Resisting religious indoctrination

 What is the role of the state? Let's set up the elements of the decor: crucifixes are hung in the classrooms and the Council of State has an official place in the Corpus Christi procession. Businesses are subject to church tax, and all taxpayers contribute to the financing, through ordinary taxes, of the Roman Catholic Faculty of Theology. Does the State consider agnostics and those who are indifferent to religion to be lost sheep that it should, if possible, bring back into the right flock? When Christians proclaim their hope that the coming century will become religious again, do they hope to revive indoctrination? Just as there is a reason of state, can we invoke a reason of Church that prevails over respect for people? Do we live in a crypto-confessional state, i.e. non-confessional in its statements and appearance, but confessional in its interior and functioning? Do supporters of a residual clericalism give their support to Muslims who, in their respective countries, demand ...

About the collusion between the Catholic Church and the State of Fribourg Diminished, but still very present: clericalism in the style of Fribourg In 1978, when I was hired as a teacher in a high school in the canton of Fribourg, it was imperative to have an approved denomination, even to teach mathematics. As I had deliberately omitted the religion section of my curriculum vitae, the headmaster demanded that I add it. In 1980, suspected of having links with a sect, a fellow French teacher was dismissed. The state took care of the teachers' private lives to ensure their ideological conformity. A characteristic feature of intolerance is the demonisation of those who do not share the pseudo-truths of the community. In this context, I had to hide my atheism. This is how I was deprived of religious freedom for many years. As the situation evolved only slowly, I never knew when I regained my freedom of belief. Clericalism has diminished, but it remains very present. Even today, essent...

In the canton of Valais (Switzerland), Catholicism was the state religion until 1973, which meant that I spent my childhood and youth in a deeply clerical society. The present text aims to explain, in a particular case, the intimate workings of clericalism, seen from the inside by the teenager I was. The primary school (1955 – 1960, Fully) Boys and girls were separated in two different buildings. Although the school was public and compulsory, the typical day began with the recitation of the catechism. The book, consisting of questions and answers, had to be recited by heart. At the end of the book, we would start from the beginning, and so on for the duration of the primary school. On Sundays, the pupils had an appointment in front of the school to go to mass, in columns of two, under the guidance of the teacher. Attendance was controlled. In addition to the catechism, there were also courses of religious instruction. In preparation for the first confession, I memorized a list of sins ...

Characters The following characters appear in this tale: The musician Our musician is an artist in every sense of the word, even the less glamorous ones. He has composed melodies that have accompanied the most famous films, composed songs for famous singers. He leads a chaotic life, remarries every year, spends some episodes of his life in drugs, others in detoxification. He is invited to star-studded television shows. He is interviewed by the press, both on his musical work and on his latest conquest or relapse. He does not wallow in his relative unhappiness and seeks a way out that constantly eludes him. The Philosopher Whoever appears here is immensely cultivated and very productive. Being somewhat depressed and occasionally tempted to commit suicide, he has written moving pages about the nonsense of existence, which has brought his fame beyond the oceans. When he writes that man is irretrievably mired in the misfortune of his fate, he feels a great inner joy of being so brilliantly...