Do you go to Church ?

[alittlebitfrench]

France is a very Catholic country...especially in rural parts.

Do you think the average British person who moves to France goes to Church/Mass ?

[woolybanana]

A few, mainly older Brits perhaps but why take up a habit you did not have in the Youkay?

[mint]

Yes, have been to funerals and weddings and also the first couple of Christmases after arrival to see what sort of hymns the French have.  Sorry to tell you, ALBF, English carols and hymns are much more varied and a great deal jollier[:P]

The mass itself still bears some resemblance to those I attended as a child.  In those days, before Vatican II, mass was in latin so we didn't understand much of it anyway.

When I went on the compostelle, I had the words of the Lord's Prayer in Spanish so that I could join in but I don't know the French words for that.

In many rural communes these days, the priest is shared around a few parishes and so the traditional midnight mass is a rare thing to find.  In fact, you'd have to read Daudet's Les trois messes basses to get a flavour of what it was like.  Lovely little tale by the way, if you haven't read it already[:D]

[alittlebitfrench]

The perfect way to integrate in France is by going to church.

You don't even have to learn French !!!!

Is 'believing' important ?

[lindal1000]

Personally no..but not many of my French friends do either. However our local catholic church lets the protestants use the building once a week so if I was religious I could choose. The local priest is Polish.

[richard51]

Believing is not important at all.

"Church" is merely a way of social manipulation of the population. Just think why the C of E was created. nothing to do with belief whatsoever

Just think of the religious evangelical nutcases in the south of USA. I suspect most only go to the clapperboard churches to hear the twaddle spouted there because there is nowhere else to go on a Sunday and is the only place to congregate.

.

[AnOther]

Whatever the flavour all religion is pagan nonsense and the biggest evil visited on mankind bar none.

The only time we set foot in Church is for weddings or funerals and then while we will stand out of respect when necessary we absolutely will not sing hymns or bow/kneel to pray, we just stand or sit quietly and let the rest get on with it.

[Chancer]

Peace be with you  ANother [:D]

 

Like you I had never been to mass, mess or Sunday service but my last girlfriend was devouée so I would go to mess with her, on a visit to the UK we went to my local C of E Church Sunday service and it was little different, peace be with you, la paix soit avec vous et al.

 

Taking her there was memorable, she was a very educated girl and I guessed she must have studied English at a high level, she never spoke it to me although a couple of times when I didnt understand  she would substitute an English word, often very advanced vocabulary which gave me an inkling,.

 

During the UK visit she did not utter a word to any of my friends and family only a stunted yes or no in reply. After the service the vicar asked her if she had enjoyed it, did she understand all or any of it and I was truly gobsmacked when she replied at length in perfect English, far better than my French is even now.

[Chancer]

I know how to say grace in French in several different ways also, that can be quite an asset if you are invited to eat with a strong religious family.

 

Dont tell them that you are a Hatter though, mad, brown or any other kind [6]

[YCCMB]

"France is a Catholic country" and there was I, thinking that laicité was the cornerstone of the state.

Anyway, if I were Catholic, or rather if I weren't atheist, I'd have a job here. There's a mass in our village church one Saturday a month so obviously demand isn't especially high. Just read the village newsletter which mentions that a new curate has been appointed. He s shared between 15 local parishes so I'm guessing that if I did want to meet people, church isn't going to expand my circle of acquaintances much, if at all.

[mint]

They like those religious jours fériés though, don't they?[;-)]

[BritinBretagne]

It’s the same in the depths of my part of rural France. An English friend asked a devout churchgoing neighbour about the times of midnight mass in our area. She said that she would need to check, went home and returned with a table showing a dozen local churches and the services over the festive season. They were spread around to allow the priest to be in as many of his churches as possible. Strangely the midnight mass wasn’t in the large well known church in the nearby large town but in a rural church in a village about 10km away. We talked about church congregations and she explained how the numbers had shrunk enormously. Most locals only attended church for weddings and funerals these days and the peripatetic priest system worked well; not only did it allow many of the local churches to remain active but there were enough people willing to travel to wherever the mass was on a particular day to ensure that there was always a reasonable turnout. 24 people together in one church being much better than the same number divided between 12 locations.

It would appear that although the Catholic Church is important in France the rural French people no longer flock in droves to church. Another lesson learned by the OP?

[Gardian]

I am an aetheist, but married to a Catholic and our two sons were ‘raised’ in that kind of environment, i.e. schools etc.

We don’t attend church here, although our elder son and DIL always do when they’re over - the local priest married them 8 years ago & a wonderful occasion it was too. His obvious joy and message of goodwill when we told him of their son’s birth was really quite touching.

I’ll just add a few things. First, I accept totally the (bad) history of religion - in a way, the least said, the better. Second, three of the nicest, kindest people I’ve ever met in my life have been priests. Third, no mention of the words ‘Christian’ or ‘Christianity’ anywhere in this thread so far.

[alittlebitfrench]

Well my little offspring and OH are devoted catholics. The kids also go to caty (Sunday school but not on a Sunday) etc. Their Aunty is a nun in Paris and has been for 60 years or so.

