Debates in regards to the place of Christianity in public life frequently resurface in Europe. Recently, after the Pentecost Monday holiday, the mayor of Grenoble, France, sparked controversy when he argued French society has evolved beyond religious days off. Pointing to the big variety of secular individuals who don’t follow the church calendar and Muslims who have a good time different religious days, Éric Piolle proposed removing Christian holidays from the civic calendar.
The French currently have a good time Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Pentecost Monday, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, All Saint’s Day, and Christmas. Those days off may very well be replaced, Piolle said, by days to commemorate key moments in French history.
We asked five evangelical leaders from French-speaking Europe: Should Christians embrace proposals to switch public religious holidays with secular ones?
Pierre-Sovann Chauny, systematic theology professor on the Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix-en-Provence:
No. Removing Christian religious feasts from the civil calendar must be rejected. We need to take care of an awareness of what French history owes to Christianity and will proceed to emphasise the general public character of the spiritual lifetime of Christians. These holidays also provide Christians with opportunities to bear witness all year long to the life, death, resurrection, and reign of Christ. Finally, the existence of those holidays consolidates our religious freedom. Their removal could, quite the opposite, be a step toward persecution.
Fabien Fourcasse, pastor of the Evangelical Baptist Church of Amiens:
I’d say no. It’s our tradition. Besides that, the presence of non secular holidays on the calendar expresses something of God’s plan for society. Too often, believers confine themselves to God’s plan for the person. By celebrating these holidays publicly, we indicate that God has a plan for the entire of creation: humankind, but in addition animals, plants, minerals, and so forth. But promoting the presence of Christianity in the general public sphere calls on believers to proclaim and live in keeping with God’s plan, and permit more people to know Christ.
Victoria Déclaudure, creator and Assemblies of God pastor in Angers:
I’d say yes. No biblical text requires evangelical believers to have a good time any particular day. Some of the proposed secular holidays, resembling the celebration of the top of slavery or the advance of girls’s rights, would resonate very positively with the gospel. It’s hard to assume getting rid of Christmas or Easter, though, that are deeply rooted in European culture and history, and that are celebrated by everyone in keeping with their very own sensibilities.
Jean-René Moret, creator and pastor of the Evangelical Church of Cologny, Switzerland:
Yes. There are not any mandatory holidays for Christians, in keeping with the New Testament. Following Paul, one can consider all days as equal, or concentrate to particular days (Rom. 14:5). The situation where Christians have been in a position to determine the calendar of entire societies is atypical; our mission will not be to take care of it. On the opposite hand, where possible, we should always insist that believers of various faiths be allowed to take the times off they need for religious holidays.
Gilles Boucomont, creator and Protestant United Church of France pastor in Paris-Belleville:
Let’s reevangelize the country as an alternative of fighting over days! Massive de-Christianization signifies that having mainly Christian dates for public holidays seems out of step with the realities of French society. Only 10 percent of Christians are somewhat devout, and a few of these holidays don’t even unite all French Christians, like August 15, celebrating the Assumption of Mary, and Ascension Thursday, which isn’t even celebrated by Catholics in other countries, like Spain.
