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Archiver > Huguenot > 2005-07 > 1121970285


From: "fuller.tony" <>
Subject: Re: [Huguenot] CHurch leflets
Date: Thu, 21 Jul 2005 20:29:34 +0100
References: <d2.2d405ac5.30111457@aol.com>


Hi Karen

I'll get back to you later with any hits on the family history.

I'm not sure where you heard that the Protestantes in France still have a
hard time but nothing could be further from the truth.

During the French Revolution, 1790s, religious persecution was banished in
France as it went against the principal concepts of the new French society -
liberte, egalite, fraternite - and Protestantisme became part of the
mainstream.

That said, the Catholic Church remained the church of the State until 1905,
when the link was broken, Catholic schools were taken over by the State and
theoretically, France became a secular state, hence the recent angst over
the banning of wearing religious symbols in schools. Interestingly, to show
their egalitarianism, the Protestantes had voluntarily handed their schools
over to the State some 20 years previously.

Napoleon had Protestante officers and men throughout his army, two of the
most recent French Prime Ministers have been Protestante and Protestantisme
is in no way persecuted or made second rate here.

What is interesting is that the Protestantes have tended to be further left
wing than the French mainstream Catholic politicians, French Freemasonry of
both ilks has, by definition been Protestante/Jewish and more politically
left leaning, so there is some tension there but it's all very amicable.

The Protestante churches or temples are much fewer in number than Catholic
Churches and there are many fewer Protestantes than Catholics in France but
if anybody tried to put the Protestantes down in any way, in a country that
is obsessively egalitarian, what the Huguenots did would be nothing to what
the Protestantes would do now.

Regards

Tony
List Admin
Happily living in egalitarian France


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