 (July 2012 est.), note: the above figure is for metropolitan France and five overseas regions; the metropolitan France population is 62,814,233GDP PER CAPITA
$35,600 (2011 est.)RELIGIONS
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, paganAT THE CENTER
RELATED RESOURCES
PEOPLE (6)
QUOTES (8)
Nicolas Sarkozy on France's Christian Heritage
March 3, 2011
Benedict XVI on Christian Contributions to France
September 12, 2008
Nicolas Sarkozy on Encouraging People to Hope in a Speech at the Lateran Church of Saint John in Rome
December 20, 2007
March 3, 2011
Benedict XVI on Christian Contributions to France
September 12, 2008
Nicolas Sarkozy on Encouraging People to Hope in a Speech at the Lateran Church of Saint John in Rome
December 20, 2007
PUBLICATIONS (3)
France
Organizations (6)
French religious policy is based on the concept of laïcité, a strict separation of church and state under which public life is considered completely secular. France was historically regarded as the “eldest daughter” of the Roman Catholic Church. The French Revolution (1789) saw a radical shift in the status of the Church with the launch of a brutal de-Christianization campaign. After the back and forth of Catholic royal and secular republican governments over the 19th century, laïcité was established under the Third Republic and codified with the 1905 Law on the Separation of Church and State. The constitution of the Fifth Republic (1958) guarantees freedom of religion. Today, most French citizens still identify as Catholics, although church attendance is very low. Through immigration, mainly from North Africa, Muslims now comprise about 10% of the French population. French Muslims have faced problems balancing their religious obligations with laïcité; a 2004 law on conspicuous religious symbols prohibits students and teachers from wearing Muslim headscarves in public schools.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in France, which has approximately 36,000 members, emerged after the shifting political status of Alsace-Lorraine required the creation of a Lutheran denomination independent of German authority. It supports ministries in areas like youth education and immigrant assistance. The denomination sees ecumenism as a key element of its identity, with membership in the World Council of Churches, Conference of European Churches, French Protestant Federation, and...
Created in 2003, the French Council for the Muslim Faith (Conseil Français du Culte Musulman, CFCM) represents France's Muslim population and is vested with the power to intervene in the construction of mosques, monitor halal foods, and decree fatwas. The CFCM remains strongly tied to the French government and often acts as the primary liaison between the government and the Muslim minority.
The Reformed Church in Alsace and Lorraine has historically remained a distinct entity for geopolitical rather than theological reasons, and its approximately 35,000 members are committed to building connections with other Christians in France and throughout the world. The 2006 creation of the Union of Protestant Churches in Alsace and Lorraine allows the Reformed Church and the Church of the Augsburg Confession of Alsace and Lorraine to cooperate in areas like education and pulpit supply...
With approximately 350,000 members, the Reformed Church of France is one of the largest French Protestant bodies in an overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country. The Reformed Church often cooperates with other Protestant denominations to support various social ministries. The denomination is currently wrestling with the twin challenges of declining membership and too few pastors, and since May 2007 it has been in talks with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of France on the possibility of...
Shambhala France is the umbrella organization for all Shambhala Buddhist centers in France. The Center offers courses and activities based on the teachings of Tibetan lamas Chogyam Trungpa and Sakyong Mipham. Its curriculum combines Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhist teachings into weekly classes. Shambhala students are encouraged to take Refuge (to officially join the Buddhist community) and to take the Bodhisattva Vow (to seek enlightenment for others). Secular students follow the...
The Union of Islamic Organizations of France (Union des Organisations Islamiques de France, UIOF) fosters the growth of the Muslim community within France, working to improve citizen participation, forge relationships with the government, and combat Islamophobia by encouraging dialogue. UOIF also works on combating poverty and exclusion and heavily emphasizes the importance of religious freedom and cooperation with secular society; during 2006-10 education for imams and Muslim youth and...