Religion (French)

 Religion


Catholicism is the predominant religion of France. In a survey by the French Institute of Public Opinion

(IFOP), 64% of the population (about 41.6 million people) identified themselves as Roman Catholic. The other religions in France include Islam, Buddhism and Judaism.


The close connection between the French monarchy and the Catholic Church began during the reign of Charlemagne (d. 814), who was the first to receive a papal coronation in the year 800. Through the coming centuries, the Church became the largest landowner in France and oversaw hospitals, primary, and secondary education. The upper echelons of the Church were populated by noblemen who cemented close political and power relations, and the Church itself was immensely wealthy. 


During the Revolution, the Church was stripped of its land and other properties, clerical privileges were eliminated, the Church was reorganized, the process of selecting upper clergy through election was instituted and the clergy became state employees, ties with Rome were severed, and the Church became secondary to—and reliant on—the secular state.

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