France is a country with a long and rich history. Catholicism, as a political force, as much as a spiritual one, is woven into the that history like threads in a tapestry. It's part of the French identity; their DNA.
Protestants of all types, however, have been persecuted, exiled, and even slaughtered throughout most of that same history. While many of the French describe themselves as "non-practicing Catholics", the reality that less than 12% of the population attends any kind of church regularly a- Compare that to Kenya, where regular church attendance is 89%.
France is one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and yet its people are among the most emotionally despondent. France has the highest rate of teen suicide in all of Europe, and the sixth highest suicide rate in the world. France has the highest rate of AIDS cases in western Europe. For a country so "progressive", the population has a very bleak outlook on life in general.
