In 2018, around 32 percent of French people identified as members of the Roman Catholic church. the French political magazine Le Point reports: However,

of all these people, 19 percent stated that they don’t practice while only seven percent said that they attend mass just once a month, 

In their article, Le Point cites research from sociologists Claude Dargent and Oliver Galland which compared present-day numbers to 1981 when 70 percent of French people identified as being Roman Catholic while about 17 percent practiced regularly.

One of the most profound trends seen in the data is the enormous difference between individuals from different generations in terms of active religious practice. Of those between the ages of 18 and 29-years-old, just three percent of Catholics reported that they actively practice, in contrast to 16 percent of those over the age of 70.

As of today, about 14 percent of French citizens identify as being Muslim, and among the 18 to 29-year-old demographic, there are as many individuals who are practicing Muslims as there are practicing Roman Catholics.

As Catholicism has diminished in France, other religions have stepped in to take its place, with Islam being – by far – the most notable. 

“Muslim believers know very well that their birthrate is such that today, they call it … the Great Replacement, they tell you in a very calm, very positive way that, ‘one day all this, it will be ours’.”

A this historic rise of Islam in a traditionally Roman Catholic country has been addressed by Luc Ravel, the Archbishop of Strasbourg, who linked the trend to the rapidly changing demographics of the French population.

Source:  lepoint.fr  , voiceofeurope.com