Should religious holidays be abolished and replaced by other non-working days dedicated to republican causes? There proposal made by Eric Piolle, the mayor of Grenoble, did not fail to react. Many of our readers (240 people), questioned on this subject, were massively indignant at such a suggestion. The results speak for themselves: 80% rejected the idea.
“It is an aberration. Our history and our foundations are based on a large part of the Christian religion”, observes Fabrice who presents himself as “secular”. “Why mess up and screw up all the good stuff? Let’s stay what we are, as long as it harms no one, ”he suggests.
“Denying its origins”
“Are we asking Egypt to destroy its pyramids, the construction of which killed thousands of slaves? asks Olivier, just as taken aback. For the majority of our readers, removing these religious holidays would amount to “renouncing our history”. It would be “denying its origins”, “breaking our culture”, “forgetting that France is a Judeo-Christian country”.
“To want to show our secularism too much, we lose our identity, warns Josette. As for the celebration of events, it can be done without a holiday. There are Sundays to celebrate the abolition of slavery, for example. »
“Current public holidays are just markers of our past, removing them in part would be a loss of benchmarks for national unity, argues Christian. It is therefore inconceivable to modify them without considering a loss of our collective memory. “Erasing one’s history means cutting oneself off from one’s roots,” says Jean-Luc. “A tree that no longer has roots ends up dying,” adds Martine.
“A part of our cultural identity”
“It’s totally stupid,” says Jacques, from a “family of ‘secularists'”. “Religious holidays have, for most of us, completely lost their meaning,” he argues. They have become celebrations of society, of civilization. What do they represent for most of us? Christmas means gifts for children, Easter means looking for eggs in the garden and All Saints Day means a moment of contemplation in memory of our dead. »
On the other hand, in the eyes of Tina, they still have importance. “For families who still want to pass on Christian traditions, the days of major religious holidays represent an essential minimum to go and collect themselves,” she points out. “Spirituality must have its place in our society. Otherwise what to hang on to when everything goes wrong, ”abounds Ena. “France was for centuries “the eldest daughter” of the Church. It’s a part of our cultural identity,” Carine also supports. And to wonder: “Why did the fire of Notre-Dame de Paris affect so many people, even beyond their personal confession? Because it’s a symbol of our culture, whether you’re Catholic or not. »
Patrick, who presents himself as “Catholic and homosexual”, says he is “radically opposed to the provocation of the mayor of Grenoble”. “I don’t want a ‘LGBT’ holiday in France. I campaign against “wokism” ”, he supports.
“I am not particularly religious, but I remain very attached to these moments of religious, community and family communion. Just as I am also very attached to the Republic, to secularism and to the celebrations of the Armistice, July 14, May 1 and May 8”, testifies Nathalie, while Cécile, “not a believer”, protests: “We don’t touch it. It’s in my DNA”
A la carte religious holidays?
On the other hand, Evelyne says she is “in favor of the deletion of all religious holidays” from the calendar, “with the exception of Christmas and Easter”. “It would be detrimental to the happiness of the children,” she underlines, explaining that France is “a multi-ethnic country where many citizens have a different religion”. “Why impose on those who are not Catholic undue days off? she asks.
For Zina, Éric Piolle’s proposal is “not a bad idea in itself”. She pleads for “a neutral calendar” with “republican celebrations only”. “We should leave the personal choice of the celebration of other holidays,” she suggests. Denis, who defines himself as “a man of the left” would like a public holiday to be established “for example for the appeal of June 18, 1940 which was a founding act of today’s France”. “I have nothing against religions and I would even be for a maximum of 4 or even 5 days to be taken for religious holidays in line with one’s own convictions”, he continues.
Caroline also defends the idea of à la carte religious holidays. “In a secular state, it seems obvious not to favor a religion for public holidays,” she argues. “Each would choose their own according to their convictions and beliefs,” adds Franck.
According to Aurélie, the suggestion of the mayor of Grenoble is “full of meaning”. “Easter or Pentecost don’t mean anything to me. On the other hand, the days when women had the right to vote or when LGBT people had the right to marry are strong dates that have positively changed the lives of millions of French women and men, she develops. These dates deserve to be valued. An idea shared by Lara who prefers to commemorate “significant events, in tune with the times and which concern the entire population”.
For Yolande, “the law of 1905 separating the Church and the state would thus be fully respected”. “Everyone is free to have religious convictions whatever they may be. Everyone will have to assume them and manage their life and schedule. RTTs can be used for this, ”she suggests.
Christmas, the only exception
“Either we officially celebrate the religious holidays of all the religions recognized in the country, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, which would become unbearable, or none,” Georges slices. Philippe believes that this measure “would put all religions on the same level”. “It would make it possible to overhaul a religious heritage that no longer corresponds to the time, abounds Frédéric. How many French people actually celebrate religious holidays by going to church? How many still attend churches? »
“These public holidays no longer correspond to mass practices and allow only Catholicism to express itself”, observes Pascal in turn. He also campaigns for “secular holidays with themes that federate”. An Earth day, a children’s day, a seniors’ day, a day of generosity, suggests Frédéric: “That would make more sense”.
Finally, Jeff admits that it is “appropriate to keep” the non-working days referring “to our recent history”, such as May 1 and 8, July 14 and November 11. But according to him, the holidays “to which only Christians refer, should not have so much place in a calendar of secular countries”…. “Apart from December 25, which will be difficult to question,” he concludes.