Three recent court cases in France have reinforced the 1905 law that separates church and state, while an opinion poll reveals a large drop in the number of people claiming to be Catholic. The first legal case was in the Haute-Vienne department, where every year, the Catholic Church exhibits the relics of the local saints.
The Catholic Church asked for public money for this exhibition and although the town council refused to contribute, the general council and the regional council decided to give 26,360 euros.
A court in Limoges, however, declared the grants illegal and the money will be reimbursed.
The mayor of Ploërmel, in Morbihan (Brittany) decided to build an enormous statue of Jean Paul II (against article 28 of the 1905 law).
The general council decided to give 4,500 euros to finance the statue, but the local court quashed the decision and the public funds — illegally paid — will be reimbursed.
In Wandignies-Hamage, a commune in the Nord Department, the mayor wanted to hang a crucifix in the dining hall of a public school. A local freethinker referred the matter to the court which ruled that the crucifix must be removed. The mayor appealed against the decision but the Court of Appeal confirmed it and the crucifix was banned.
A spokesperson for Libre Pensée, the French group of freethinkers, said it was essential that the 1905 law separating Church and State must be respected and upheld and that these three decisions were a welcome confirmation that the law still has teeth.
Meanwhile, an opinion poll by the IFOP Institute for the daily paper La Croix showed a precipitous drop in the number of French people who describe themselves as Catholic. In 1965, 81% said they were Catholic whereas in 2009 this has reduced to 64%.
But even though around two thirds of the population declare themselves to be nominal Catholics, the numbers actually attending church has dropped massively.
In 1965, 27% of French people went to mass once a week or more; in 2009 this had dropped to 4.5% (that’s four point five per cent!).
At a doctrinal level, 63% of practising Catholics think all religions are the same; 75% ask for an updating of the Church’s policy on contraception and 68% want the Church to reconsider its stance on abortion.
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