” “45% of French people think religions must not be criticised and 53% fear tensions between Christians and Muslims will increase in the next few years. This is shown by a survey, due out tomorrow on the French Catholic weekly “La Vie”. The survey, conducted on 20th and 21st September by the Research Institute Csa on a national sample of 1,000 people that have been contacted by telephone, shows that just 5% of the interviewees think religions can be criticised without caring for their believers. 53% think religions can be criticised, but 45% favour a criticism that respects the devotees’ beliefs. Practising Catholics do not express a different opinion from the average of the population. The most critical ones are those aged thirty to forty, while younger and older ones sound more conservative. Over one half of the interviewees think tensions between Christians and Muslims are going to increase in the next few years, against 35% who think this is not going to happen, while 7% made no comment.” “
