Abstract
Unlike the remainder of the country where separation of church and state is the order of the day, eastern France (Alsace-Moselle) is characterized by a system of recognized cults; priests, pastors and rabbis are remunerated by the state, and a confessional religious education is dispensed in state schools. The author examines this situation and the evolution of this religious education: formerly marked by a significant drop in pupil participation, today there is a noticeable increase in participation in schools where this education is being reshaped in the wider context of an education focusing on values and citizenship. This development seems to be characteristic of the reconstruction of church-state relations in a world of ultramodernity.