French Evangelicals and weekly Bible reading

Minority Protestant Network's first newsletter

Already presented in these columns, the Minority Protestants Network is a very dynamic research network on Protestantism as a minority religion.

Led by Eugenio Biagini (Prof. Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge), Karina Benazech Wendling (Associate Prof. Université de Lorraine) with the collaboration of Laura Popa (Phd University of Giessen), it just released its first newsletter.

 

Its rich content is available here (link). 

 

Minority Protestant Network

There are many networks on Catholicism but not that many on Protestantism, which leads to a lack of connection between scholars working on Protestantism in its various forms.

The purposes of the Minority Prorestant network are:

1. To promote collaborative, interdisciplinary and non-confessional work among scholars and academic institutions. The goal is having conversations across all disciplines focusing on Protestantism broadly defined.
2. To organise and promote conferences, events, but also publish in academic journals, preferably in open access.
3. Engage with a wider audience and favour online visibility for a broader dissemination of research.

Affiliation is free and allows you to:

• Have your profile displayed on the website,
• Receive the newsletter,
• Share information about your events, publication, or other news on the website,
• Receive opportunities for collabotation in future events

Link

Missionaries and US Diplomacy in the Nineteenth Century

Missionary Diplomacy illuminates the crucial place of religion in nineteenth-century American diplomacy. From the 1810s through the 1920s, Protestant missionaries positioned themselves as key experts in the development of American relations in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and the Middle East.

Missionaries served as consuls, translators, and occasional trouble-makers who forced the State Department to take actions it otherwise would have avoided. Yet as decades passed, more Americans began to question the propriety of missionaries' power. Were missionaries serving the interests of American diplomacy? Or were they creating unnecessary problems?

To know more, read Emily Conroy-Krutz ,Missionary Diplomacy Religion and Nineteenth-Century American Foreign Relations (Cornell University Press, 2024).

Congrats Emily!

Link

 

Christianity's American Fate

Christianity’s American Fate (2022) situates the ascendancy of conservative Evangelicalism within the broader transformation of American religion.

"How did American Christianity become synonymous with conservative white evangelicalism? This nuanced and informative work by a leading historian of modern America traces the rise of the evangelical movement and the decline of mainline Protestantism’s influence on American life.

In Christianity’s American Fate, David Hollinger shows how the Protestant establishment, adopting progressive ideas about race, gender, sexuality, empire, and divinity, liberalized too quickly for some and not quickly enough for others. After 1960, mainline Protestantism lost members from both camps―conservatives to evangelicalism and progressives to secular activism".

This book may be also taken as a contribution to the polarization thesis defended, in France, by Philippe Portier, Jean-Paul Willaime and Alain Dieckhoff.

A must-read.

A major book on the Geneva Revival

The nineteenth-century international religious movement known as the Reveil had a major impact on Protestantism, and particularly on Evangelicalism. That impact is still evident today. Yet as a multi-faceted phenomenon, this movement has not received its due share of scholarly attention. This book offers a collection of essays exploring the international dimensions of the Genevan strand of the Reveil, providing an overview of events and trends, outlining the careers of some of its key figures, and highlighting some of the areas in which it made a contribution to contemporary society.

COngratulation to Jean Decorvet and the whole team for this major book.

Link.

Black is a church ?

Black Is a Church: Christianity and the Contours of African American Life

The title of this new Josef Sorett's book may be questionable. However, the content is largely worth reading.

"Across four chapters that proceed as chronologically organized episodes, Black is a Church maps the ways in which black American culture and identity has been animated by a particular set of, often unmarked, Protestant logics. In doing so, the book charts the mutually reinforcing discourses of racial authenticity and religious orthodoxy that have made Christianity constitutive of the content and forms of blackness."

Link

'Fundamentalism and American Culture', third edition updated

'Fundamentalism and American Culture' (Marsden) has long been considered a classic in religious history, and to this day remains unsurpassed. Now available in a new edition, this highly regarded analysis takes us through the full history of the origin and direction of one of America's most influential religious movements.

In the twenty-first century, militantly conservative white evangelicals have become more prominent than ever in American life. Marsden's volume, which now takes the history through the end of the Trump administration, remains the essential starting point for understanding the degree to which that militancy has been shaped by the fundamentalist heritage of the twentieth century. 

