nov 08, 2009

The rise of French Evangelicals: an article from the Guardian

Guardian paper.jpgLizzy Davies, a journalist from the Guardian, called be 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.

This did not prevent Lizzy Davies from kindly quoting me, recycling an old bit of interview given to the French daily Le monde.

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oct 05, 2009

Norway best place to live, France 8th, USA 13th (2009)

viking.jpgThe 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.

 

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sep 05, 2009

French Baptists celebrate

baptism.jpgFrench 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!



A French Baptist Historical Society (the SHDBF, or Société d'Histoire et de Documentation Baptistes de France) was founded in 2000 at a meeting in the historic chapel in the rue de Lille in the centre of Paris, with as "founder members" the three groups of French Baptists (Federation, Association, and then independent Eglise du Tabernacle, which has since joined the Association).

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déc 08, 2008

Diversity in the French media: still some work to be done

images.jpgIn 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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nov 07, 2008

Billy Graham's legacy in Europe

images.jpegOn 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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nov 05, 2008

Congratulations to the American people

264096644.jpgWhat 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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oct 10, 2008

United States of... France?

us_france_0921.jpgDid you think that since the Iraqi war, France and the US had nothing in common anymore?

Far from that.

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jan 02, 2008

What is French "Laïcité" (laicity)?

31ef289af858a5b21b7a1472c94e38e3.jpgOur 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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déc 14, 2007

Politics and Religion, France/USA

cc50817fc80d50baca38bc531818a9a8.jpgBoth 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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déc 01, 2007

WELCOME!

5c7b3818141380a90679e32f9ced9f4f.jpgHi! 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.

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