Abstract
In France, the passing of the Marriage for All Act (2012–13) gave rise to the expression of and confrontation between radically divergent stances. Among the opponents to the bill, Catholics (some bishops and lay activists) appeared indeed as key players, for they considered the bill a threat to the family. Above all, they put forward the argument of rights—children’s rights in particular—articulating them with the idea of equality. By doing so, they adopted a secular rhetoric. How can this reorientation in language be analyzed? Does it reflect profound changes or merely constitute a reformulation of the traditional condemnation of homosexuality? Is it a simple tactic or a real inflection in the relationship to homosexuality? This chapter aims to provide answers to these questions.
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Notes
- 1.
Such mobilization is not unique since that kind of anti-gender campaign has been spreading across Europe (Kuhar and Paternotte 2017).
- 2.
Bruno Perreau notes how “the idea of the propagation of homosexuality. .. functions on many layers of discourse: contamination (which combines mental pathology and physiological illness), corruption (the destruction of the natural order through pagan practices), loss of distinctions (androgyny and transsexuality), and conversion (indoctrination into an activist movement not dissimilar from a religious conversion)” Perreau (2016, 10).
- 3.
The term “Demo for All” refers both to the demonstrations against marriage for all and the collective that instigated and organized the marches. The sweatshirts, as well as the balloons, flags, and banners waved by the demonstrators, were pink and blue, the colors of the layettes traditionally given to little girls and to little boys, respectively. The aim was to symbolically mark the commitment of these anti-gender activists to differentiation of the sexes, which they considered threatened by gay and lesbian couples being allowed to marry and adopt.
- 4.
The expression is actually not stated as such in the text, which merely mentions a “solemn legal framework to establish the relationship in time.”
- 5.
The Confédération nationale des Associations familiales catholiques (National Confederation of Catholic Family Associations) and the Familles de France (Families of France) share the same features but are nondenominational. The CLER Amour et Famille, a Catholic association that offers marriage counseling, was also represented.
- 6.
Such was the case with Alliance Vita, which was a perpetuation, under a new name, of the Alliance pour les droits de la vie (Alliance for the Rights to Life).
- 7.
“Le Pacte civil de solidarité (Pacs): Une loi inutile et dangereuse.”
- 8.
Pope John Paul II spoke along the same lines in September 1998 when addressing European Catholic jurists, denouncing homosexual unions, and again before the Roman Rota in January 1999.
- 9.
Isambert (1976) distinguished between external (or functional) secularization and internal secularization. The former refers to the decline of religion in certain sectors of social life. The latter is internal to religious worlds. It refers to the alignment of religious discourses and practices with secular ones.
- 10.
The text was written by six bishops, one priest, and five lay people, including a law professor (Françoise Dekeuwer-Defossez) and a psychoanalyst (Jacques Arènes). Although known as Catholics, the latter pretended to speak as professionals on that occasion.
- 11.
- 12.
Press release dated December 12, 2012 from Patrick Sanguinetti and Elisabeth Saint-Guily, co-sponsors of David et Jonathan, http://www.france.qrd.org/spip.php?article5575.
- 13.
- 14.
- 15.
The signatories were also Protestants, and it is believed that the petition had the same goal of questioning the appearance of unanimity on the issue among Protestant circles.
- 16.
- 17.
- 18.
Published, among others, on http://www.sconews.co.uk/opinion/40818/synod-on-the-family-full-text-of-relatio-post-disceptationem.
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Béraud, C. (2020). The Catholic Opposition to Gender and Sexual Equality in France: Reviving the Traditional Condemnation of Homosexuality During the Debates on Marriage for All?. In: Derks, M., van den Berg, M. (eds) Public Discourses About Homosexuality and Religion in Europe and Beyond. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56326-4_11
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