French evangelicals support the report but warn of the “risk of stigmatisation” of religious practices that are “fully protected by freedom of thought, conscience and religion”.
French National Assembly. / Photo: [link]Eddie Junior[/link], Unsplash CC0.
The 2022-2024 activity report of the French Interministerial mission of vigilance and combat against sectarian aberrations (Miviludes), published on 8 April, concludes that “sectarian aberrations and the threats they represent are constantly on the rise”.
The number of reports and requests sent to Miviludes more than doubled between 2015 and 2024 (2,160 vs 4,571). Health and well-being account for 37% of reports, compared with 35% for cults and spiritualities, while almost 20% of the total cases concerned minors, at least in part.
In the last three years, says the governmental task force, “the various types of damage caused by sectarian aberrations come from a wide range of fields: cults and spiritualities, health and well-being, training, coaching, etc.”.
According to Miviludes, “a sectarian aberration can be caused by a group or an individual”, and “it is characterised by the use of pressure or techniques designed to create, maintain or exploit a state of control over a person”.
The Miviludes team is now made up of around 15 agents from the ministries of education, justice, interior, health and the economy and finance, who “refrain from making any value judgement whatsoever on doctrines, theories or beliefs as such”. Their aim, the government says, is “to systematically denounce sectarian aberrations and to combat them”.
François-Noël Buffet, minister attached to the Minister for the Interior, presented the activity report, pointing out that “this has now been achieved thanks to the law of 10 May 2024 aimed at reinforcing the combat against sectarian aberrations and improving support for victims”.
He anounced that the government focus on this issue will be on “increasing awareness and training of professionals in the protection of children, health and police; and to equip local elected representatives to deal with this phenomenon".
Following the publication of this Miviludes report, the National Council of Evangelicals in France (CNEF) issued a statement expressing its concern for “the large number of reports concerning evangelical Protestant churches”.
“Committed to the fight against sectarian aberrations, we stand alongside Miviludes in denouncing any situation where people may be victims of abuse of weakness or psychological or physical subjection”, pointed out the CNEF.
The evangelical body stressed that “along with Miviludes, we want to combat any behaviour that is contrary to fundamental freedoms and respect for human dignity. For us, they are contrary to the Gospel of Christ”.
That is why they are “resolutely pursuing the work begun with our ‘Stop abuse’ service against sexual violence in the Church, in partnership with the competent authorities, in particular Miviludes”.
The CNEF explained that “the vast majority of referrals mentioned in the context of evangelical Protestant churches do not concern churches affiliated to the CNEF”.
However, the movement of evangelical churches and organisations will “remain attentive to the fragility of some of these isolated, sometimes poorly structured communities, which may be exposed to aberrations due to the lack of a counterpart”.
The CNEF also expressed its gratitude for the words of Étienne Apaire, president of Miviludes, who underlined that “neither the state nor Miviludes is intended to become a ‘thought police’”.
“In a democratic and pluralist society, we reiterate our shared commitment to freedom of conscience”, the CNEF says.
In this regard, the CNEF “would like to draw attention to the risk of stigmatisation that could result from certain comments made about evangelicals”.
They underlined that “practices such as prayer, the call to personal commitment, or the freedom to give, when lived freely by the believer, are part of the normal exercise of the Christian faith and are fully protected by freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Moreover, we consider that they constitute positive contributions to society”.
“In a context where confusion can easily arise, we reaffirm our desire for dialogue, responsibility and cooperation in the service of the common good and respect for the fundamental freedoms of individuals”, concluded the CNEF.
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