ABSTRACT
Until the 1980s, teaching about religion at French schools was rarely discussed, but since the 1980s-1990s, it has become a topic towhich sociologists and political analysts have given considerable attention. The starting point of teaching about religion originates from several observations: religion is losing its influence and consequently fewer children can acquire a religious culture during their studies. Moreover, with regard to alleged threats from “sects” and from Muslim extremism, some Catholics and rationalists have come to the conclusion that for their own protection young people must be intellectually equipped so that they do not reactwith naivety tomarginal or dangerousworld view proposals. The best way in their eyes is to teach about religions, especially about their history, and to teach about philosophy (metaphysical andmoral).Theunderpinning idea is that someknowledge about religions is necessary to understand literary works and the history of France, Europe, and the world. Some have also advocated that teaching about religion could contribute to a mutual understanding among young people. The knowledge about others’ religion (beliefs, life guidelines, values, religious festivals) would blur the impression of radical otherness and would lead to adjustments between social groups. The introduction of religion in the school curriculum has now become an element of public debate. In this chapter, we will address the situation in France.
Until 1950, 80 percent of France’s population was Roman Catholic. Gradually, Catholicism has declined and is now claimed by only 50 percent of the French people. Only 11 percent of these practice their religion on a regular basis (attending church every Sunday). Islam is the second religion of the country, with 1-5 million members according to various estimates (in France, there are no official statistics on religions). There are also 1 million Protestants (including Evangelicals). Jews allegedly number 400,000. Six hundred thousand people are said to belong to minority religious groups (Buddhists, Seventh-day Adventists, Mormons, Scientologists, Moonies, Raelians, New Age) but the most numerous are Jehovah’s Witnesses, with about 133,000 members.
