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The Church of France is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome.

There are an estimated 45 million baptised Catholics in France, (77% of the population), in 98 dioceses, served by 23,000 priests. However, according to a 2003 poll, the numbers of believing and practicing Catholics are much lower. According to Froese (2001), 54% of the French are atheist or agnostic.

History, legal status and politics

Prior to the French revolution, the Catholic Church had been the official state religion of France since the conversion to Christianity of Clovis I, leading to France being called "the eldest daughter of the Church." The Kings of France were known as the "very Christian kings." Depending on the time, other religions, such as protestantism, were tolerated or persecuted.

Following from the Revolution, freedom of religion was established. Napoleon Bonaparte established the 1801 Concordat, whereby the State would subsidize the Catholic religion (recognized as the one of the majority of the French), as well as Judaism, and the Lutheran and Calvinist branches of Protestantism. Growing discontent with respect to the influence of the Catholic Church in education and politics lead to a series of reforms during the Third Republic reducing this influence, under the protests of the clerical groups supporting continuing influence (see Ultramontanism). Finally, the 1905 law on the separation of church and state removed the special status of the 4 state religions (except in Alsace-Moselle) but left to them the use without fee of the churches that they used prior to 1905. Since then, the prevailing public doctrine on religion is laïcité – that is, neutrality of the state with respect to religious doctrine, and isolation of the religious and the public spheres.

Perceived threats of undue Catholic influence in national politics have lead some sections of the French public, particularly on the political left, to anti-clerical positions. On the other hand, conservative Catholic groups, such as the Society of St. Pius X, push for the return to the pre-revolution or at least pre-separation situation, contending that France has forgotten its divine mission as a Christian country.

Divisions

Within France the hierarchy consists of:

  • Metropolitan archbishop
    • Suffragan

Immediately subject to the Holy See:

Other:

  • Ukrainian exarchate

France is the location of one of the world's major Catholic pilgrim centres at Lourdes.

Notes

  • The archbishops of these archdioceses are not metropolitan bishops and thus do not wear the pallium. These are some of the few instances in the Latin rite church where this phenomenon occurs.
  • This is a territorial prelature, not a diocese.
  • Froese, Paul. 2001. “ Hungary for Religion: A Supply-Side Interpretation of the Hungarian Religious Revival.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 40(2): 251-268.

Roman Catholic Church in France

Liste der französischen Diözesen | Église catholique en France | Chiesa cattolica in Francia

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Roman Catholicism in France".

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