France and Religion

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jan 2, 1901

France and Religion

France and Religion.—Mr. Richard Davey, in the Fortnightly Review for August, maintains that the idea that France is an irreligious country is a mistaken one. He says that “of the two countries France and England, France is probably the more practically religious.” This religion, of course, is for the most part the Catholic religion. Mr. Davey illustrates his point by the fact that when the government passed a law suppressing religious instruction in the public schools, “the Parisians, in a surprisingly short time, collected many millions of francs for the establishment of free schools, which are invariably in the hands of the religious orders.” He notes the further fact that “at least two-thirds of the Roman Catholic missions in foreign parts are supported out of French money.”