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572
Book Reviews
Yannick Fer and Gwendoline Malogne-Fer (eds.),Le Protestantisme à Paris: Diver-
sité et Recompositions Contemporaines(Genève,CH: Labor et Fides, 2017). 418 pp.
$32.82 paperback.
Evert Veldhuizen (ed.),Les Pasteurs: Acteurs avec Les Temps; Une Profession en Con-
stant Evolution. Cahiers de L’APF (No. 45–46, 2016–2017). 168 pp. $13.58 paperback.
These two publications are important additions to research on Protestantism in all its diversity in Paris and to the roles of pastors in France, including, those of the Pentecostal churches. Both are collaborative works, led by careful schol- ars.Yannick Fer and Gwendoline Malogne-Fer are authors of well-known works on Pentecostal and Charismatic movements in Oceania and in France, but also on French Protestantism in general. Both are sociologists engaged full-time in research projects: Yannick Fer with theCNRS/GSRLand Gwendoline Malogne- Fer with theCNRS/EPHE, different sections of the Centre Nationale de Research Scientifique, a French national scholarly think-tank. Evert Veldhuizen is pres- ident of the Association des Pasteurs de France. He is well known for his con- tributions to the study of the Charismatic movement in French Protestantism. The teams of scholars who participated in these projects represent the best of French scholarship. The editors are to be congratulated. The essays in the volumes are of uniformly high quality. Methodologically, those of Le Protes- tantisme à Parisare all primarily sociological, with attention to historical issues and data; those of Les Pasteurs: Acteurs avec les temps are primarily historical with attention to sociology and theology.
First, Le Protestantisme à Paris. The “Introduction,” (15–66) by Fer and Malogne-Fer is multo in parvo. It provides a succinct history of Protestantism in Paris and access to important recent research on aspects of that history and culture. Importantly, they underline the minority status in France of Protes- tantism and its fragility, attending also to recent changes in what it means to be Protestant in Paris. Central to those changes have been the immigrant churches established during the last decade, many of which are Pentecostal or Charis- matic. Some long-established congregations of historic French Protestantism (Reformed, Reformed Evangelical, Baptist and Pentecostal) have attracted sig- nificant numbers of immigrant participants.The cultural, ecumenical, ideolog- ical, racial and class issues of the interaction (or non-interaction) between the varieties of Protestantism in Paris has provided scholars with complicated and interesting questions.
The articles are grouped into four sections. In the first section, “La diversité culturelle dans les Églises protestantes à Paris” [The cultural diversity within the Protestant Churches of Paris], readers are provided with three case stud-
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ies of congregations and one more widely cast on secularity: Bernard Coyault, “Mutations culturelles et religieuses du protestantisme historique en region: Le cas de l’Église protestante unie de Melun,” [Cultural and Religious Mutations of Historic Protestantism: The case of the United Protestant Church of Melun] (59–88); Sébastien Fath, with the collaboration de Caroline Gachet, “L’enjeu de la diversité culturelle dans le protestantisme parisien: l’exemple de l’Église libre de la rue d’Alésia,” [The Challenge of Cultural Diversity in Parisian Protes- tantism: The Example of the Free Church of the rue d’Alésia] (89–105); Sabrina Pastorelli et Jean-Paul Willaime, “Les cadres laïcs des Églises protestantes de Paris: un facteur d’intégration de la diversité culturelle et religieuse?” [The Sec- ular Framework of the Protestant Churches of Paris: A Factor in the Integration of Cultural and Religious Diversity?] (107–143); and, Gwendoline Malogne-Fer, “Le projet Mosaïc de la FPF: genèse, activités et ambiguïtés d’une politique de la ‘diversité’” [The Mosaic Project of the Protestant Federation of France: The Beginning, Activities and Ambiguities of a Politics of Diversity] (145–163).
The contributions of the second section, “Faire communitaire” [Creating Community], examine a “third wave” Reformed congregation, the impact of immigration on a traditionally British congregation, and the ministry to LGBT persons at the American Cathedral in Paris: Gwendoline Malogne-Fer, “Le tem- ple du Marais: un modèle communitaire experimental” [The Temple of the Marais: A Model Experimental Community] (167–193); Matthew Wood, “Une minorité chez elle à Paris: Les congregations britanniques de l’Église angli- cane,” [A Minority within Itself in Paris: The British Congregations of the Angli- can Church] (195–209); and Rémy Bethmont, “Le ministère LGBT de la cathé- drale américaine de Paris,” [The Ministry to LGBT of the American Cathedral of Paris] (211–230).
