Evangelical intellectuals in France advocate for a morality-grounded interpretation of society's difficulties, based on Biblical teachings.

The Commission d'Ethique Protestante Evangélique (CEPE), a long-standing partner of the Conseil National des Evangéliques de France (CNEF), has been actively involved in promoting an evangelical social ethics. This commitment is now evident in a new book titled Pour une éthique sociale évangélique, published in July 2024.

Authored by a group of scholars and theologians, including Jean-Marc Vivès, Pierre-Yves Ruff, Marie Dupont, and Marjorie Legendre, the book aims to address contemporary issues such as French Republican values, capitalism, work, technical progress, secularism, religious diversity, and the care of creation.

Marjorie Legendre, an evangelical pastor and ethics professor, serves as the chair of the CEPE and is one of the book's authors. Born in 1986, Legendre is also a professor at the Faculté Libre de Théologie Evangélique, a member of the Groupe national de conversation évangéliques-catholiques, and a doctoral student in social ethics at the Institut Catholique de Paris.

In her chapter, Legendre emphasizes the importance of connecting the French republican values of liberty, equality, and fraternity with the Christian faith. She believes that the involvement of evangelicals in society is an opportunity to bear witness to God's love for contemporary people and thus to bear witness to the Gospel.

Legendre also expresses concern that Protestant and Catholic social works have become secularized over time, losing their specifically Christian flavor. She suggests that these values have roots in the Judeo-Christian heritage.

The authors of the book argue that it is crucial for evangelical Christians to anchor their actions in in-depth biblical reflection and to remain faithful to their religious roots in the context of a secular France. They believe that a commitment to an evangelical ethic would not fundamentally change society, but it would help make it either a little less worse (for the pessimists) or a little better (for the optimists).

The Commission d'Ethique Protestante Evangélique (CEPE) was initially the fruit of the initiative and collaboration of two unions: the Union des Eglises Evangéliques Libres (UEEL) and the Fédération des Eglises Evangéliques Baptistes de France (FEEBF). It was created in 1996 and initially represented these two unions. Since then, it has expanded to represent the wider evangelical world and is now called the 'Commission d'Ethique Protestante Evangélique' (CEPE).

The book Pour une éthique sociale évangélique was published in June 2024 by Excelsis, and in addition to Legendre, it features contributions from Rachel Calvert, Frédéric de Coninck, Robert Despré, Luc Forestier, Daniel Hillion, Yannick Imbert, Marjorie Legendre, Luc Maroni, Alexandre Nussbaumer, Luc Olekhnovitch, Éric Pires Antunes, and Louis Schweitzer. The book is intended to be accessible for both the general public and Christians interested in social ethics.

Evangelical intellectuals in France advocate for a morality-grounded interpretation of society's difficulties, based on Biblical teachings.