Nicolas Feldmann 7:59 p.m., September 23, 2021
According to a recent Ifop poll, fewer and fewer French people believe in God.
They would be 49% today, against 56% in 2011. A decline that has been observed for several decades and does not only concern Catholicism but also other religions such as Judaism and Islam.
TO ANALYSE
It is a very personal and very intimate question for many: do we believe in God?
This is the question asked by the Ifop polling institute to a sample of French people.
The results were published on Thursday and the majority trend is the decline in belief in general: less than one in two French people say they believe in God (49%) whether it is Catholicism, Islam, Judaism or any other religion.
A decline of six points in 15 years
It is a decline of seven points compared to 2011, but especially of 17 points compared to 1947. How to explain this evolution?
"In our time, more modernity means less religion. As a result of the various economic, scientific and educational developments, we believe in progress through material well-being, through science and technology. Earthly happiness has taken hold. the step on celestial happiness ", explains Jean-Paul Willaime, sociologist of religions and director of studies emeritus at the Practical School of Higher Studies.
The French talk less about religion with their families
One constant remains: the elderly believe in God more than the young.
68% of older people say they are believers, while only 48% of 18-24 year olds say they are.
One of the other lessons of this survey is that the French discuss religion less than before: 38% say they talk about it with their family, compared to 58% in 2009.