“The 21st century will be spiritual or will not be. »» If André Malraux has never actually written this sentence that has become famous, the religious nevertheless made his return to the world scene in this quarter of the 3rd millennium. Whether in the United States, Russia, India, the Middle East, Brazil or Turkey … Religion and political power are today intimately mixed in many regions of the world. And if in France, the influence of religions seems secondary, it is quite different in the vast majority of countries where religious are actors often essential in political and social life, sometimes at the risk of instrumentalization.
At the dawn of this new year, we wanted to bring together in one place the 40 religious personalities who have influenced important news from the French or world scene in recent months and who should continue to weigh in 2025. But also D “Others, which will not necessarily make the headlines, but whose action deeply marks the country where they register. Some are inspiring, others frankly controversial. Some won, like Pope Francis, where others were able to lend a debate in our editorial staff.
By “religious personalities”, we have restricted our selection, for this first edition, to leading figures invested by their church or in a particular religious mission. It will therefore not be surprising, in this perspective, to find an over -representation of men. We can regret it: we know well, to The cross, The role, often discreet but powerful, that women play at all levels in the course of religions, but it is clear that religious bodies, all confessions combined, are still largely managed by men in 2025. This file in any case intends to expand our gaze on this essential decryption key to the news of our societies and the world that is religion.
(tagstotranslate) Religious personality