To read more about this third and updated edition, click here (link)

Exorcizing the Spirit of Protestantism (Ethiopia)

Diego Maria Malara's fascinating article discusses the exorcism of Protestant spirits from Ethiopian Orthodox hosts in Addis Ababa.

This controversial ritual is animated by injunctions to draw essential distinctions and boundaries between Protestantism and Orthodoxy, at a time of religious liberalisation. The expulsion of Protestant spirits provides an occasion to reaffirm the centrality of local Orthodoxy to Ethiopian identity,... but at what cost ?

Read here (link)

Protestantism in Spain: tribute to Frances Luttikhuizen

As Protestantism (mainly Evangelical/Pentecostal) is growing in Spain, let's not forget Frances Luttikhuizen, an English Philology lecturer, writer, and researcher of Protestantism, who passed away in Barcelona this last summer 2022.

Her main fields of interest included the history of translation, linguistic awareness, Cervantes' works, and the Spanish Reformation.

Among Luttikhuizen’s most important works is the book España y la Reforma Protestante (Spain and the Protestant Reformation, 2018, 468p (link), of which Spanish theologian José Moreno Berrocal has said it is “a work that represents a before and after in the studies of the Reformation in Spain (...).

There is a wealth of data and ideas that will make this book a constant and obligatory reference work”. 

Some reviews of this book are available, mostly in Spanish, including in this History of Philosophy publication (link)

Thank you Evangelical Focus for this obituary (link)

A Park renamed in Paris to honor Protestants

The city of Paris has decided to make more visible its commemoration of the St Bartholomew massacre of Protestants 450 years ago on the 24th of August 1572, by renaming a park in the city centre. 

This inauguration will be held tomorrow, on Friday the 16th of September, 2022.

Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, will be speaking.

As I plan to attend, expect pictures to be posted on this Flickr album (link).

Happy Summer 2022

(Photo glass ceiling of the Library of the History of French Protestantism, SHPF in Paris)

Happy bright summer to all!

And looking forward to seeing you back on this blog in September 2022.

(in the meantime, you can continue to follow me on the Twitter feed, @SebFath, https://twitter.com/sebfath)

Manufacturing Huguenot identity (Cabanel)

Patrick Cabanel (EPHE-PSL) is the most prolific Historian of Protestantism in today's France, with many major contributions. His last book deals with identity making.

At the beginning of the XIXth Century, the French Huguenots had emerged very weakened from centuries of persecution. But still alive ! These Protestants became specialists in commemoration, in the making of places of memory, of museums, emphasizing heroes and heroines. In doing so, they transformed the identity of the group: it was no longer just religious, as it has been the case for three centuries; it became historical, memorial, cultural.

It is increasingly disconnected from practice and belief, even from endogamy, and capable of being transmitted over generations.

A must-read book, which would deserve a translation in english.

Link

Knoxic Masculinity? The Scottish exception in female religious leadership

Female religious leadership in Protestant churches is trendy. However, things don't always go smooth.

The Protestant landscape displays very contrasting trends.

If we consider the British isles, situations vary enormously.

Just to take an example, England is way ahead Scotland in terms of Female access to Pastoral leadership.

How come ? Let's consider the Baptist case. The first English Baptist female minister was ordained in 1918.

In Scotland, the same happened in..... 2009 !!!!

The Scottish Kirk (the main Presbyterian body in Scotland) did no much better. The main Presbyterian Church in Scotland ordained its first female minister in..... 1969 (40 years after France. Madeleine Blocher Saillens was ordained as a Baptist minister in Paris as early as in 1929).

Why  is it like this ? Why SCOTLAND, whose History is so full of Freedom fighters, is so way behind England, France and many countries in terms of female religious leadership ?

One BIG reason may be rooted in far history.

Actually, John Knox (1514-1572), a huge towering figure in Scotland's religious history, played a pivotal role in the implementation of Protestant Reformation in Scotland.

And he was very much AGAINST any kind of female religious leadership, as this article ot the Scotsman reminds us (link).

Knoxic masculinity ?

Non-violence in French Protestantism and its literary translations

The French website CAIRN is an amazing ressource, including an international edition which allows many scholars to have an insight into top-level publications in french.

Here is an example with Patrick Cabanel's article about Non-violence in French Protestantism during World War One.

