Religion
Perhaps the most striking of the legal differences between France and Alsace-Moselle is the absence in Alsace-Moselle of a separation of church and state, even though a constitutional right of freedom of religion is guaranteed by the French government. Alsace-Moselle is still governed by a pre-1905 law established by the Concordat of 1801 which provides for the public subsidy of the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Calvinist Church and the Jewish religion, as well as providing for public education in these faiths; although parents are allowed to refuse religious education for their children. The clergy for these religions are paid for by the state. Catholic bishops are named by the President of the French Republic following proposal by the Pope. The public University of Strasbourg has courses in theology and is famous for its teaching of Protestant theology.
This situation is unusual in a country like France where church and state are more strictly separated than in most other nations. There is debate over whether the second largest religion in France, Islam, should enjoy comparable status with the four official religions.
Read more about this topic: Local Law In Alsace-Moselle
Famous quotes containing the word religion:
“Religion is this. They act as in religion that is to say they neither wait nor stay away. Religion is best as it is. If they like it at all they like it all, not only more than once but often.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
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—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“There’s no reason to bring religion into it. I think we ought to have as great a regard for religion as we can, so as to keep it out of as many things as possible.”
—Sean O’Casey (1884–1964)