France
Most French people belong nominally to the Roman church, but the number of practicing Catholics is possibly not more than 15 per cent in a population of 46 million. The strong and sometimes bitter anticlerical movement, which in 1905 led to a total separation of church and state, has cooled down to a large extent, despite the Communist increase. Roman Catholicism is more enlightened in France than it is in Spain or Latin America. Apparent at present is a kind of biblical renewal, and this is coupled with a great interest in the ecumenical movement.
Protestants comprise less than two per cent of the country. The recovery of Alsace-Lorraine in 1918 meant an addition of about 300,000 to the 500,000 who could be counted before World War I. 400,000 Protestants are members of the Reformed Church, 300,000 are Lutherans, and the remaining 100,000 represent Evangelical Reformed, Free churches, Methodists, Baptists, Pentecostalists, Mennonites, Plymouth Brethren, and Salvation Army. There are, however, large areas totally devoid of evangelical ministry.
In 1938 two groups of Reformed churches (except for a minority who remained Evangelical Reformed), many Free churches, and the majority of Methodists joined and created the new Reformed Church of France, with no strictly enforced creed, so that the union displays various theological tendencies. Today there are those who would like to unite the different branches of the Protestant family in one church, but most evangelicals look with some suspicion upon this project. The things most needed today are:
1. A loyal stand for the Gospel, combined with a clear vision of the dangers of compromising with Romanism and modernism.
2. An enthusiastic proclamation of the Gospel. Although, apart from Baptists, Plymouth Brethren and Pentecostalists, no large increase in numbers is to be noted, the French public is ready to listen to the Good News of Jesus Christ, as has been seen in various evangelistic campaigns in recent years.
Fact and Faith Films are now available in France, and through this medium hundreds of people not normally accessible are being reached.
J. M. NICOLE
[Jules Marcel Nicole is currently Associate Director of the Nogent Bible Institute and Professor at the Evangelical Seminary, Aix-en-Province.]
Belgium
Astride the weld uniting Flemish and Walloon Belgians, Brussels is emerging from the struggles of two conflicting cultures as a symbol of the will to unite, and the probable capital of the European Economic Community. In a country it has dominated for centuries, the Roman church is reversing its field in the face of major losses to materialism. If Protestants could hardly hold a job or rent a house in many towns a generation ago, in 1962 a Roman Catholic weekly speaks of them as “separated brethren,” regrets the excesses of the past, and prays for their return to the fold. Evangelicals are uniting on the practical level as never before; nothing like the Hutchings campaign had been seen in Brussels since the Reformation. Participating were a few churches whose ministers 40 years ago repudiated the Gospel. Today evangelicals find ministerial gatherings warm but lacking in discernment. On four occasions recently Protestant ministers told a converted priest what a pity it was he left the Roman church. Since Protestants still do not make up half of one per cent, Belgium’s unbelieving millions rank high, as a wide open mission field.
JOHN C. WINSTON
[John C. Winston is Principal of Brussels Bible Institute and Director of Belgian Gospel Mission.]
Switzerland
With over one million inhabitants French-speaking Switzerland has a slight Protestant majority, most of which are members of the official Presbyterian Church and follow the tradition of the great reformers Calvin and Farel. There are also various other denominations, some very active. Swiss Protestantism has a great influence in all the countries where French is spoken—much greater than would be supposed from the country’s size—international church organizations in Geneva, theological literature, missionary and social action. Rapid expansion in Lausanne and Geneva attract many Roman Catholic Italian and Spanish workers employed in the erection of new buildings. But the church is alive to evangelistic opportunities: Billy Graham and Maurice Ray have led successful crusades here. Many persons lead an intense religious life, but the high living standard requires watchfulness and boldness.
BORIS DECORVET
[Boris Decorvet is a native of Switzerland and holds the B.D. in France and Switzerland (currently in Versoix).]