"French protestants played a part in the emergence of radical pacifism and non-violence during the First World War. The values and actions of Bertin Aguillon and Jules-Philippe Guiton, two young methodist ministers who died in 1914 and 1917, are well documented, the latter having kept a diary that has recently been published. This is not the case of Cévenol Roux and the Berthalon du Dauphiné brothers who, for many years, took refuge in the mountains. (...)  Patrick Cabanel suggests opening this chapter on protestant radical pacifism, between history and literature."

Link

Gills Teulié on South Africa and religion : the French scholar to read

FW de Klerk (1936-2021), the former president of South Africa and the last white person to lead the country, has died (link). This is the occasion to remember how difficult has been the path to peace in South Africa.

Protestant Faith has played an ambiguous role, torn apart between the temptation to legitimize Apartheid, and the emphasis on Grace and Freedom for all.  In the French-speaking world, no one more than Dr Gilles Teulié has analyzed South Africa's religious challenges. His brilliant studies on the religious roots of Apartheid are a must-read.

Link.

British Protestant Missions, Europe and "imaginary colonialism"

"This (excellent!) 2021 book is the first account of British Protestant conversion initiatives directed towards continental Europe between 1600 and 1900.

Continental Europe was considered a missionary land—another periphery of the world, whose centre was imperial Britain. British missions to Europe were informed by religious experiments in America, Africa, and Asia, rendering these offensives against Europe a true form of "imaginary colonialism".

British Protestant missionaries often understood themselves to be at the forefront of a civilising project directed at Catholics (and sometimes even at other Protestants). Their mission was further reinforced by Britain becoming a land of compassionate refuge for European dissenters and exiles. This book engages with the myth of International Protestantism, questioning its early origins and its narrative of transnational belonging, while also interrogating Britain as an imagined Protestant land of hope and glory."

Link.

British Evangelicals, German Pietists & Revival in Hungary

This article demonstrates how British evangelicals, German pietists, and Hungarian Protestants sought to ‘educate’ the masses outside the educational framework of ecclesiastical and state structures within the Hungarian Kingdom in the nineteenth century. More specifically the study intends to offer a concise overview of the history of Protestants who spread the gospel through the distribution of affordable Bibles, New Testaments and Christian tracts. 

To read more, click here (link)

 

France: at least flowers are not locked down

Visiting the French Protestant Historical Society (SHPF), rue des Saints Pères, Paris, on the day French Prime Minister announced a third lock-down.

France: christians unite against increased State control

Major representatives of the three branches of French Christianity, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox speak out in a column published in the daily Le Figaro yesterday.

They warn about the current "separatism bill" and the threat of an increased State control over churches and religions.

For them, freedom is at stake.

Link.

A major book about the main French reformed church (ERF)

This is the first work devoted to the history of the Reformed Church of France, from its rebirth in the 20th century on the ashes of the Concordant Church to the union between the Reformed and Lutherans in 2013.

This Reformed Church embodies a particular presence in the world, carried by a strong identity.

A must-read book édited by a prestigious publishing house, which hopefully may be translated in English, at least partially ! Congrats to the authors.

Link

French Baptist Bicentenary

Did you know that there were Baptist churches in France before Baptist churches started in Texas ?

Baptist beginnings trace back to 1820, with several Believer's baptisms in Nomain (North of France). One year after (1821), the first French Baptist congregation started in Aix, a very small village near Nomain.

Due to the current pandemia, French Baptists could not really mark this 200th Anniversary properly. However, this French Baptist bicentenary remains a significant step towards a more diverse French religious landscape.

As I did study this particular French Baptist history for my Ph.D (defended in Sorbonne EPHE in 1998), I've decided to review (and improve) an old Powerpoint presentation which explains the four steps of French Baptist implantation, from 1800s to 1950s.

Although this presentation is in french, the many pictures and sources may be of some interest to English-speaking lovers of Protestant History.

Link to download (the PDF file is BIG)

French Evangelicals celebrate 10 years of CNEF

Do you know the CNEF ? In French, it is Conseil National des Evangéliques de France (National Council of French Evangelicals).

Created 10 years ago after merging previous French Evangelical networks, this body represents at least 60% of the One Million French Evangelicals. It just celebrated its 10th Anniversary last tuesday.

From all France, more than 500 connected and registered. The French Interior Minister, Mr Gerald Darmanin, whished a "happy birthday" to all, through a taped video message.  

 

THe French weekly Réforme has got a new director

Founded in 1945, Réforme is the main French protestant weekly.

