PARIS — Roughly a century after France passed watershed laws separating church and state, the country’s Roman Catholic and Protestant communities are divided over whether the legislation should be revised.
The Protestant Federation of France has been lobbying for changes in the laws of 1901 and 1905, which define religious associations and generally forbid the state from financing them.
In a recent interview with Le Monde newspaper, Federation President Jean-Arnaud de Clermont argued the legislation no longer reflects France’s modern religious landscape — in part because it was drafted at a time when Islam and other newer religions to France were not officially recognized.
The Protestant Federation also wants to relax restrictions on the sale of religious books inside houses of worship and collections for religious charities, among other issues.
But during their annual meeting in the city of Lourdes last week, the Council of French Bishops announced it would not seek changes in the 1905 law.
The 1905 legislation ended the once-close relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the French government, institutionalized under Napoleon Bonaparte. Previously, the state recognized Catholicism as the majority religion in France and bankrolled priests and bishops.
The 1905 law figured prominently in sharp debates last year over controversial legislation regulating suspect religious “sects” in France. Some human rights groups and religious organizations argued the law forbade the French government from passing judgment on religious beliefs.
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