United States Department of State

“ The Government does not keep statistics on religious affiliation. The vast majority of the population is nominally Roman Catholic. According to one member of the Catholic hierarchy, only 8 percent of the population are practicing Catholics. Muslims constitute the second largest religious group in number; Islam has approximately 4 million adherents, or approximately 6 to 7 percent of the population. Protestants make up 2 percent of the population; and the Jewish and Buddhist faiths each represent 1 percent. ”

“ The Jewish community numbers between 600,000 and 700,000 persons and is divided among Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox groups. According to press reports, up to 60 percent of the Jewish community celebrates at most only the high holy days such as Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. One Jewish community leader has reported that the largest number of practicing Jews in the country is Orthodox. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that 250,000 persons attend their services either regularly or periodically. ”

“ The About-Picard legislation does not define cults. Its framers worked from the concept of "cult-like movements" as those associations that put undue pressure on individuals, exact overly substantial contributions, encourage individuals not to vote, suggest anti-social behavior, and cut off individuals from their families. ”

“ Printing publications, employing a board president, or running a school can disqualify a group from receiving tax-exempt status.
According to statistics previously published by the Ministry of the Interior, 109 of 1,138 Protestant associations, 15 of 147 Jewish associations, and 2 of 1,050 Muslim associations have tax-free status. Roughly 100 Catholic associations are tax exempt; a representative of the Ministry of Interior reports that the total number of non-tax-exempt Catholic associations is too numerous to estimate accurately. ”

“ The generally amicable relationship among religions in society contributed to religious freedom. In October 2000, over 100 anti-Semitic incidents occurred, mainly as a result of increased tensions in the Middle East. Government leaders and representatives from the country's four main religious groups strongly criticized the violence, and the Government increased police security for Jewish institutions. ”

“ Following the numerous anti-Semitic incidents that occurred in October 2000, government leaders, along with representatives from the Jewish community, the Paris Grand Mosque, the Protestant Federation, and the French Conference on Bishops, came together to criticize the violence.
Restrictions on Religious Freedom Following the 1994 mass suicide in Switzerland and Canada of members of the Order of the Solar Temple, successive Governments have encouraged public caution towards some minority religious groups that the Government may consider to be "cults." ”

“ The Government has made efforts to promote interfaith understanding. Strict antidefamation laws prohibit racially or religiously motivated attacks. The Government has programs to combat racism and anti-Semitism through public awareness campaigns, and by encouraging dialog between local officials, police, and citizen groups. ”

“ It serves as a forum for dialog among the major Christian churches. There is also an organized interfaith dialog among the Christians, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish communities, which discuss and issue statements on various national and international themes. The Ministry of Interior urged the creation of a Muslim council and in February 2001, seven Muslim organization representatives came together with a draft accord. Four of the seven associations have signed the accord while the remaining three, more fundamentalist associations have not yet done so. ”

“ Orthodox Christians number between 80,000 and 100,000; the vast majority of these persons are associated with the Greek or Russian Orthodox churches. According to various estimates, about 6 percent of the country's citizens are unaffiliated. ”

“ In the same month, the Jehovah's Witnesses appealed the Nanterre court's decision to the Versailles Court of Appeals. At the end of the period covered by this report, the case was still pending.
Problems experienced by Muslims appear to be based on cultural differences. Debate continues over whether denying some Muslim girls the right to wear headscarves in public schools constitutes a violation of the right to practice their religion. Various courts and government bodies have considered the question on a case-by-case basis ”