This is a question for French people ?

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ChocoBN

No, I am an atheist but I love christianity, the word of Christ was a revolutionary message of peace, spiritual elevation, acceptance and freedom. I hate what men have turned it into though and how they have drifted away from the original teachings.

It is true that most French people are not religious and tend to hate or make fun of symbols of Christianity. It's because the Catholic Church and political power worked hand in hand for centuries at the expense of people and personal freedom. Even if it is no longer the case some people still view religion as a form of oppression. But when you think about it and go back to the source, Christianity is really THE religion that has made freedom an essential value of our modern societies. Too many French people forget it and only see the negative sides. What annoys me about the French (and I am French) is that they can be as narrow-minded as those they combat.

I do not like organized religions much myself but I think Christianity as a system of thought (rather than a belief system) has left us a wonderful legacy and values (with a few not so good side-effects).

Andrew A

I am from quebec and no we do not hate christianity and why would you think that most French people are christians. PS. i live in virginia now but i grew up in quebec, canada which is a french speaking part of canada

qriste

why do you say that? we can't talk without any other details, explain clearly your question
.....catholicism is the main religion here, we're very private about religion things, the only time that someone asked me if I go to mass was in England! (and it seemed to me a very strange question to ask) it's not because churches are empty that we don't like christianity, but it's just not in our culture to talk about the bible in public or in parks like I saw in England for example. So as we're not at all used to hear someone talk about his religious beliefs, it seems to us a bit weird and a lack of reserve to hear someone just say the words "god or Jesus or devil or heaven...", it is just not in our habits or in our culture at all. As you said, we are educated in a very strong sense of secularism, and we have our secularism extremists; as those who complain about the pope being greeted by the president etc...

Cabal

No, I do not. I have friends who are anticlerical but that is more against the institutionalised church than against the religion itself. The church was an ally of the royalty so was declared the enemy during the revolution, and during the subsequent empires/republics fought ferociously the attempts to secularise the system to the point of a nearly civil war at the beginning of the 20th century. The result is a strong sense of secularism, with the feeling that religion is private life and should not attempt to creep out of that sphere to meddle with public life, and the belief that if religion is allowed to get into public life this would mean undemocratic rules based on religious beliefs forced on people who do not share those beliefs. As all men are born equals why should the religious beliefs of one should be imposed on the others? If you want to believe, do, there's nothing and noone to forbid you (unless you intend to follow religious rules that are against the law), but do it at home.
That, you will admit, is totally different from hating Christianity. But in extremely religious and extremely proletysed and extremely propagandised US of A the difference is more difficult to make as any attempt to curb religious overbearingness is immediately described as hating God. So the French are described as violent haters of Christianity when they are more mild believers or wary secularists.

edit: I am not saying that you cannot show your religious beliefs. Let me see if I can explain it. In my street I have orthodox Jews with their caps and scarfs and locks, Muslims with their beards and hibab, and Christians with their cross, they have the right to walk around showing their religion, to shop in religiously approved shops, but it is forbidden to bring religion and all its dissensions in the public life and if they want to profit from the free state school they have to leave their religion at the door. If they won't, it is their choice, they can go to private religious schools. Paying schools but as I said that is their choice. The idea is that religion excludes, if you do not follow my God and my rules you are not of my tribe / you are to be punished / you are to be forced to follow my rules anyway. The French Republic was built on the idea that everyone was equal, if you put religious exclusions you destroy that idea. If I am not a Christian why should I be forbidden to remarry if I had a divorce? That is also why the Muslims have so much problem being integrated, we had our religious war with Christian religion a century ago and relegated it to the sphere of private life, we don't know how to deal with this new aggressive religion who refuses the status quo and is asking for special treatment (to our secular eye). In short, you can be as religious as you want as long as you don't disobey the law (no multiple wives or missing school for religious reasons) and as long as you don't force your beliefs on others. If you think it your right to wave your religious feelings aggressively under the nose of your neighbours remember it is their right to take offense and call the cops. And before you tell me that secularism can be considered doing all we accuse religions of doing, remember that you are not forbidden to be religious or to follow your religious laws within limits, however a religion or religious driven laws will forbid you to be anything but religious and to follow anything but religious law. To remind us of that danger, we have groups being paid by extremist religious groups from the US trying to get the Bible accepted as a alternate to science in Europe. Just like the veil problem which had been a way to try to force the public school system to start bowing to religious beliefs (the following steps after the veil as per the groups who pushed for the right to wear it would have been to accept that girls coopted out of sports, that certain history courses would not be taught...)

zorro

no !because it really help you to find what you need when you pray the christian god or should i say our god ...

Dorcas

France is the seat of the anti-christ system at the moment. I don't think French people hate Christianity; I think for most of them it is just not relevant. They are happy with a secular society and leaving religion and faith in the private domain. There are so many tensions in France between those born and bred there and immigrants, many of whom are Muslim, that the society doesn't want to cause any more conflicts than there already are. Muslim children are not allowed to wear headscarves to school because it is a religious statement and this has caused a great deal of anger in Muslim quarters. So I would say that most of the French are hoping for a New World Order where one world religion, one currency and one worldview prevails. That is why many Christians view france as the seat of the anti-christ system at the moment. I say it is a system because there is a throught-process and world-view that underlies the rise of the AntiChrist - some people will embrace this thought -process and world-view and some won't. In most places in the world, people are either dead set against Liberal Humanism and this shows that the country as a whole leans more towards some kind of faith-based world-view or they try to mix elements of Liberal Humanism with their traditional world-view. There are hardly any countries in the world that have come out strobgly in support of Liberal Humnaism as a way fo life that the majority subscribe to- except France. But, as I said in the beginning, this is the policy of the government and adminsitration of the country as a whole- it does not mean that the average French person thinks this way.

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