Evangelical Christian bodies in France have released public statements that the Biblical concept of families is the basic tenet for society, for learning social relations and to protect the vulnerable such as children, as latest figures show a sharp decrease in popularity for marriage in the country.
Statistics published by Statista Research Department on July 23 reveal that the proportion of married couples in France has been declining since the mid-2000s. In 2008, the figure was 47.8 percent, which then dropped to 42.5 percent in 2018. There were 235,000 marriages in the country in 2018, compared to 278,000 such unions in 2004.
“Marriage does not appear to be the preferred mode of union of French citizens, while the divorce rate remains high,” commented Statistica.
France has one of the highest divorce rates in Europe, according to Statistica: seven percent of the population was divorced in 2006, which increased to nine percent in 2018. The share of single people has also increased although no detailed figures were available.
A trend has also been noticed in civil partnerships, first implemented in 1999, which “are getting quite popular”, according to Statistica.
“In 2017, more than 193,000 civil unions have been celebrated in the country, regardless of the genders of the two partners. Despite the legalization of gay marriage in 2013, the number of same-sex marriages keeps being rather low in France.”
Gay marriage was introduced in France on May 17, 2013 but the figures have dropped from 10,000 gay weddings in 2014 to 7,000 same-sex marriages in 2023.
The Conseil national des évangéliques de France (CNEF) issued a statement on July 9 that within a changing society in the country, evangelical Protestants are still committed to the concept of marriage, as taught by the Bible: namely an exclusive and permanent union between a man and a woman.
“Their convictions on sexuality and family composition do not prevent them from respectfully welcoming couples and families in their diversity into their places of worship,” said the CNEF statement.
It stressed that evangelicals are committed to social action, and working for the welfare of vulnerable people such as children and older people.
“Attentive to the suffering that couples and families may experience, evangelical Protestants work for the protection and well-being of children. They strive to support older people, fight against domestic and family violence and against all forms of abuse within families.”
The issue of protecting children in faith communities is understandably sensitive in France in light of a 2,500 page report by the Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church (CIASE) in Oct. 2021. It revealed the sexual abuse of 216,000 children by priests, deacons, monks and nuns in the country’s Catholic church over a 70-year period between 1950 to 2020.
When abuse incidents by other Catholic church workers were included, the figure of abuse incidents increased to 330,000 affected children. Catholic authorities were subsequently accused of a cover-up regarding the scale of the issue.
“Faced with this scourge, for a very long time the Catholic Church’s immediate reaction was to protect itself as an institution and it has shown complete, even cruel, indifference to those having suffered abuse.” said Jean-Marc Sauvé, president of CIASE, at the time of presenting the report.
Archbishop Éric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the French bishops’ conference at the time expressed “my shame, my horror” at the findings of the report.
Following the Catholic abuse scandal publicised in 2021, CNEF and Protestant members made a public commitment to combat any sexual abuse if reported in its own member churches and organisations, via a Stop-Abuse Service.
Meanwhile, Françoise Caron, President of the Fédération Nationale des Associations Familiales Protestantes (AFP), a leading Protestant family association in France, told Christian Daily International that the family occupied a biblically central place in God’s plan for humanity.
“As early as Genesis, God creates man and woman and unites them, thus instituting the first family (Genesis 2:24),” Caron said. “This union is intended to reflect the loving and faithful relationship between God and His people. However, the ideal family does not escape the consequences of sin and quickly becomes dysfunctional, a source of great suffering.
“The family is also seen as the privileged setting for the procreation and education of children, in accordance with God's command to 'grow and multiply' (Genesis 1:28). In the New Testament, the teachings of Jesus and the apostles reinforce the concept of the family by emphasizing the importance of love, respect and mutual responsibility among its members (Ephesians 5:22-33, Colossians 3:18-21).
“From a Christian perspective, the family is called to pass on the biblical story and nurture faith through actions that bear witness to God's love in the world. It is also called to care for the most vulnerable, becoming a family for those who are deprived or excluded.”
