Religion
http://sekoyasivo.blogspot.com/2013/05/hist-notlari-4-religions-of-europe.html
This map shows how the people of France are mostly Roman Catholic, with some Roman Catholic and Protestant areas.In France, 85 percent of the country is defined as Roman Catholic. There are different ideas of when Catholicism began. This religion is believed by some to have began in Rome when the Christians were there. (Oakes) This would have been around 41 AD during Claudius's reign. Another idea for the start of Catholicism is when Constantine made it the official religion of his empire in 313 AD. However, it is clear that the religion started in the same place and spread from here. Without a doubt, the empire helped it grow even more.
http://travelglobe.org/top-cultural-attractions-in-paris/
There are many sacred places for Catholics. Vatican City is very important because it houses the pope and two relevant cathedrals, St. Peter's Basilica and Basilica of St. John Lateran. While Catholics do not commonly worship in cathedrals, they are grand symbols to the religion. France has over 100 cathedrals within its borders. The Notre Dame is one of the most famous and stunning of them. The picture shows the impressive interior of the Notre Dame in Paris, France.
http://ecjs.stlouis.stemarie.chez-alice.fr/laicite.htm
The beginnings of making France a secular country stems from the French Revolution. Many did not like the power that the church had, so they deeply wanted a change. As a result, France holds an idea called laïcité that essentially separates religion and state. The Republic of France has no official religion. Its constitution allows for freedom of religion. Schools and even weddings are are not religious. (Couples must be married in front of the mayor.) the state will bear the expense of the upkeep of existing religious buildings as they are "historical monuments." (Streeter) However, new buildings will not be funded by the government.
The cartoon shows an artists depictment of laïcité.
The cartoon shows an artists depictment of laïcité.
Citations
- MaGee, G. (2008, March 13). The origins of the church at rome. Retrieved from https://bible.org/article/origins-church-rome
- Melton, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.biblebelievers.com/jmelton/Catholic.html
- Oakes, J. (n.d.). Where and when did the catholicism begin. Retrieved from http://www.evidenceforchristianity.org/where-and-when-did-the-catholicism-begin/
- Stewart, C. (n.d.) Sacred space. Retrieved from http://www.patheos.com/Library/Roman-Catholicism/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Sacred-Space.html
- Streeter, M. (n.d.) France is a secular state. But what does that mean?. Retrieved from http://www.frenchentree.com/societe-francaise/displayarticle.asp?id=20486
Changes in France
Statistics
Food in France
As in every culture, food is very important in France. Here, culture and food are tightly interconnected. The people define themselves by the food they eat. Not surprisingly, they are an extremely proud group. (Surprisingly, with a high fat diet, there is very little heart disease.)
The soil allows for fresh foods year-round. This includes grapes for wine, which is still popular in France, despite slowly decreasing.
A typical French dinner would include the following: An appetizer, such as a gougère. A main dish that often contains meat and vegetables, such as blanquette de veau. A dessert, such as clafoutis. And of course, bread (baguette) and cheese (fromage) are staples. Camembert, a cheese, is very popular with baguette.
Citations
http://www.frenchdesire.com.au/facts/food/
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/France.html
http://www.easy-french-food.com/famous-french-food.html
http://travelbetweenthepages.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/baguette.jpg (picture)
The soil allows for fresh foods year-round. This includes grapes for wine, which is still popular in France, despite slowly decreasing.
A typical French dinner would include the following: An appetizer, such as a gougère. A main dish that often contains meat and vegetables, such as blanquette de veau. A dessert, such as clafoutis. And of course, bread (baguette) and cheese (fromage) are staples. Camembert, a cheese, is very popular with baguette.