The third section, “Églises transnationales et ancrage local” [Transnational Churches and Local Anchorage], presents studies of four immigrant groups: an African Evangelical Church, the Church of the Universal Reign of God, a Chi- nese congregation and Arabic speaking churches: Linda Haapajärvi, “Mission- naires, fidèles et cosmopolites en mobilité. Analyse des répertoires culturels relatifs à l’expérience migratoire au sein d’une Église évangélique africaine en Île-de-France,” [Missionaries, the Faithful and Cosmopolitans in Motion: Analysis of the Cultural Réperatories Relative to the Migratory Experience within an African Evangelical Church in the Île-de-France Region] (233–253); Armand Auplais-L’homme, “Un Pentecôtisme transnational entre migration et autochtonisation: l’Église universelle du royaume de Dieu en region Parisi- enne,” [A Transnational Pentecostalism between Migration and Autonomy: The Church of the Universal Reign of God in the Parisian Region] (255–208); Junliang Pan, “L’évolution de l’organisation des Églises Wenzhou à Paris: rené-
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gocier le pouvoir et l’autorité,” [The Evolution of the Organization of the Wen- zhou Church in Paris: Renegotiating Power and Authority] (281–302); and, Fatiha Kaoues, “Églises évangéliques arabophones en region Parisienne: im- plantation, structuration et développement missionnaire,” [Arab Language Evangelical Churches in the Parisan Region: Implantation, Structures, and Mis- sionary Development] (305–320).
The final group of essays explores aspects of “Réseaux missionnaires et man- ifestations publiques” [Missionary Networks and Public Demonstrations]. The central issue here is the usefulness, comprehensibility, and legality of pub- lic demonstrations for and against issues in the public square. They are: Yan- nick Fer, “Une nouvelle génération? Reseaux missionnaires de jeunesse et pro- grammes ‘jeunes’ au sein du protestantisme parisien,” [A New Generation? Missionary Networks of Youth and Youth Programs within Parisian Protes- tantism] (323–342); Patrice Rolland, “Les Manifestations religieuses: quell droit à la visibilité dans l’espace public?” [Religious Demonstrations: What Right to Visibility in the Public Space?] (345–361); Yannick Fer, “Les manifestations protestantes à Paris: Enjeux de visibilité et jeux de distinction,” [Protestant Demonstrations in Paris: The Challenge of Visibility and the Games of Distinct- inction] (363–388); and, Yannick Fer and Gwendoline Malogne-Fer, “De Paris à Genève: les lieux communs d’une mobilization charismatique,” [From Paris to Geneva: The Common Places of a Charismatic Mobilization] (389–411).
Second, Les Pasteurs: Acteurs avec les temps. Space allows only for comment about two essays in this volume resulting from a colloquium held in 2016 at the Institut Protestant de Théologie at Paris. Jean-Yves Carluer and Fabio Morin contributed a groundbreaking article for French Pentecostal Theology, entitled, “Les deux premieres generations de pasteurs pentecotistes des Assemblees de Dieu: Les origins confessionnelles,” [The first two generations of Pentecostal Pastors of the Assemblies of God:The Confessional Origins] (81–100).The care- ful analysis of the participants of the early conventions whose ecclesial origins could be identified (74%), 62% had Protestant religious roots, 9% Catholic ori- gins (9%) and 3% Orthodox. Of those with Protestant backgrounds, 54% had experience in the Salvation Army. I expected significant Salvation Army con- nections but was surprised at the extent. This needs to be the subject of further detailed research.
The article by Jean-Pierre Bastian, “Un point de vue sociologique, les diri- geants Pentecotistes sont-ils prophetes?” [A Sociological Point of View: Are Pentecostal Leaders Prophets?] (101–109) used Max Weber’s understanding of prophet as a baseline of analysis, concluding that Pentecostal leadership is a flexible “hybrid” that facilitates long term exercise of charisms, a pattern enabling Pentecostals to recruiting across sociological barriers.
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Scholars of Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements will observe the in- creasing importance of these traditions, their ethnic diversity, and fragmented relationships within Paris. The census of these groups is a work in progress, but already it is clear that the ethnically diverse non-Catholic congregations are changing the historic character of Protestant identity within Paris, and beyond throughout France.This, of course, is happening in other cities across the world as the post-9/11 wars have created devastation and flows of immigrants across the world. Second, the adaptability of the tradition(s) of Pentecostalism and the related Charismatic renewals and their institutionalisations and leader- ship is demonstrated. Third, since the beginning, there has been diversity of origins of peoples and clergy who represent and have represented these move- ments in France. Fourth, the ecumenical and intercultural issues are daunting, even among Pentecostals. Complexified by culture, race and language, doctri- nal divisions are also based on theological struggles and identities imported from other places. The precarious history of the Reformed Churches of France has made those churches, especially the Église Protestante Unie less ready to embrace newness on the Protestant map of France. As well, the immigrant churches, and other evangelicals, are distrustful of the culture, intentions and doctrines of those perceived as the established Protestantism. They are sepa- rated from each other by language, culture, liturgy and sometimes theological details. The authors and editors are to be thanked for their work in making these fresh studies available.
David Bundy
Manchester Wesley Research Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom [email protected]
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