In France, UK and whole Europe, severe cuts are announced.
How do the French and the Brits react to this time of sacrifice ?
Glory be to Schrank, everything is explained in one single drawing (see below).
French Windows - Page 10
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Severe cuts : France and UK compared
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Protestants in Canada: a forthcoming book from Brill
I juste received an email from Jason Zuidema (Concordia University) and I want to share the good news: a manuscript on French Protestantism in Canada has been officially accepted by Brill.
Henry Gooren, the general editor, has officially accepted the manuscript into the 'Religion in the Americas' series. -
BBC page on French laïcité (laicity, secularism)
I have recently discovered an interesting BBC page about French laïcité (particuliar French way to deal with Secularism). Here is the link: BBC page on French Laïcité (secularism).
This page rightly emphasizes the importance of French History:
"Because of past precedent it is very easy for the French to interpret any strong religious views as a direct threat to their freedom and way of life".
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Coming soon: a Paris Conference on French Protestantism
Whoever wants to know more about the current state of French Protestantism should notice: a big Conference will be organized in Paris in 2010, from November, the 18th, to November the 20th.
The conference's title is : "French Protestantism : A restructured family". This conference is impulsed by the Protestant Federation of France (FPF). -
ASR Meeting in Atlanta: my draft paper
I recently attended the annual ASR 2010 meeting in Atlanta (Georgia), a great US hub for social scientists working on religion.Along with a few European scholars who were also present, I had the privilege to speak on my current research.
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S.Fath's updated CV in English (2010)
Just before leaving France to the ASR annual Conference in Atlanta (2010), it is more than time to revive this blog.Just in case you have forgotten this blog's author, well, please have a look to this short updated CV.
I did it two monthes ago for the British academic public.
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French ban on face-covering veils (Burqa): some explanations
In a very cruel, unfair and misleading editorial, the New York Times criticized the French will to ban the Burqa in the streets (one should say the Niqab: full radical muslim face-covering veil). This editorial was published on January 26, 2010.The title was: "The Taliban would applaud" (sic).
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2009 Protestant Festival in Strasbourg (Oct., 30 - Nov.,2)
During the whole 2009 year, French Protestant have been celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin, the French-born church reformer who inspired a movement that now has tens of millions of adherents worldwide.
No doubt that this Year's climax has been the huge Protestant Festival organized by the Protestant Federation of France (FPF) in Strasbourg (Alsace, Eastern part of France). -
The rise of French Evangelicals: an article from the Guardian
Lizzy Davies, a journalist from the Guardian, called me a few days ago to ask me some questions about French Evangelicals.Unfortunatly, I was not in my home and I did not have the opportunity to answer in due time.
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Norway best place to live, France 8th, USA 13th (2009)
The annual United Nations Human Development Index has been released today (Monday 5th of October).
According to this index, based on such criteria as life expectancy, literacy, school enrolment and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, Norway is the best place to live in. -
French Baptists celebrate
French Baptist history goes back to 1820, giving the French the oldest unbroken history of any Baptist community on the European continent.There were Baptist churches in France before Baptist churches started in Texas!
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Isle of Lewis, the last Calvinistic stronghold in Europe?
Last month, I had the priviledge to be invited by David W. Bebbington to a conference organized by the Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism in Britain Project.
My topic was an exotic one: I spoke on Isle of Lewis (SCOTLAND), the last Calvinistic stronghold in Europe! -
Diversity in the French media: still some work to be done
In a book published in 2004, I highlighted the fact that many French people just happen to see Black faces on the TV because of…. American movies.Unfortunatly, this is still largely true today.
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Billy Graham's legacy in Europe
On the occasion of today's Billy Graham's 90th Birthday..."Billy Graham is without a doubt the most global American evangelist of the twentieth century. Supported by the BGEA, an evangelism multinational, he travelled the five continents for over half a century.
It is no surprise that Continental Europe has been one of the main targets of his outreach. Isn’t Europe the world’s most secular continent?
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Congratulations to the American people
What a landslide! Barack Obama could not have been more clearly elected on this 4th of November, 2008!Even if around 90% of the French would have voted for him if they could have done so, make no mistake!!!
This is baaaaad news for many of my people...
With G.W. Bush as a US president, it was increasingly easy for us to feel superior...
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Alive again
You must have noticed that this young blog is currently coming back to life, after more than 6 months of hibernation.
Why?
The reason is simple: on a personal level, 2008 has been a very tough year (marked by grief).
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A new book on Evangelicals and Empire
The globalization process brings specific issues: who will control the dynamics of the global capitalist economy? Two famous authors, Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, emphasize in two well-known books, Empire and Multitude, that an imperial trend is currently working.Its aim is domination, domination, and profit.
What about the religious factor? What about the role of Evangelicals in empire?
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United States of... France?
Did you think that since the Iraqi war, France and the US had nothing in common anymore?Far from that.
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Globish: not the only tongue after all
I recently wrote in my French-speaking blog that our president, Nicolas Sarkozy, should not ignore the fact that the worldwide language is now GLOBISH. Which means : global English.I criticized the fact that our president thought it would be useless to broadcast a French TV satellite channel in English. I stand in my positions. However, there is another side of the debate.
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What is French "Laïcité" (laicity)?
Our French President has recently drawn criticism after one of his speeches during his visit to the Vatican.In front of the highest Roman Catholic Clergy, he emphasized the importance of the French "christian roots" (mainly Catholic), while he also pleaded for a "positive" version of "laïcité" (laicity, sometimes translated by secularism).
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Politics and Religion, France/USA
Both France and the USA do like to teach the World about values. These two great democracies share a common emphasis on universal rights, and it is no surprise if the world debate about the Iraqi war in 2003 turned around what France and what the US had to say.How to explain that? By going back to History, particularly in studying the relationship between politics and religion in France and the US. This is what this new book is about.
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Religion and American Politics
In French, we describe a cliche or an extremely common topic as a «tarte à la crème» (cream pie). Sweet and familiar taste but difficult to digest.In this regard, «Religion and Politics in America» is a typical «tarte à la crème». A very good (and important) topic, but hard to digest. Too many books, too many opinions, too many passions.
This particular book, however, deserves to be savoured more than others. -
WELCOME!
Hi! Welcome to this new blog.First of all, this is an open window on French realities, but it is also a window on USA, UK and the Global Village through gallic lenses.