Citations
http://www.frenchdesire.com.au/facts/food/
http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/France.html
http://www.easy-french-food.com/famous-french-food.html
http://travelbetweenthepages.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/baguette.jpg (picture)
Baguette www.foodbycountry.com
Baguette (French Bread)
Ingredients
Procedure
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Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée (Onion Soup) www.foodbycountry.com
Ingredients
Procedure
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Loss of Cultural Diversity in France
Language
The loss of the French language is a big issue. With 200 million people who speak French and of that only 65 million are of that nationality, even former president Nicolas Sarkozy is concerned. Many people in France, especially those who are affluent, have started to favor English. With English as a more worldwide language, it makes sense why this would happen. More business can be conducted when there is a common language. Often, that language may be English when considering the world. For those whose entire life is work, French may not be spoken often by them.
Since the most French speakers are not in France, where are they? In fact, half of the people who speak this language live in Africa. Also, twenty percent of Canadians speak French and ten percent of Haitians. The issue isn't that French is not becoming dead or disappearing, but moving out of France. Since these other places do not represent France or its ideas, it does not help this cause. This shift has resulted in a loss of one of the most important parts of culture to a country—language.
The loss of the French language is a big issue. With 200 million people who speak French and of that only 65 million are of that nationality, even former president Nicolas Sarkozy is concerned. Many people in France, especially those who are affluent, have started to favor English. With English as a more worldwide language, it makes sense why this would happen. More business can be conducted when there is a common language. Often, that language may be English when considering the world. For those whose entire life is work, French may not be spoken often by them.
Since the most French speakers are not in France, where are they? In fact, half of the people who speak this language live in Africa. Also, twenty percent of Canadians speak French and ten percent of Haitians. The issue isn't that French is not becoming dead or disappearing, but moving out of France. Since these other places do not represent France or its ideas, it does not help this cause. This shift has resulted in a loss of one of the most important parts of culture to a country—language.
Wine
Wine is no longer a staple at the dinner table. Seventy years ago, having wine with dinner was a norm. Even during the 1980’s, fifty percent of the population were daily wine drinkers. Since then, that has dropped more than thirty percent. As people have decreased their wine consumption, their children and children’s children have followed to end up where we are now.
There are several possible causes. The dissolution of an actual meal has contributed. Many people do not sit down and eat dinner like they did in the past. The “traditional family” rarely exists nowadays. Also, society is increasingly getting more lax in things like family dinners. Various societal changes such as the move from outdoors to office jobs and the greater use of the car have impacted wine drinking. The opportunities to drink have diminished with these two factors since lunches and car trips cannot be spent with wine. The use of antidepressants has taken away the need for the helpful alcohol. Whether this the medicine started this or the other way around could be debated, it is undeniable that there is an impact.
Citations
Michael, K. (2010, April 21). Pardon My French. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/arts/25abroad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
DeGraff, M. (2010, June 16). Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/06/16/language_barrier_in_haiti/
John lichfield: The death of french culture? i don't think so. (2007, December 6). Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/john-lichfield-the-death-of-french-culture-i-dont-think-so-763259.html
Hugh, S. (2013, March 25). Why are the french drinking less wine?. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21929287
Girod, G. (2013, August 25). The decline and fall of the french language?. Retrieved from http://www.newgeography.com/content/002387-the-decline
Wine is no longer a staple at the dinner table. Seventy years ago, having wine with dinner was a norm. Even during the 1980’s, fifty percent of the population were daily wine drinkers. Since then, that has dropped more than thirty percent. As people have decreased their wine consumption, their children and children’s children have followed to end up where we are now.
There are several possible causes. The dissolution of an actual meal has contributed. Many people do not sit down and eat dinner like they did in the past. The “traditional family” rarely exists nowadays. Also, society is increasingly getting more lax in things like family dinners. Various societal changes such as the move from outdoors to office jobs and the greater use of the car have impacted wine drinking. The opportunities to drink have diminished with these two factors since lunches and car trips cannot be spent with wine. The use of antidepressants has taken away the need for the helpful alcohol. Whether this the medicine started this or the other way around could be debated, it is undeniable that there is an impact.