Notoriously very close to the French Presbyterian identity, rooted in the Huguenot past, Réforme has regularly struggled to widen its horizon.

Widen, enlarge, why ?

Why ? Because a weekly without new readers has no much future.

Réforme's main concern is the medium age of its readers: close to the retirement age-limit.

How to attract the new generations, which are impacted by Evangelicalism, but also Ecumenism and Secularism?

Nathalie Leenhardt, the former Réforme's director, did a great job maintaining Réforme's quality offer over the last years, which have been so challenging.

Sunday schools movement in France: read Anne Ruolt

Sunday schools were first set up in the 18th century in Protestant England to provide education to working children. Since then, the movement spread worldwide. Some very insightful researches have been conducted.

For England, let's mention Stephen Orchard, John H. Y. Briggs, The Sunday School Movement : Studies in the Growth and Decline of Sunday Schools, Londres, Paternoster, 2007.

For the United-States, see (among others) Bergler, Thomas E. The Juvenilization of American Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012.  

The French Protestant landscape has been also impacted early on by the Sunday school movement. Thanks to  (picture), who conducted several researches on Education and Protestantism, a very complete synthesis is available: Anne Ruolt, L’École du Dimanche en France au XIXe siècle, pour croître en sagesse et en grâce, collection religion – sciences humaines, Paris, l’Harmattan, 2012.

This book would largely deserve a translation. Dr Anne Ruolt, who recently defended successfully her habilitation thesis to supervise research,  is currently part of the GSRL research team (Paris, France).

White Catholics for Trump (2020)

According to the 2020 French media, it seems that Trump's religious support only comes from White Evangelicals. That's wrong.

While it is not deniable that US white Evangelicals remain Trump's strongest religious ally (with an approval rate around 75%), let's not forget that a strong majority of US White Catholics do support Donald Trump too.

According to the last research released by the Pew Forum on the 15 of sept, 2020, 59% of US White Catholics plan to vote for Trump at the 2020 US presidential elections.

This strong White Catholic support for Trump would probably be even stronger if Joe Biden, Trump's Democrat opponent, was not himself a Catholic.

This reminds us that the battle Biden / Trump is certainly not a Catholic / Protestant battle.

The drawing line has to be placed elsewhere (the "value voter" parameter, and the Christian nationalism parameter).

Link.

A "must-"read": the French Virtual Museum of Protestantism

Did you know that Luther’s ideas began to spread in France from 1520 onwards. The authorities did their best to oppose them. From 1540, under Jean Calvin’s influence, a new Church took shape, but separate from the Roman Catholic Church.

To know more, just click here (link), to reach the French-based Virtual Museum of Protestantism, an excellent website dedicated to spread scholarly information about Protestantism, France and worldwide.

Many sections are carefully crafted in English, so English-speaking readers have no excuse missing them!

Link.

"French evangelical networks before 1555: proto-churches?"

"Over eight hundred Reformed churches sprang into existence in France between 1555 and 1562. Their advent occurred after a thirty-five year period of buildup, during which evangelical doctrines gained adherents throughout the kingdom and local networks formed out of which those churches would coalesce. (..) why and how these conventicles grew and then suddenly metamorphosed into well-organized churches remains largely a mystery"

Thanks to Jonathan Reid, this mystery is solved now. In a Open edition full text version now available, let's read his contribution "French evangelical networks before 1555: proto-churches?", in Philip Benedict, Silvana Seidel Menchi & Alain Tallon (ed.), LA RÉFORME EN FRANCE ET EN ITALIE, Ecole Française de Rome, 2007 (p.105-124).

 

 

French Protestant History on iTunes

Who wants to discover French protestants in an easy, user-friendly way? Wait a minute, iTunes has something for you. The Protestant Library was created as an extension of the Internet site www.museeprotestant.org, of the Virtual Museum of French Protestantism (Pasteur Eugène Bersier Foundation of French Protestant History).

The first volume, "History of Protestant France" exposes the main characteristics of Protestant France from the XVIth to XXth century: of Calvin's time to the Edict of Nantes and to the 1905 law, including the period of the “Desert”. Click here for more (link)

How many Protestants today in the world ? 800 millions

This is one of the many questions the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life helps to answer, due to a huge world survey on contemporary Christianity.

This comprehensive demographic study of more than 200 countries finds that there are 2.18 billion Christians of all ages around the world, representing nearly a third of the estimated 2010 global population of 6.9 billion. To know more, click here.