the Napoleonic Code

1800–1801: Taking advantage of this period of relative peace, Napoleon takes steps to restore order in France through new policies of reconciliation. Amnesties are granted to many exiled aristocrats, who return to France. July 16, 1801: The Concordat of 1801 is signed by Pope Pius VII and Napoleon.

How did Napoleon help to restore the Catholic Church in France? He allowed the Pope to nominate the bishops. He allowed exemption from taxes for all Catholics. He declared that only Catholics could serve in government.

13 April 1791

Sunday attendance at mass has dropped to about 10 percent of the population in France today, but 80 percent of French citizens are still nominally Roman Catholics. This makes France the sixth largest Catholic country in the world, after Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, Italy and… the United States.

The major religions practised in France include Christianity (about 47% overall, with denominations including Catholicism, various branches of Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Armenian Orthodoxy), Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism amongst others, making it a multiconfessional country.

Self-declared atheists represent 30 percent of the French population, and France is among the top five most atheist countries in the world (Marchand 2015).

In 2017, the WIN-Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA) poll found China and Sweden as the top two countries with highest percentage of those who claim themselves atheist or irreligious.

Most Tolerant Religion… “The most tolerant religion is considered to be Buddhism. A monistic and open-minded religion. However, since it is a Dharmic faith, nations practising Abrahamic religions have had a long history of non-tolerance and discrimination toward it (Anti-Hinduism).

Agnosticism is the view that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. Another definition provided is the view that “human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify either the belief that God exists or the belief that God does not exist.”

Omnism

Baha’i Faith encompasses all religions, all races and incorporates unity.

It’s just as okay to believe in two religions as it is to speak two languages. Religions are spiritual languages.

The three great monotheistic religions of the world—Judaism, Christianity and Islam—find common ground in Jerusalem, the center of Pope Paul’s pilgrimage. Beyond the community of place, however, the three faiths represent in many aspects a continuing tradition that begins with the Old Testament of the Bible.

Yahweh, the god of the Israelites, whose name was revealed to Moses as four Hebrew consonants (YHWH) called the tetragrammaton.

Jehovah’s Witnesses identify as Christians, but their beliefs are different from other Christians in some ways. And most Jehovah’s Witnesses (83%) say their religion is the one true faith leading to eternal life; only about three-in-ten U.S. Christians (29%) believe this about their own religious faith.

A Kingdom Hall or Assembly Hall may originate from the renovation of an existing structure, such as a theater or non-Witness house of worship. In areas of repeated or reputed vandalism, particularly in cities, some Kingdom Halls are built without windows to reduce the risk of property damage.

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe only their religion really obeys God’s instructions and that God does not approve of any other religions (including Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists and Muslims) because they do not follow the Bible the right way.

Jehovah (/dʒɪˈhoʊvə/) is a Latinization of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה‎ Yəhōwā, one vocalization of the Tetragrammaton יהוה‎ (YHWH), the proper name of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible and is considered one of the seven names of God in Judaism. The derived forms Iehouah and Jehovah first appeared in the 16th century.

In Jehovah’s Witness theology, only God the Father (Jehovah) is the one true almighty God, even over his Son Jesus Christ. They teach that the pre-existent Christ is God’s First-begotten Son, and that the Holy Spirit is God’s active force (projected energy). God the Father is the title of the supreme creator.

Charles Taze Russell