Information AboutAlsace-moselle |
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The most striking of the legal differences is the absence of Separation Of Church And State — even though the constitutional right of Freedom Of Religion is guaranteed. Alsace-Moselle is still under the pre- 1905 regime established by the Concordat , which provides for the public subsidy of the Roman Catholic Church , the Lutheran Church , the Calvinist Church and the Jewish religion as well as public education in those religions (parents may refuse religious education for their children). Clergy for these religions are paid by the state; Catholic bishops are named by the President on the proposal of the Pope . The public University of Strasbourg has courses in Theology and is famous for its courses on Protestant theology. Those dispositions are unusual in a country where Church and State are more strictly separated than in most other countries. Controversy erupts periodically on the appropriateness of these and other extraordinary legal dispositions of Alsace-Moselle. Periodically, Freethinker groups contend that this public funding of certain religions should stop. Others argue that, nowadays, the second largest denomination in France is Islam and that Islam should thus enjoy comparable status with the four official religions. Despite the controversy, the '' Status Quo '' continues to persist. Other legal differences include:
Another difference is that in Alsace-Lorraine , most Trains run on the right of the tracks, as in Germany , whereas the normal rule in France is on the left. |