Gérard Dagon

Gérard Dagon (4 April 1936, Strasbourg - 22 May 2011, Gandrange)[1] was a French evangelical Protestant pastor, teacher, author, publisher and long-time Christian counter cultist. He was Master of Divinity at the faculty of Protestant theology in Strasbourg.[2]

He became pastor of the Protestant Reformed Church of Alsace and Lorraine (EPRAL) in 1959, then directed the Union of Evangelical Churches Chrischona (Union des Églises évangéliques Chrischona).[3] He also participated in the creation of the Evangelical Federation of France (Fédération évangélique de France) which he directed for a long time.[4] He founded, alongside others such as Swiss pastor and former member of the ADFI Paul Ranc, the association Vigi-sectes in 1998 who fights against cults from an evangelical perspective.[3] He published books about Protestant movements, about Christian-oriented groups he considered cults because of their supposed biblical errors,[5] and an extensive encyclopedia on Christianity. He listed 150 people who have claimed to be the Messiah from the first century.[6]

Sébastien Fath considered Dagon a "key figure of French evangelical Protestantism since the 1970s,[7] and Émile Poulat qualified him a "pioneer" in the religious issues.[8] Although his works are often used by sociologists,[9] he also received some criticisms. For example, Secretary of the French episcopate for the study of cults and new religious movements Jean Vernette said that Dagon used his anti-cult fight to attract new followers to his church.[3]

Main works
  • Les Sectes en France, 1958
  • Petites églises de France, Amneville, six volumes, 1960s-1970s
  • Parlons sectes, Barnabas editions, 1991, ISBN 2-908582-04-X
  • Panorama de la France Évangélique, Barnabas editions, 1993, ISBN 2-908582-07-4
  • Les Sectes à visage découvert : Tome 1 , Yerres : Barnabas editions, 1995, ISBN 2-908582-09-0
  • Les Sectes à visage découvert : Tome 2 , Dozulé :Barnabas editions, 1997, ISBN 2-908582-17-1
  • Nouvelle Encyclopédie chrétienne, Gandrange, 2005, 1247 p., ISBN 2-9500197-3-0

References
  1. Ohlott, Paul (25 May 2011). "Décès du pasteur Gérard Dagon, l'un des fondateurs de Vigi-Sectes" (in French). Top Chretien. Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  2. "Les sectes expliquées en public". La Dépêche du Midi (in French). Toulouse: La Dépêche Group. 6 March 2006. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  3. Hervieu-Léger, Benoît (16 April 1998). "Sectes". La Croix (in French). Paris: Bayard Press. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  4. Desplan, Fabrice; Dericquebourg, Régis (2008). Ces protestants que l'on dit adventistes (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan. p. 25. ISBN 978-2296068384.
  5. Rath, Noël M.; Gilbert, Marcel (2005). Les sectes en question: Se questionner et questionner (in French). L'Harmattan. p. 55. ISBN 2-7475-8996-X.
  6. Ohlott, Paul (20 August 2007). "Les prétendants au Trône céleste !" (in French). Top Chrétien. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2011.
  7. Fath, Sébastien. Du ghetto au réseau: le protestantisme évangélique en France (1800–2005) (in French). Genève: Labor et Fides. p. 194. ISBN 2-8309-1139-3.
  8. Poulat, Émile (2003). Notre laïcité publique: "La France est une République laïque" (Constitutions de 1946 et 1958) (in French). Berg International. p. 259. ISBN 2-911289-65-X.
  9. Poiraud, Franck. Les évangéliques dans la France du XXIe siècle (in French). Aparis editions. p. 13. ISBN 978-2-3560-7032-6.
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