What a Secular Society Looks Like

I have relocated permanently to Strasbourg, France, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. There are numerous small and large differences between life in America and life in France. I am not a tourist here acting like an American, but I am a new resident gradually learning what life in France is like.

Many Americans think of America as a Christian society, specially blessed by God because of their faith. In contrast, they think of France as a secular society which does not obey commandments of the Christian God. But I have found that French people, in general, behave in a much more Christian fashion, without calling it Christian. This is a big subject that could fill a book that I am not qualified to write. But here are some observations.

First, the French are, in general, less selfish than Americans. They take up less personal space, and are therefore able to share public space more smoothly. This is most noticeable on public transportation, which is often very crowded and the seats are very small. I am not a big man, and I could barely fit my butt onto a tram seat. Everyone politely yielded to everyone else, though there is no little channel through which a small French person would hesitate to slip. There are no pickup trucks. All the cars are small. Some of the streets are too narrow for a pickup truck, and these are the two-way streets, not just in the nineteenth-century part of town but even in the new part.

The French are more respectful of shared public space in another way also. There is less than ten percent as much litter (déchets sauvages) in France as in America, based on actual numbers that I have counted. If I said there was no litter in France, you would know I was lying, but the difference is at least ten to one. There are two reasons for this. First, people do not throw litter on the ground as much. Second, for the litter that does accumulate, there are municipal workers who go along on little tricycles and pick up the litter into baskets. This is a public expense for which the French are willing to pay.

Third, the French seem to see health as a public good. Oklahoma has about 30 percent obesity, but (based on my actual counts) in Strasbourg it is less than one percent. They walk more and eat less. The elevators are tiny, with a floor space of about a square meter. Obese people would have a hard time on public transportation. The French have a health care system that covers nearly every possible problem a person might have; but the French do not want to overburden their health care system. I wonder how much of poor American health comes from strife and stress, which I have hardly felt at all since relocating to France. It is as if my previous health problems just vanished.

The French do not have a different human nature than Americans. They have just all grown up in a society that values respect for self, for neighbors, and for the public. I think Jesus would feel more comfortable living in France than in an America where everyone is just a gunshot away from getting into someone’s perceived personal space.