Apparently, the Catholics are complaining about it and trying to block the project. Catholics are becoming a minority in France and are worried about the rise of Christian evangelism. They also worry about children being targeted as conversion projects and mishies ringing doorbells.

http://news.yahoo.com/plan-mormon-temple-rattles-catholics-french-suburb-145745502.html

French Catholics tend to start squalling about being a minority when their saturation drops below 99%, so I wouldn't put too much emphasis on that. LOL!

OTOH, most French, who, unlike Americans, know clearly the difference between secular and religious B.S., would respond with their legendary "pfft!" roll their eyes, and go out pour un café.

I think they are right to be concerned, though. I would be if I lived in France. At the very least, the temple will probably be an eyesore.

It is most def an eyesore. The good news (better news?) is that it is in the French version of strip-mall hell, so it won't stand out that much. LOL!

Comfort should be taken that it wasn't built on the first site they tried to secure (in the town of Villepreux, 8.3 km west), where Mormons Inc. intended their tacky House of Handshakes steeple to be seen right in the center of the horizon in this classic vista from the chateau of Versailles:
http://www.francie-dovolena.eu/Images/versailles-gardens-fountains.JPG

Thank God they weren't able to spoil that view. So many Mormons are proud of how "beautiful" their temples are. Some are better looking than others, but there are none that really rival the better architecture in Europe.

Aside from tackiness, I can also see why the French would be concerned about Mormon weirdness, Catholic or not.

If the French want to keep France French they better start making babies like crazy because the Muslims are out breeding them. The same in Israel. I was in a college class where we would war game countries and Israel always won short-term because the jews were more productive but the muslims always won long-term because they just flat out number the jews.

Brigham Young got that one. Why do you think he was trying to make babies and bring converts in as fast as he could? He wanted as large of a base of people established in his territory because that was a huge advantage.

Thank gawd the catholics are standing up for little children's rights to remain...ahem...unmolested by religionists trying to gain converts!

Snort!

Le Chesnay is 'mainly Catholic".

Hardly anywhere in France is now mainly Catholic and that's been the case for many years (at least the 30 years I've been living in France).

Most of France and most of the French are religion-free. It's not discussed or even mentioned most of the time.

Where the article gets it right is that the French are particularly wary of any religions outside Catholicism and Protestantism (although most of my French firends and ALL of my French family, one of whom actually lives in Le CHesnay, are wary of Catholicism and Protestantism as well :-).

But the reason for their hostility is that religions outside those two camps tend to be...

CULTS!

Particularly in the case of American imports: think Scientology and LDS!


While I'm here, I'd like to send my best wishes of safety to any Americans (and particularly RFMers) threatened by the storm.

Good luck all.

Tom thinking of you all in Paris

Islam in France is at 10% while the Christian French are apathetic about their religion.

The horse has bolted. Islam will soon be dominant due to a very high reproductive rate. Once at 51% they can turn France into a Sharia theocracy.

What Mormons would call "reactivations", yes, but converts, no.

Now we no longer have a right wing government trying to bait them with outright hostility, things will (have already, in fact) calmed down in that respect.

When I arrived here in the early 80s, it was on the wane.

It can wane again.

Tom in Paris



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/29/2012 04:30PM by Soft Machine.