When they go to church they have to go early to get a seat. People talk about dwindling numbers but catholicism is well and truly alive in France.

I am not religious, but I love chuches. One of the nicest things about driving around France is seeing how the architecture changes from region to region.

[BritinBretagne]

Others have commented on the actual situation in their locality. Your generalisations do not alter their facts.

[Patf]

Most of the local farming famlies here don't go to church. If anything, they seem to worship Nature.

In our previous village we once went to a wedding in the Mairie, and afterwards they had a couple of actors dressed as priest and altar boy, doing a comic skit of the communion service.  Everyone was in fits of laughter. I was surprised, but was told most people despised the hypocrisy of the Catholic church now.

OTOH one Sunday morning we were driving through Toulouse and passed a few churches where crowds of families were just coming out.

[alittlebitfrench]

We are back to the rural vs town/city debate.

You just can't get away from it Betty.

It would be a very sad day if the local churchs in rural villages closed and went into disrepair.

I dare say that most British would worry more about swimming pools, UK TV or late deliveries of ASDA food from the UK than worrying about churches. LOL.

[YCCMB]

I don't go to church .. in either country...but I do go to the church ( and that particular grammatical nuance is important) for the odd event, apart from funerals etc. Our local church is a very pretty 13th century affair. It is used a great deal for concerts and spectacles, particularly for lots of those "nuits de La patrimoine" events that certainly happen in our neck of the woods across the summer. In common with most locals here, I can appreciate the building without having to subscribe to what it stands for.

On a recent visit to Rome, I visited more churches in 3 days than I've visited in 30 years. Most were devoid of actual worshippers but pretty busy with tourists.

It's precisely the use of churches for things other than religious stuff which will prevent them from falling into disrepair.

And no offence to any believers, Catholic or otherwise, but I generally prefer to join clubs or sign up for activities where I will meet like-minded people or those with whom there's a chance I'll have something in common. And that kinda rules out religion.

As an aside .."see, Betty, you can't get away from it". No: YOU can't get away from it. I don't give a s h I t about it, but it's your sole topic of conversation, however you dress it up. And you are really the only person to whom it appears to matter.

[idun]

I will happily visit any church, cathedral etc to see the architecture. For a service, I shall never go to one again in my life.

At funerals at church, I wait outside and pay my respects to the coffin going in and out. And at the Crem, just it going in!

We had friends visiting us when we lived in France and she is very devout and I had, as they say, the devil's own job finding a service for her to attend and in the end, couldn't find anywhere in our  rural France!

When my french neighbour's wife died, he could not find a priest for the service and ended up with a lay preacher doing it........ obviously not so popular in some of the Alpine parts of the Rhone Alpes.

There was a thriving Cof E expat community in a city not toooo far from us....... I did meet a few of these people and they were simply not 'my type' at all, so steered clear.

In my french village, I did not know anyone who attended church. No idea who did, as the church was not on my usual route. I do know that the commune had to pay for the upkeep, grrrrrrr, and we had problems getting them to pay for repairs to the school......................![:@]

[YCCMB]

You couldn't make this up anyway. A thread that starts by telling us what a Catholic country France is...and here, I quote: "especially in rural parts"...

Now it seems, with many who actually live in rural parts having totally disproved the OP, we are told that in fact, metropolitan churches are the ones bursting at the seams with devout French city dwellers.

If only any of us had any idea what this is supposed to prove. For me, it seems like another excellent reason for keeping away from conurbations. At least on Sundays.

[alittlebitfrench]

We have loads of relatives in rural parts that go to church. Whenever we go on holiday the churches are always busy.

When we lived rural (7 years ago) we lived opposite the church and it was always busy.

Churches wherever I go seem to be well kept to that is evidence alone to suggest they are not abandoned.

Not sure I would base the views of Brits living in rural parts as safe evidence of the demise of Christianity in France. Especially when most seem to be non religious and spend their days watching the Jeremy Kyle show and Strictly come dancing.

But whatever.

I tell you what, when we go skiing next month, the church there will be full to bursting. How does that work then ?

[Patf]

Open your mind, albf.

There are many more realities than just yours.

[alittlebitfrench]

Sorry Patf

I was just wondering how people who claim not to be religious, who admit they would step into a church know about church attendances in France.

Very strange methinks.

What I have noticed though is the number immigrants/expats moving to France on forums searching out Catholic schools in France because they would rather send their kids to these schools than state schools. Why do they do that then ?

[woolybanana]

Because some rural state schools are rough, have very low standards and are full of no hope, go nowhere kids. Catholic schools provide better standards and security, apparently.

[BritinBretagne]

The church in my commune is beautiful, in good condition and the grounds are always well kept. It has one service every two weeks which a handful of people attend. The condition of the church and the size of the congregation have no correlation. ALBF does not know many areas of France. well so can only use his limited experiences to form his judgements. Its a shame he has to override other poster’s knowledge. It’s interesting that he likes architecture, he would love the Dordogne.