Posted on 02/28/2008 12:41:41 PM PST by Mr. Silverback
French President Nicholas Sarkozy is an unlikely scourge of European secularism: He is on his third marriage and has been called the “playboy president” by his critics.
But it is what Sarkozy has just said about the role of religion in French life that has really got his critics up-in-arms.
For more than a century, what the French call laïcité has been the defining characteristic of French politics and public life. The word, which has no English equivalent, goes beyond the separation of church and state. It is a kind of secularism that tends to see “any strong religious views as a direct threat to [France’s] freedom and way of life . . .”
Thus, discretion about one’s religious views, especially among leaders, is regarded as “a necessary part of being French.”
Sarkozy disagrees. In a book he wrote before becoming president, Sarkozy declared, “I am of Catholic culture, Catholic tradition, Catholic belief, even if my religious practice is episodic.”
He continued this theme after becoming president. He has criticized removing references to “Europe’s Christian roots” from the European constitution. In a speech in Rome last December, he emphasized France’s Christian roots. He invoked France’s ancient title of the “Eldest Daughter of the Church.”
He proposed a new version of laïcité, one that “does not consider religions a danger, but an asset.” That is because, according to Sarkozy, when it comes to teaching right and wrong, “the schoolteacher will never be able to replace the priest or the pastor.” Well said.
Sarkozy has also stood up for France’s often-beleaguered Jewish community. He recently announced that, starting next fall, French fifth-graders will have to learn the story of at least one of the 11,000 French children killed in the Holocaust.
He defended his plan by blaming the wars of the twentieth century on the “absence of God.” He further shocked French sensibilities by adding that Nazi racism was “radically incompatible with Judeo-Christian monotheism.”
This latter point is not hypothetical for the French president, whose maternal grandfather was Jewish.
Critics are appalled by Sarkozy’s invocations of religion. As one socialist leader put it, “a speech citing God not only on every page, but on every line, creates a fundamental problem for the republic.” Others chide him for disregarding the separation of church and state.
And, of course, they do not hesitate to point out the gap between his rhetoric and his lifestyle.
I wish that Sarkozy’s “religious practice” was less “episodic.” Nevertheless, I am gratified that he is taking on what has been called a “major taboo” in French public life. This may be the first time since the French revolution that a French leader has spoken seriously to the people about God.
A French-born writer, Hilaire Belloc, put it this way, “the faith is Europe.” Without Christianity, Europe would not exist. European secularism and the denial of its Christian roots have cut it off from its own heritage, leaving it vulnerable to the challenge of Islam.
After all, you can not fight something with nothing, which is what a “post-Christian” Europe is left with. That is why I welcome Sarkozy’s message—however unlikely the messenger.
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Amen, Silverback. I was thrilled when Sarkozy won the election. France really needs a man like him and he likes the U.S. I’m also feeling pretty good about S. Korea’s new president as well.
I keep hearing how everybody hates us but it’s not true.
This was an excellent post. And I, too, hope his religious practice will become less episodic. We need to pray for him, eh?
Yeah, and when they are completely overrun by the Muzzies, maybe the’ll look back on Sarkozy’s comments and wish they had paid more attention.
I will hold out hope for them, being the eternal optimist that I am.
At least he doesn't shift his ideals to fit his practice, which is the modern way! ;-)
Do you think this guy will be the “Maggie Thatcher” of France? Is there even a breath of a chance for this? (Just askin’. I haven’t really followed his career...)
“In France this is a particularly sensitive issue, since the French state was founded on a specific and total repudiation of Christian belief.”
Yes! In my belated study of history, I have learned that the French revolution was humanistic, secular; the American Revolution was steeped in Judeo-Christianity.
Not enough backbone: he went along with the secularist marxist dhimmis on kosovo.
Reading through this laundry list of his words and actions, it sounds to me like his religious practice is plenty steady. "Religious practice" and sitting through weekly services aren't even remotely the same thing, and right now France is much more in need of the former.
Yes, we definiteely need to pray for him.
I’m not an expert on him, but I’d say it’s possible.
Are you talking about recognition?
I’ve got to tell you, I don’t care how many Muslims there are in Kosovo, the Serbs have been acting like nutcases for years, and their government stpped aside and let a bunch of glorified soccer hooligans bust up our embassy.
And your point? Nobody’s campaigning to make him the patron saint of chastity.
Patron saint of Chastity? I was more thinking making him king.
Yes, the French state, in 1789, after beheading many zillions, was founded on a repudiation of Christian belief. However, for 1100 years before that, France was Christian and Catholic, the Kings crowned in cathedrals and etc. This earlier era is much longer than the time since 1789; he is harkening back to their foundational traditions.
Good for him.
hmmmmm,
"Without Christianity, America would not exist. American secularism and the denial of America's Christian roots have cut America off from America's own heritage, leaving America vulnerable to the challenge of Islam"
There, that looks to be about right.
There is an internal contradiction here, GS, since Sarko calls himself a "Catholic," and the Catholic Church holds the Liturgy (Mass) to be "the source and summit of Christian life."
Now, if Sarko (whom, by the way, I like very well) wanted to call himself a non-denominational Cristian, or even, in the manner of Karl Rahner, an "anonymous Christian," that would be another matter entirely.
But as long as he says he is "of Catholic heritage, Catholic culture, and Catholic belief," he needs to get his ever-lovin self to Mass and prepare himself carefully for the experience of Communion with God and God's people ---lest he lose his "source" and "summit" and find himself empty instead of filled.
Tous sont bienvenus. You too.
I like him already.
First Major, now this guy. Imagine, a revival of the faith in europe...let it be.
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