It looks like Evangelicalism in France is on the rise, a study by the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF) has found.
The
study reported by Evangelical Focus shows around 35 new evangelical
churches were opened in France last year or three a month.
France is an overwhelmingly Catholic country, with an estimated 56
per cent of the population having been baptised. Some of the cities may still have very conservative priests and institutions who do not allow people in their churches with bare arms and legs. (Two years ago I was sometimes considered to naked to enter a church but not enough naked to walk on the beach.) In some cities you also can see nuns and priests still clothed in their long dresses and nuns with covered heads. But for the amount of citizens who go to the Catholic church it seems the youngsters are not so much interested in that Catholic faith. The Catholic Church suffers
from an aging and over-stretched priesthood and a shortage of vocations,
and weekly mass-going is estimated at only around six per cent, which is much more than in Belgium.
The protestant church seems to be more attractive to many youngsters because they offer services with lots of entertainment.
There are around 650,000 evangelical Christians in France, around a
third of all Protestants, and according to CNEF study the numb has
increased tenfold in the last 60 years.