I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the French president, the newly elected Nicholas Sarkozy, is batting for the inclusion of religion in schools in his vision of a renaissance in the French educational system.

As you know, France, like all other countries in Europe, is a very secularized country, a country that in spite of its Christian roots is drowning in paganism. In these places, any mention of God is likely considered a cause for embarrassment or an intrusion to one's privacy.

That is to say, it has become a hotbed of religious indifference and skepticism, a nest of agnostics, free thinkers, atheists. It has produced some of our most sophisticated and complicated philosophers. Its history, to say the least, has not been all favorable to the Church nor to things related to religion.

So to hear something like this is like a bolt from the blue, a rather nice, unexpected turn of events. We should be happy and hopeful, for this can start a train of good future developments.

Let's listen to some of his words. They sound too good to be true: I am convinced that we should not leave the issue of religion at the school door? The spiritual and the sacred always accompany human experiences. They are the source of all civilization?

"One can open up easily to others and one can dialogue more easily with people of other religions when one understands their religion."

There were other beautiful things he said that reflect vintage Christian principles. For example, he said that religion and spirituality are significant to the human person; that teachers should go beyond teaching content and assist the youth in character development.

He also asked teachers to help the youth to appreciate culture and to develop patriotism so they can be responsible citizens. He reminded parents that they are the primary educators of their children and promised to help them fulfill that duty.

There was just one point that I did not quite like. That's when he said that he was not advocating for proselytizing or teaching within a theological framework.

To me, that statement deserves to be reexamined more closely. It's true that the word "proselytism" has acquired a largely negative connotation down the ages. It involves coercion and deceit in persuading people to convert to a certain religion.

But "proselytism" originally is not like that. Proselytism is a necessary consequence of religion. If one is consistent to his faith, he necessarily feels the need to invite others to join his faith.

Of course, there are good and bad ways of proselytism. But proselytism need not be exclusively associated with the latter partial ways. Its negative connotation is a clear case of a historical or cultural overreaction resulting to an unfair bias.

As to his reservation about theology, I also feel it is quite sweeping. When one goes deep in religion, he cannot help but engage in theology, because faith necessarily has to be explained, reasoned out and spread, which is what theology does.

What has to be avoided is to caricaturize theology. That is, making theology a purely intellectual affair detached from real piety and charity, thus making it prone to be self-righteous and quarrelsome.

I suspect this unusual move of the French president hides an ulterior motive. The country is facing the danger of moral decadence that has to be arrested and reversed.

Besides, with a rapidly growing Muslim population, the country is experiencing intense social tension that demands to be relieved. And the need for a dialogue of religions and cultures is becoming more sharply felt.

It's good that the president recognizes the unifying property of religion. He may be using religion as a social tool, but with this move, he is taking the citizens' right to religious freedom to the next level by encouraging everyone to take his religion more seriously.

As long as the president respects the natural course of the development of religion, limiting himself to keeping peace and order where religion is concerned, there's every reason his action can lead to his envisioned renaissance.

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Fr. Roy Cimagala is the Chaplain of Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE) in Talamban, Cebu City. You can email him at:Email: roycimagala@boholchronicle.com