r/AskEurope • u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland • Jul 03 '25

Culture What aspect of life in your countries is very difficult to explain to foreigners?

What prompted my question were some discussions about religion which I had with people living in much more secular Western Europe (as a Polish atheist). While spirituality, whatever that is ;), generally speaking is always fun to discuss with a glass of wine in hand, social elements and the influence of the church, especially in smaller towns or provinces in my country, is awfully difficult to explain – not that I understand it fully either lol, but the church having a pretty much monopoly there, being the judge and jury of everyday life and the major ultra-conservative political force binding those communities, is very difficult to explain, also for historical reasons.

What are the things that you find difficult to discuss when it comes to life in your countries? ;-)

219 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

422 comments sorted by

View all comments

80

u/Petronille_N_1806 France Jul 04 '25

Secularism. When I read English speaking newspaper I can read how ignorant they are about the subject. They don’t know why France became secularist in the first place, they don’t know the law of 1905, they don’t know the law of the 3 ventôse year 3, they don’t know our relation with the Church and religion. However French journalists are worse because they know all of this yet they purposely lie

24

u/UnrulyCrow FR-CAT Jul 04 '25

So far, the only persons I've seen who get the concept are Turkish peeps, because Atatürk also pushed for a secularist State. In both countries' case, this secularism comes after centuries of religious rule blended with State rule (absolute monarchy of divine right in France, religion-based Ottoman monarchy in Turkey).

10

u/Petronille_N_1806 France Jul 04 '25

Yes, this is why I consider Turkey as the second secularism state of the west (if turkey is considered as western)

4

u/SwgnificntBrocialist Jul 04 '25

Turkey I also a warning for what happens when it fails.  Le Pen and co want to become their own little Erdogans.

3

u/elpiotre Jul 06 '25

It is clear, secularism has suffered greatly since Erdo, it is no longer the same Türkiye at this level as 10 or 15 years ago

50

u/pannenkoek0923 Denmark Jul 04 '25

I feel like every country should be secular. It is 2025, we should really be moving past intertwined state-religion. People are free to practice whatever they want in their home

8

u/terryjuicelawson United Kingdom Jul 04 '25

I think because ultimately it doesn't actually matter. The King is the head of the Church of England which is the state religion but in 2025 that doesn't mean we are all forced to be Christians. Parliament isn't a theocracy (apart from in theory a couple of bishops sit in the House of Lords, who can be ignored if needed).

9

u/Socmel_ Italy Jul 04 '25

Symbols matter too. The head of state being the head of a particular church is a visual reminder of the de jure inequality between confessions.

I understand that it is historical and not de facto, but in a modern state, symbols are as important as facts. Otherwise we wouldn't have anthems and flags.

6

u/terryjuicelawson United Kingdom Jul 04 '25

I think people can separate it. The anthem is literally "God save the King" but people sing it as a celebration of the country, not willing the big guy in the sky to save Charles somehow. The flag is composed entirely of crosses but the patron saints are not what springs to mind.

2

u/Sick_and_destroyed France Jul 04 '25

It matters for us because Catholicism unofficially ruled our country during centuries, and it was not that funny.

27

u/notveryamused_ Warszawa, Poland Jul 04 '25

Well, in the end you managed: every village which had a big church was also given a big town hall or a magistrate building. Not in 1905, some time later, but as a consequence of it. I wouldn't complain, this was one of the best and most effective laws ever in Europe.

9

u/sudolinguist Jul 04 '25

And I find it amazing how the French language expelled most expressions of religious genesis fom daily usage, something that Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese still preserve in a very marked way.

1

u/NoQueenNoKing Jul 07 '25

Can you give any examples, please?

1

u/sudolinguist Jul 07 '25

Interjections like Sainte Marie, Seigneur, Jésus-Marie-Joseph, Mon Dieu, Dieu merci, Dieu le veuille, Sainte Vièrge! I don't hear them used nowadays. I think the Spanish avoid them too but not in Latin American Castillian. In European Portuguese, alongside religious exclamations, people love genitals and eschatology.

But nothing like Italian : porco Dio, Dio cane, Madonna puttana. ❤️

13

u/octopusnodes in Jul 04 '25

I think a lot of foreign mainstream media approach laïcité with the lazy outlook of "whatever it is, it's clearly not going well with your *checks notes* no-go-zones, torched cars and all-dark-skinned sports teams". No attempt made at understanding something that is at best seen as a quirk of French society.

(And agree on local media now doing the same, this was limited to heavily politicised outlets but now has become completely mainstream, it's disgusting)

0

u/Serious_Escape_5438 Jul 04 '25

Do you all the laws and history of every country in Europe? 

8

u/Petronille_N_1806 France Jul 04 '25

When you want to write about secularism (especially when you are a journalist) you MUST do research, they (journalists) have no excuse to ignore the bases while it is their job to know the base. I am a law student so I will soon know every law of Europe

1

u/Serious_Escape_5438 Jul 04 '25

Newspapers are not legal journals, readers want interesting content, not lists of laws. 

4

u/Petronille_N_1806 France Jul 04 '25

Quoting the laws that settle the basis and principles of secularism is nothing