Stratégies des communautés évangéliques face aux contraintes des réglementations des lieux de cultes en France et au Québec

Abstract

Based on legal data analyses and semi-directed interviews with pastors of Evangelical and Pentecostal communities, this article addresses the strategies framed by these communities in dealing with the constraints of the regulations to control places of worship both in France and in Quebec. First, it presents the legal systems with regard to the places of worship in the two national contexts. Then, it inquires into the different strategies the Evangelical communities work out in order to compensate for the effects of a legal system that is often blind to their claims, and political considerations that are sometimes unfavourable.

Regulations of noise pollution emitted by revival churches and the well-being of neighboring populations in Cameroon

“…They often occupy buildings with sound systems in residential neighborhoods, with considerate effects on the local populations' tranquility, given that the sound space is sufficiently invested with shouting, wailing, songs of praise, prayers, and preaching. In Cameroon (Batibonak, 2012), as in many other countries, notably the Democratic Republic of Congo (Dorrier & Ziavoula, 2005), Rwanda (Gatanazi, 2018), Togo (Ayetan, 2019), and France (Koussens & Dejean, 2013;Métout, 2017), revival churches are often closed for non-compliance with the regulations governing noise pollution. The constitution in these different countries recognizes freedom of religion and worship.…”

“…The closure of revival churches due to noise nuisance can be detrimental to their faith since reli-gion plays an important role in people's well-being (Mpabe & Abba, 2018). It can also induce social conflicts, especially when religious groups feel discriminated against by public authorities' decisions (Koussens & Dejean, 2013;Lasseur, 2016). Kessous and Dejean (2013) reveal that the RCs in Quebec are often discriminated against for obtaining the certificate of occupation, which provides for administrative recognition of the place of worship.…”

De la visibilité des lieux du religieux en contexte urbain : l’exemple des églises protestantes évangéliques à Montréal

“…Un tel chiffre ne doit pas faire oublier que la grande majorité d'entre elles ne rassemblent que quelques dizaines de membres. D'autresÉglises ont vu le jour au gré de l'immigration récentes : environ 70 sont hispanophones, 50 africaines (Koussens et Dejean, 2013). La croissance importante de ces dernières, depuis les années 1990, traduit la part plus importante des immigrants venus de l'Afrique subsaharienne.…”