An Overview of Paris
Paris has a population of approximately 9,638,000 people. Known as the “City of Lights,” Paris is one of the world’s foremost centers of business and culture. Situated on the river Seine, Paris is a beautiful, cosmopolitan city whose influence on politics, education, entertainment, fashion, and the arts is felt worldwide. Innumerable monuments built to reflect the glory of France and its rulers stand testament to the city’s rich history and have led Paris to be the world’s most popular tourist destination. Famous sites and landmarks include the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Bastille, and the Luxembourg Gardens. Many Parisians are recent immigrants from around the globe, and they make the city one of the most diverse cultural environments in the world (source).
Religion in France
Although France is one of richest and most beautiful countries in the world, spiritually speaking, few countries are poorer. There are several reasons for this. The first is the big date in French history–the 1789 Revolution. It was the first openly anti-Christian revolution. Since then the official religion of France is the Republic, that is secularism. In 1905, a law was introduced to separate the state and religion. Religion must be kept private and is banned from the public domain, such as schools. French school children are taught philosophy instead. Another factor is the rapid rise and influence of militant Islam (constituting 10% of the French population) primarily due to the huge number of North African immigrants. Another obstacle to the Gospel is that much missionary activity is carried out by Americans, and this causes Evangelicalism to be associated with the Americanisation of the world to which the French are greatly opposed. The front cover of a leading political magazine featured George Bush with a cross in the background and the caption: ‘Evangelicals, the sect that wants to take over the world.’ Evangelicals are grossly misinterpreted and regarded as the enemy within. They are treated with much suspicion and considered to be one of the many sects in France. Another hindrance to the Gospel is the grip of the world on French society. The French know how to enjoy life and their minds are far from eternal issues(source).
France is one of the least evangelized countries in the world. Although its population is over 63 million people, there are only 2,014 Evangelical churches (2010) in the entire country(source). There are 36,550 cities, towns, and villages in France and 35,000 of them do not have an Evangelical church. The population is predominately Roman Catholic (83%-88%), with small groups of Protestants, Jews, and Muslims (source).
The occult, however, is rampant in France. Statistics show that mediums, faith healers, and fortune-tellers earn as much money as medical doctors. There are more registered occult workers in France than pastors (over 30,000 registered Mediums and Spiritual Healers). About half of the French population also believe in faith healing, with one quarter putting their faith in clairvoyants or astrology. An estimated 10 million people pay around $40 billion for occult consultations, three times the amount paid to their family doctors (source).
Meanwhile, Islam has seen strong growth in France. For each Evangelical Christian in the country, there are ten practicing Muslims. France has developed a reputation as a “missionary graveyard.” Once again, tt is one of the least evangelized countries in the world—only 0.4% of the population are Evangelical Christian. It is both essential and urgent that everything be put into place so that the Gospel is preached with strength and vigor in this country (source).
Would you pray that God would send more laborers to this city and country to lift His name high?