French bill to combat Islamist extremism could prohibit all religious freedom, critics say

French Assembly
Screenshot courtesy of Reuters

French bill to combat Islamist extremism could prohibit all religious freedom, critics say

France’s National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, approved on Feb. 16 a law to fight Islamist extremism and separatism in an attempt to tackle the root causes of jihadist violence. The 459-page bill was first introduced in response to a wave of attacks that has seen more than 250 people murdered in France since 2015.

In October 2020, French middle-school teacher, Samuel Paty was beheaded by the father of one of his students after discussing freedom of expression in his classroom. Paty gave his students a chance to leave the classroom before showing them the cartoon at the heart of the 2015 attack on the Charlie Hebdo newsroom, which satirically depicted the Prophet Mohammed.

Paty’s murderer posted a photo and message on Twitter addressed to French President Emmanuel Macron. Within minutes, police identified and killed Paty’s murderer. This attack came after multiple terrorist attacks over the past six years, including the Charlie Hebdo attack, an attack during Bastille Day, an attack at a Christmas market, and a stabbing at the Nice cathedral.

French evangelicals respond

While some Muslim leaders supported the legislation, many French evangelicals have been critical of the bill. Clément Diedrichs, general director of The National Council of Evangelicals in France, told Christianity Today, “It’s definitely a serious situation. Laïcité [the French concept of separation of church and state] should protect the free organization of religious groups, but this law will allow the prevention of religious expression in society.”

Although the bill is not targeted at French Protestants or evangelicals, many people believe there is legitimate cause for concern. France’s Interior Minister, Gerald Darmanin, has described evangelicals as “a very important problem” because they believe the law of God is supreme over any other man-made law.

While efforts to curtail extremism are warranted and needed, Diedrichs believes that the bill will force religion even further from the public square. French evangelicals have raised a number of concerns with the bill. The bill would create a requirement that churches re-register with the government every five years, increasing the possibility that a church’s registration may be denied. The bill would significantly expand the government’s powers to close religious organizations and places of worship if they are found to air “theories or ideas” that provoke “hate or violence.” In addition, churches and ministries would be required to publicly declare financial support from outside of France, including support of missionaries and direct support to churches from overseas. For evangelical families, permission to pursue home-based education would be required every year, and parents would not be permitted to choose to homeschool because of religious motivation.

The bill passed with 347 voting in favor, 151 against and 65 abstaining. The bill will now be submitted to the upper house for consideration.

As the bill moves forward, Southern Baptists’ Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission leaders state, “Christians should oppose this clear example of government overreach that would trample upon the consciences of millions of French citizens and pray this bill does not pass as introduced.”

By Margaret Colson, with reporting from the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission