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Why Is France So Afraid of Religion?
By
Harun Yahya
www.harunyahya.com
info@harunyahya.com
France
and some other countries were drawn into a controversy
when two students were expelled from school for wearing a
head scarf. France widened the ban and proposed a law
forbidding the wearing of clothing and symbols openly
expressive of religious identity. Besides head scarfs,
this law also includes Christian crosses and Jewish
yarmulkes. This law caused a wave of reaction. Muslim
countries, the United Kingdom, the USA and Germany
condemned the law and stressed that its enforcement would
cause tension and entrenchment in France. They also
asserted that the law was contrary to religious freedom
and basic human rights. But, so far, these reactions have
not led the French government to retract its decision.
We must
not interpret what happened in France only as a ban on
religious symbols; the French fear of religion and
religous morality goes back a long time. Those who are
aware of the development of social culture and
church-state relations in France will know that these
kinds of initiatives and the resulting controversies are
well known in French society. Moreover, this fear is not
limited only to Islam and Judaism; the memory of the
murder of Catholics during the French Revolution has not
yet been erased.
The
present shape of church-state relations in France was
forged by conflict, hatred, anger and slaughter. This
struggle began in the eighteenth century against the
Catholic Church with the purpose of diminishing the
influence of the Church on society. We can say that during
this period, society became distanced from spiritual and
religious values and came under the influence of
materialist philosophy.
The
Age of Enlightenment:
How
European Societies Distanced from Religious Values
That
period in which materialist and evolutionist ideas gained
widespread acceptance in European society, and influenced
it in distancing itself from religion, is known as the
Enlightenment. Surely, those who selected this word (that
is those who characterized this change of ideas positively
as a move into the light) were the leaders of this
deviation. They described the earlier period as the "Dark
Age" and blamed religion for it, claiming that Europe
became enlightened when it was secularized and held
religion at a distance. This biased and false perspective
is still today one of the basic propaganda mechanisms of
those who oppose religion.
It is
true that Medieval Christianity was partially "dark" with
superstitions and bigotry and most of these have been
cleared in the post-Medieval age. In fact, the
Enlightenment did not bring much positive results to the
West either. The most important result of the
Enlightenment, which occurred in France, was the French
Revolution, that turned the country into a sea of blood.
For most of the French intellectuals, the Enlightenment
meant purging people’s minds of every religious and
spiritual value. Nearly all the thinkers who lived in
eighteenth-century France shared this view. The French
Revolution was built on this idea of Enlightenment that
held sway in France; it was one of the modern world’s most
barbarous, merciless and savage revolutions. As soon as
the Jacobins came to power after the Revolution, the first
thing they did was to bring in the guillotine; thousands
of people lost their heads just because they were accused
of being rich or religious. One of the leaders of the
Revolution by the name of Fouché (his nickname was the
Butcher of Lyon) sent a committee headed by three
individuals to Lyon to destroy the landed and religious
aristocracy there. In a letter he sent to Robespierre, the
leader of the Senate, Fouché wrote that the guillotine was
operating too slowly and that he was not happy with the
slow advance of the revolution. He wanted permission to do
a mass cleansing. On the day he received the permission,
thousands of people with their hands tied behind their
back were mowed down mercilessly by the guns of the
revolution.
Today
Enlightenment influenced literature praises the French
Revolution; however, the Revolution cost France much and
contributed to social conflicts that were to last into the
twenty-first century. The analysis of the French
Revolution and the Enlightenment by the famous British
thinker, Edmund Burke, is very telling. In his famous
book, Reflections on the Revolution in France,
published in 1790, he criticized both the idea of the
Enlightenment and its fruit, the French Revolution; in his
opinion, that movement destroyed the basic values that
held society together, such as religion, morality and
family structure, and paved the way towards terror and
anarchy. Finally, he regarded the Enlightenment, as one
interpreter put it, as a "destructive movement of the
human intellect."
The
leaders of this destructive movement were Masons.
Voltaire, Diderot, Montesquieu, and other anti-religious
thinkers who prepared the way for the Revolution, were all
Masons. The Masons were intimate with the Jacobins who
were the leaders of the Revolution. This had led some
historians to the opinion that it is difficult to
distinguish between Jacobinism and Masonry in France of
this period.
During the French Revolution, much hostility was evinced
toward religion. Many clergymen were sent to the
guillotine, churches were destroyed, and, moreover, there
were those who wanted to eradicate Christianity totally
and replace it with a deviant, pagan, symbolic religion
called "the Religion of Reason." The leaders of the
Revolution also became victims of this frenzy, every one
of them finally losing their heads on the guillotine, to
which they themselves had condemned so many people. Even
today, many Frenchmen continue to question whether or not
the revolution was a good thing.
The anti-religious sentiments of the French Revolution
spread throughout Europe and, as a result, the nineteenth
century became one of the boldest and most aggressive
periods of anti-religious propaganda.
The Struggle
Against Religion in France
The role
played by Masons in the revolution was admitted by an
"agent-provocateur" by the name of Count Cagliostro.
Cagliostro was arrested by the Inquisition in 1789, and
made some important admissions while under interrogation.
He began by stating that Masons throughout Europe had been
planning a chain of revolutions. He said that the main
goal of the Masons was to destroy the Papacy or to take it
over.
Masonry's
mission in France did not stop with the revolution. The
chaos that came as a result of the revolution was finally
settled when Napoleon came to power. But, this stability
did not last long; Napoleon's ambition to rule the whole
of Europe only brought an end to his power. Afterwards,
the conflict in France continued between the monarchists
and the revolutionists. In 1830, 1848 and 1871, three more
revolutions occurred. In 1848, the "Second Republic" was
founded; in 1871 the "Third Republic" was established. In
1881, Catholicism ceased to be the official religion of
France and in 1988 religious education was completely
removed from the education system.
Masons
were very active throughout this period of agitation.
Their primary aim was to weaken the Church and its
religious institutions, destroy the values of religion and
the influence of its laws on society, and to abolish
religious education. Masons regarded "anti-clericalism" as
the center of their social and political activities.
The
Catholic Encyclopedia
provides important information about the anti-religious
mission of the Grand Orient, as French Masonry was known:
From the official documents of French Masonry contained
principally in the official "Bulletin" and "Compte-rendu"
of the Grand Orient it has been proved that all the
anti-clerical measures passed in the French Parliament
were decreed beforehand in the Masonic lodges and executed
under the direction of the Grand Orient, whose avowed aim
is to control everything and everybody in France. "I said
in the assembly of 1898," states the deputy Massé, the
official orator of the Assembly of 1903, "that it is the
supreme duty of Freemasonry to interfere each day more and
more in political and profane struggles." "Success (in the
anti-clerical combat) is in a large measure due to
Freemasonry; for it is its spirit, its programme, its
methods, that have triumphed." "If the Bloc has been
established, this is owing to Freemasonry and to the
discipline learned in the lodges"…"We need vigilance and
above all mutual confidence, if we are to accomplish our
work, as yet unfinished. This work, you know . . . the
anti-clerical combat, is going on. The Republic must rid
itself of the religious congregations, sweeping them off
by a vigorous stroke. The system of half measures is
everywhere dangerous; the adversary must be crushed with a
single blow."
The
Catholic Encyclopedia
continues its account of French Masonry's struggle against
religion:
In
truth all the "anti-clerical" Masonic reforms carried out
in France since 1877, such as the secularization of
education, measures against private Christian schools and
charitable establishments, the suppression of the
religious orders and the spoliation of the Church,
professedly culminate in an anti-Christian and irreligious
reorganization of human society, not only in France but
throughout the world. Thus French Freemasonry, as the
standard-bearer of all Freemasonry, pretends to inaugurate
the golden era of the Masonic universal republic,
comprising in Masonic brotherhood all men and all nations.
"The triumph of the Galilean," said the president of the
Grand Orient, Senator Delpech, on 20 September, 1902, "has
lasted twenty centuries. But now he dies in his turn…. The
Romish Church, founded on the Galilean myth, began to
decay rapidly from the very day on which the Masonic
Association was established"
By the
"Galilean" the Masons mean Jesus, because according to the
Gospel, Jesus was born in the Palestinian town of Galilee.
Therefore, the Masons' hatred for the Church is an
expression of their hatred for Jesus and all monotheistic
religions. With the materialist, Darwinist and humanist
culture they established in the nineteenth century, they
believed that they had destroyed religion and restored
Europe to its pre-Christian paganism.
When
these words were uttered in 1902, a series of laws passed
in France broadened the scope of religious opposition.
Three thousand religious schools were closed and it was
forbidden to give any religious education in schools. Many
of the clergy were arrested, some were exiled and
religious persons began to be regarded as second-class
citizens. For this reason, in 1904, the Vatican broke all
diplomatic relations with France but this did not change
the country's attitude. It took the loss of the lives of
hundreds of thousands of French men against the German
army in the First World War before the country's arrogance
was tamed and it again recognized the importance of
spiritual values.
As The
Catholic Encyclopedia maintains, the war against
religion, from the French Revolution to the twentieth
century, was carried out by "the anti-clerical measures
passed in the French Parliament" which "were decreed
beforehand in the Masonic lodges and executed under the
direction of the Grand Orient."
This fact is clear from Masonic writings. For example, a
quotation from a Turkish publication of "A Speech Made by
Brother Gambetta on July 8 1875 in the Clémente Amitié
Lodge" reads:
While
the specter of reaction threatened France, and religious
doctrine and backward ideas went on the offensive against
modern social principles and laws, in the bosom of
industrious, far-sighted organizations like Masonry
devoted to the principles of brotherhood, we find the
strength and consolation in the struggle against the
extravagant claims of the Church, its ridiculous
exaggerations and habitual excesses…we must be on guard
and continue in the struggle. In order to establish the
ideas of human order and progress, let us endure so that
our shields cannot be broken through.
It will
be noticed that Masonic literature consistently presents
its own ideas as "far-sighted" while accusing religious
people of being "backward." However, this is merely a play
on words. The notion of "the specter of reaction,"
mentioned in the above quotation, is something that
sincere religious people also oppose, but which Masons
exploit to take aim at true religion in their attempt to
alienate people from it. Moreover, it must again be
emphasized that the materialist-humanist philosophy
espoused by Masons is really a superstitious, backward
system of ideas, a hold-over of the pagan civilizations of
Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece.
Therefore, the Masons' use of terms like
"far-sightedness" and "backwardness" has no basis in
reality. Indeed, it is unfounded because the conflict
between Masons and religious people is nothing more than
the perpetuation of the conflict between two ideas that
have existed since the earliest ages of history. It is
religion that proclaims the first of these ideas: that
humanity was created by the will of God and that human
beings are responsible to worship Him. This is the truth.
The opposing idea, that human beings were not created but
live vain and purposeless lives, is the one proposed by
those who deny the existence of God. When correctly
understood, it can be seen that their use of the
superficial terms of "backwardness" and "far-sightedness"
has no basis.
By making
use of the idea of "progress," Masons seek to destroy
religion. The "Catholic Encyclopedia" states:
The
following are deemed the principal means [of freemasonry]:
(1) To destroy radically by open persecution of the Church
or by a hypocritical fraudulent system of separation
between State and Church, all social influence of the
Church and of religion, insidiously called "clericalism,"
and, as far as possible, to destroy the Church and all
true, i.e., superhuman religion, which is more than a
vague cult of fatherland and of humanity;
(2)
To secularize, by a likewise hypocritical fraudulent
system of "unsectarianism," all public and private life
and, above all, popular instruction and education. "Unsectarianism"
as understood by the Grand Orient party is anti-Catholic
and even anti-Christian, atheistic, positivistic, or
agnostic sectarianism in the garb of unsectarianism.
Freedom of thought and conscience of the children has to
be developed systematically in the child at school and
protected, as far as possible, against all disturbing
influences, not only of the Church and priests, but also
of the children's own parents, if necessary, even by means
of moral and physical compulsion. The Grand Orient party
considers it indispensable and an infallibly sure way to
the final establishment of the universal social republic…
It can be
seen that Masonry has put a program into effect, under the
name of "the liberation of society," whose purpose is to
eradicate religion, a program that is still being
implemented. This must not be confused with a model that
seeks to provide the opportunity for every citizen of
whatever religious faith to practice his faith freely.
Rather, the model envisioned by Masonry is one of mass
brainwashing, designed to remove religion completely from
society and the minds of individuals and, if necessary, to
persecute its adherents.
RELIGIOUS MORALITY IS THE SOLUTION TO ALL DIFFICULTIES
THE BASIC PROBLEM IS THE ABSENCE OF RELIGION
France’s policy of
eradicating religion began in the eighteenth century and
has continued for three centuries; its result has been to
turn the country into a nation that fears religion,
religious morality and religious people. In the past few
years, and as a result of this process, Muslims and
various other members of religious organizations have been
assaulted. However, this fear is groundless. Actually, it
is not religion, but the absence of religion that should
be feared. Religious morality brings peace, well-being,
justice and tolerance to a society. In a society where the
sense of religious morality is strong, there cannot
possibly be violence, degeneration or fear. For this
reason, France’s fear of religion is unnecessary. In
societies where war, conflict, violence and injustice hold
sway, there is no religious morality.
In a society far
removed from religion, it is inevitable that most people
will be selfish, unjust and be lacking in moral goodness.
Only the values of religion assure moral perfection for
societies and individuals. Those having faith in God
conduct themselves responsibly, since they only live to
attain the approval of God and know that they will give an
account of all their deeds. Fearing God, they cautiously
avoid wicked deeds, attitudes and behavior not praised by
God. A society dominated by such people becomes one that
does not experience social problems.
However, a
disbelieving person, failing to recognize that he will
ultimately be rewarded or punished for his deeds will set
no limit to his evil acts. Despite avoiding certain
socially unfavorable forms of behavior, many people do not
hesitate to commit other evils when they are urged,
encouraged or have an opportunity.
In societies where there is no religion, people become
predisposed to commit all kinds of immoral acts. For
instance, a religious person would never take a bribe,
gamble, feel envy, or lie because he would know that he
would have to account for these actions in the hereafter.
Yet, someone with no religion is prone to doing all these
things. It is not enough for one to say, “I’m not
religious but I don’t take bribes”, or “I’m not religious
but I don’t gamble”, because a man who does not fear God
and who does not believe that he is going to give an
account of himself in the hereafter may do any one of
these things when the situation or conditions change. A
person who says, “I’m not religious but I do not commit
fornication” may do so at some place where fornication is
considered normal. Or a person who says that he does not
take bribes may say, “My son is sick and about to die,
therefore I have to take the bribe”, if he has no fear of
God.
However, a religious person does not display such
immorality, because he fears God and does not forget that
God knows his intentions as well as his thoughts.
A person who is distant from religion may say “I’m not
religious but I’m forgiving. I feel neither vengeance nor
hate,” but one day some untoward event may cause him to
lose his self-control and display the most unexpected
behaviour. He may attempt to kill or injure someone,
because the morality he adopts is one that changes
according to the environment and conditions of the place
in which he lives.
Yet, one who believes in God and in the hereafter never
deviates from his good morals, whatever the conditions or
the environment may be. His morality is not “variable” but
immutable. God refers to the superior morals of religious
people in His verses:
Those
who keep faith with God and do not break their agreement;
those who join what God has commanded to be joined and are
afraid of their Lord and fear an evil Reckoning; those who
are steadfast in seeking the face of their Lord, and
attend to their regular prayer and give alms from what We
have given them, secretly and openly, and stave off evil
with good, it is they who will attain the Ultimate Abode.
(Qur’an, 13: 20-22)
In an environment without religion, the first concept to
be eliminated is that of the family. Values such as
loyalty, fidelity, allegiance, love, and respect, which
sustain the family, are totally abandoned. It must be
remembered that the family is the foundation of society
and if the family collapses, so does society. Even the
state has no reason to exist, since all moral values that
underpin the state have been obliterated.
Furthermore, in irreligious societies, there is no reason
left for anyone to feel respect, love or compassion for
anyone else. This leads to social anarchy. The rich
begrudge the poor, the poor begrudge the rich. Anger
develops against those who are handicapped or needy. Or
aggression towards different nations rises. The workers
become aggressive towards their employers and the
employers towards their workers, fathers turn against
their sons and the sons against their fathers.
The reason for continuous bloodshed and the “third page
news” in the newspapers is irreligion. On these pages,
every day, we see news coverage about people who
heedlessly kill each other for very insignificant causes.
