By Pierre Barrucand Resistance medallist, Honorary Researcher, CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research) Honorary President of CAP With the law of 1905 on the separation of Church and state in France, discrimination appeared to have become impossible and yet only a few decades ago, France and other western countries saw the emergence of campaigns against "sects". While anti-sect campaigns have emerged in many countries, first and foremost the United States, they never received official support and are currently beginning to fade. Unfortunately, this is not the case in France, even if it calls itself wrongly the country of human rights. Two parliamentary enquiry commissions have devoted their efforts to this alleged sect phenomenon as though they had nothing more important to do. The commission did not listen to those who could have enlightened it, i.e. sociologists and religious historians who are not part of any sect but are objective and without passion. According to the anti-sect extremists, they are accomplices of sects. But which crimes are we looking at ? The crime of existing, that is all.
