Date

12-7-2023

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Ministry (DMin)

Chair

Seth Bible

Keywords

Laïcité, Evangelism, Separation of Church and State, Secularism, Religious Freedom, Christian Civil Disobedience

Disciplines

Religion

Abstract

This action research project aims to assist believers in the Eglise Evangelique Baptiste de Draguignan in France to maximize their evangelistic efforts despite the pressures and adverse effects of laïcité. The work rests on the historical and French legal definition of laïcité that parallels the biblical doctrine of the separation of church and state. This doctrine supports the libertarian approach of laïcité and opposes the restrictive definition growing in French culture. A group of eleven individuals participated in an intervention to assist believers in their understanding of laïcité, evangelism, and the practice of evangelism. This six-week intervention combined teaching times, practical exercises, and accountability components to counteract the negative effects of laïcité on evangelism. This research will be helpful to believers seeking to be faithful in their evangelism in the context of French laïcité, as well as pastors desiring to stimulate evangelism in a society that discourages it.

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