Religious Diversity

In 2019‐2020, 51% of the population aged 18 to 59 in metropolitan France said they had no religion. This religious disaffiliation has been increasing over the past ten years and concerns 58% of people with no migration background, 19% of immigrants who arrived after the age of 16 and 26% of the descendants of two immigrant parents.

While Catholicism remains the dominant religion (29% of the population declare themselves to be Catholic), Islam confirms its place as the second religion in France (10%). The number of people claiming another Christian religion is also increasing, reaching 9%. The frequency and intensity of religious practice varies by religious affiliation: only 8% of Catholics regularly attend a place of worship, compared to just over 20% of other Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, and 34% of Jews.

Processes of religious transmission between generations shape the religious landscape over the long term: 91% of people raised in a Muslim family follow the religion of their parents. This transmission is also very strong among Jews (84%), but less so among Catholics (67%) and other Christians (69%). All else being equal, growing up in a family of mixed religious or Catholic ancestry is a key factor in the secularization process among the descendants of immigrants.

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Matt Moury

My name is Matt Moury, I am 32 years old and currently a pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Argenteuil (Paris region), a missionary of Christ Church Cambridge (England) and a 2nd year master's student at Faculté Jean Calvin. I also develop resources such as Théologie Pour Tous and Un Café with Henri Blocher.

By the grace of God, I came to the Gospel at the age of 20 through GBUs (University Bible Groups) when I had no Protestant background.

After earning a Masters in Publishing Translation, I served as a missionary in Cambridge with Friends International. It was about sharing the Gospel with foreign students.

Subsequently, I did a long-term pastoral internship at the Evangelical Baptist Church of Lyon while pursuing studies at the Free Faculty of Evangelical Theology.

For a long time, I was attracted by FJC because I like theology and the reformed liturgy, I even took a large number of courses as a free auditor. When my Church union agreed to finance my master 2, I therefore asked to do it in this institution and I was not disappointed!

If God lends me life and health, I would like to continue on the pastoral path while teaching in various contexts.

William Edgar Chair Benefit Concert

March 2023

Save the date!

A magical evening not to be missed...

On Thursday June 1, at 7:00 pm, on the campus of Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA, the Huguenot Fellowship will hold a concert to benefit the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin (FJC) in Aix-en-Provence.

It was two-and-a-half years ago that the board of FJC fittingly named its professorship in Apologetics after our beloved Bill, and the response ever since has been thrilling. Contributions have flowed in from around the world to fund this chair, and we're eager to build on that very good beginning.

Thus, a benefit concert!

And it's quite a concert we've got planned.

Stunning jazz? Check. The incomparable Ruth Naomi Floyd will perform.

Pulsating hip-hop? Check. The lyrical Timothy Brindle will perform.

And those two headliners will be accompanied on the bill by other Friends of Bill who will pitch in their talents.

Also, in the lobby of the auditorium, to enjoy both before and after the show, you'll find a silent auction and Provence-themed delights that will make you think you've left Glenside for Aix without the jet lag!

That's June 1, friends. What better way to usher in the summer months? To borrow from Carousel, no doubt June will be bustin' out all over. (And no, that doesn't mean this song will be performed.)

You'll find enclosed with this letter an invitation card with all the details, including a web address to point you in the right direction. It wouldn't be a bad idea to get your tickets soon, since we're expecting a sellout.

And of course, if you're not able to join us that night (we'll miss you!) let me encourage you to consider a contribution to the Edgar Chair Fund to honor the occasion in absentia. Any part you can play in furthering this amazing endeavor will be much appreciated and will plant seeds that bear eternal fruit.

June 1 promises to be one very special evening for one very good cause.
Join us?
Please do!

Yours,

Paul D. Wolfe, President
The Huguenot Fellowship

To purchase tickets online, click here: edgarchairconcert.eventbrite.com

Richard Conrad

My name is Richard Conrad. I am American and a 2nd year bachelor student at Faculté Jean Calvin. I am married and have five children. I came to Faculté Jean Calvin to work in the field of apologetics in France.

Before I was a theology student, I was a submarine officer in the United States Navy. Then I went with my family to Cameroon to be a computer programmer with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

Between these two periods, we spent a year in the Paris region to learn French. It was then that I discovered that there is a strong need for apologists in the French language.

It is therefore to make my small contribution in this area that I am training at Faculté Jean Calvin. I am supported by an American organization Ratio Christi, whose goal is to promote Christian apologetics on university campuses.

After obtaining my Bachelor in Theology, we plan is to stay in Aix-en-Provence to work with students at Aix-Marseille University.

New African Partnership

Faculté Jean Calvin now offers courses to students in French-speaking Africa through a new partnership.

Responsive to the development of theological education in French-speaking Africa, FJC has long noted the many difficulties encountered by Africans wishing to to come to France to pursue training: obtaining a visa, the lack of financial resources, the impossibility of coming with the family for married students, and the need for certain courses to be adapted to the African context.

Professor Egbert Brink* was convinced that exporting FJC’s online program to French-speaking Africa could solve these problems. Former students of the Faculty of Evangelical Theology of Bangui have joined him in this approach. Now FJC has joined the project by signing a partnership with L’Institut Théologique Evangélique du Sénégal (ITES).

Contextualized Teaching

Going forward, FJC will make most of its undergraduate courses available to ITES. The ITES professors will contextualize them. The teaching of church history, pastoral and ethical questions, and knowledge of religions will focus on Africa. The teaching of dogmatics and biblical subjects will become more relevant as it focuses directly on the African context.

A Promising Start

The geographical position of Senegal, located between North Africa and the Sub-Saharan countries, is of significant importance. About fifteen students from French-speaking countries (Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Congo, Senegal, Togo, Niger and Mali) are currently following FJC’s courses. In addition, thirty-three students from North Africa and Mauritania are following the à la carte modules.

This start is already promising! It’s hoped that not only will these courses be attended by pastors and students in training, but also by moderate Muslims from the closed areas of Central and North Africa.

May God allow this work to be a blessing for French-speaking Africa and the growth of its Christians.

*Egbert Brink is Associate Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at the Faculty of Theology of the University of Kampen/Utrecht, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Faculté John Calvin, and pastor.

Yannick Imbert Videos

Dr. Yannick Imbert, Professor and Occupant of the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin, recently participated in the 2023 Missions Conference of Lansdale Presbyterian Church.

LPC has graciously permitted The Huguenot Fellowship to share two videos of this event.

Chris Kennedy, Lead Pastor, interviews Yannick (starting at 5:30 into the video) Click here.

Yannick’s sermon Desiring the King and His Kingdom Click here