However, a person who knows that he is going to be
accountable in the hereafter cannot point a gun at
somebody else’s head and shoot him. He knows that God has
forbidden men to commit crimes, and his fear of God
ensures that he will avoid divine retribution. In the
Qu’ran, God commands people to avoid corruption:
Do not corrupt the earth after it has been purged of evil.
Call on Him fearfully and eagerly. God’s mercy is within
reach of the righteous. (Qur’an, 7: 56)
The existence of
the values of religion brings the love felt for God. This
love has an overwhelmingly positive and encouraging impact
on all people. To earn the approval of God, believers
comfort themselves in the most moral way, and love and
respect one another. In general, mercy, tolerance and
compassion pervade society.
Going in fear of
God, people strictly avoid indulging in immoral or evil
acts. In this way, every sort of evil which previously
could not be prevented comes to an abrupt end. The spirit
and warmth of religion fills the air.
In societies where
religion does not penetrate, it is an accepted fact that
people become rebellious and anarchistic and take up a
position against their state. However, for one who lives
by the values of religion, the imperatives of the state
are paramount. If it is required, one will put his life
into jeopardy for these values. For such a person, the
interests of his state will always rank above his own
interests.
They stand up for spiritual values and do their best to
defend them.
Under such
favorable conditions, governing the state becomes
reasonably simple. The country becomes a secure and
prosperous place. Administrators of the country treat the
citizens fairly and compassionately and thus unjust
practices cease. In return, they are respected by the
citizens. Such states surely lay their basis on an
unshakeable foundation.
In the absence of
Islamic morals, the father becomes the enemy of the son,
and vice versa, brothers dispute, employers oppress their
employees. Factories and firms stop operating due to
anarchy and the wealthy exploit the labor of the poor. In
business life, people try to cheat one another. Disorder,
conflicts and anarchy become a way of life for the members
of society. The reason for all this is that people have no
fear of God. People having no fear of God feel free to
commit injustice, and do not hesitate to resort to
extremes of violence and cruelty—even murder. Furthermore,
without feeling a pang of conscience, they dare to
publicly express their lack of regret. On the contrary,
one who is convinced that he could face eternal punishment
in Hell would never commit such acts. The morality of the
Qur'an renders all such untoward deeds impossible.
Everything is handled easily, quietly and in the best
manner. No judicial errors occur and, meanwhile, police
stations and the law courts hardly find a case to deal
with.
The peaceful and
comfortable state of mind of people in all walks of life
brings prosperity to society as a whole. Scientific
research flourishes, hardly a day goes by without a new
discovery or a technological breakthrough and the results
are used for the good of all. Culture prospers and leaders
promote public welfare. This prosperity owes its existence
to the human mind being freed of pressure. Once one's mind
is at ease, one develops better thinking ability and this
state of mind enlarges the scope for reflection. The
consequence is clear and unrestrained use of the
intellect. Living by good standards of morality brings
prosperity to people; they succeed in their business and
commercial lives. Agriculture and industry flourish. In
all fields of endeavor, there is true progress.
The solution is
evident: to turn to God, the Creator of all beings, and to
attain true happiness and tranquility by adhering to the
religion God favors for us. God has informed us that
salvation in this world is to turn to religion and has
given the glad tidings that His sincere servants will not
feel fear, provided that they are obedient to Him.
God
has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds
that He will make them masters in the land as He had made
their ancestors before them, and will firmly establish for
them their religion with which He is pleased and give
them, in place of their fear, security. Let them worship
Me, not associating anything with Me. Any who are
unbelievers after that are deviators." (Qur’an, 24: 55)
Therefore,
for all the reasons we have given above, French society
must look for a solution not in the absence of religion
but in the practice of religious morality. The solution to
the growing conflicts, increasing violence and economic
inequality does not lie in the banishment of religion;
quite the opposite: it must be sought in an effort to
disseminate religious morality. When a nation fears God,
acts according to its conscience and exhibits compassion,
mercy and tolerance, there can be no doubt that it will
easily uproot violence and degradation in its society.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Masonry
(Freemasonry)," New Advent,
(http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09771a.htm)
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