Citations
Michael, K. (2010, April 21). Pardon My French. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/25/arts/25abroad.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
DeGraff, M. (2010, June 16). Retrieved from http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2010/06/16/language_barrier_in_haiti/
John lichfield: The death of french culture? i don't think so. (2007, December 6). Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/john-lichfield-the-death-of-french-culture-i-dont-think-so-763259.html
Hugh, S. (2013, March 25). Why are the french drinking less wine?. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21929287
Girod, G. (2013, August 25). The decline and fall of the french language?. Retrieved from http://www.newgeography.com/content/002387-the-decline
Culture Slideshow
Sites on French Culture
http://www.french-culture-for-visitors.com/
While it is a dot-com, this site contains some valuable information.
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/france-country-profile.html
This is a British site with some interesting facts.
While it is a dot-com, this site contains some valuable information.
http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/france-country-profile.html
This is a British site with some interesting facts.
Status of WomenIntro
France is very low ranked in the world in the area of equality for women at 57th in 2012. The area of political and economic power is especially bad. It seems that the country takes steps forward and then retreats back. Generally, women lead a domestic life. This has been encouraged by the government to raise birth rates. It is stated by Geneviève Fraisse that a family revolution is needed in order to fix the problems of equality. (Fraisse) Fashion France is often seen as a big place for fashion. However until recently women in France were not legally permitted to wear pants. The law prohibiting wearing pants was from 1799. Since then certain groups of women became exempt and there were many attempts to repeal this law. While the law was not enforced anymore, this action was important symbolically for women’s equality. However some of the ideals remain with a negative comment by a user called rsainz who believes that women should not be given the “choice” of what to wear. (rsainz) Politics It was 14 years ago in 1999 when a law went into effect making a gender quota system for politics. As a result, there must be an equal number of each gender supported by a party. (Lambert) This makes a difficult task not entirely because people don’t want women in the government, but because women don’t volunteer for one reason or another. Some parties will opt to pay a fine rather than get equal groups. (Bennhold) In polls, it is shown that the idea of women in politics is welcomed. Education Recently, the percentage of women earning engineering degrees has grown to 19 percent. This was the highest in Europe. As of last year, The Charter for Equality has helped to ensure women are not being discriminated against in the university setting. They have taken steps to educate staff and monitor the system. Family A lot of pressure is put on women from the family standpoint. Women are expected to do keep the house and care for multiple children, while having a successful career. This gives women unnecessary stress in their lives. Even though men are becoming more involved with the family, some believe a "revolution" needs to happen. (Fraisse) Despite all of this, women do receive therapy to get their bodies back in shape, childcare at no cost and tax deductions that help significantly. |
Citations Bennhold, Katrin. (2010, October 11). Where Having It All Doesn’t Mean Having Equality. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/world/europe/12iht-fffrance.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1& Chien, C. (n.d.). Unesco institute for statistics . Retrieved from http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/women-higher-education.aspx Fisher, Max. (2012, October 25). Why French women have so little equality, a story in charts. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2012/10/25/why-french-women-have-so-little-equality-a-story-in-charts/ Lambert, Caroline. (2001, May). French Women in Politics: The Long Road to Parity. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/2001/05/france-lambert Pain, Elisabeth. (2013, January 29). New Measures to Promote Gender Equality in France. Retrieved from http://blogs.sciencemag.org/sciencecareers/2013/01/new-measures-to-1.html Simard PhD, Caroline. The state of Women and Technology Fields around the World. Retrieved from http://anitaborg.org/files/womenhightechworld.pdf France 24. (2013, February 4). Parisian women finally 'allowed' to wear trousers. . Retrieved from http://www.france24.com/en/20130204-paris-women-trousers-law-revolution-equality-france (2012). France’s Actions in Promoting Women’s Rights and Equality. Retrieved from http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/global-issues/development-assistance/gender-equality/france-s-actions-promoting-women-s/ The website below allows the French to input their job and region to see the gap in pay based solely on gender: http://appli-parite.nouvelles-ecritures.francetv.fr/ |