Matériaux pour l'histoire religieuse du peuple français. Aspects de la pratique religieuse en France, 1802-1939 : l'exemple des Pays de Loire

While religious practice is not sufficient to define a christian, it is a valuable indicator of the level of permeation of christian practrice in society, and one of those rare facts which make possible an objective approach to popular mentality. An example will be given of the type of material that a systematic exploitation of sources (mainly the records of bishops visitations) can offer to the historian and the sociologist. The part of the material presented here as specimen covers five dioceses (englobing six departements of the Loire region) ; the complete statistical materials, which will be published in 1977 with the title Matériaux pour l'histoire religieuse du peuple français will cover 21 dioceses (24 departements) including Paris from 1802 to the present.Boulard Fernand. Matériaux pour l'histoire religieuse du peuple français. Aspects de la pratique religieuse en France, 1802-1939 : l'exemple des Pays de Loire. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 31ᵉ année, N. 4, 1976. pp. 761-801