L’objectif de la présente recherche est d’analyser la « dichotomie » que l’on observe habituellement dans la pratique chrétienne de nombreux fidèles africains. Ils sont en effet partagés entre, d'une part, un fort et sincère attachement à l’Eglise catholique avec ses principes, et d'autre part, un recours aux pratiques rituelles des cultures africaines traditionnelles pour résoudre les problèmes de la vie quotidienne. Après un ressourcement dans l’histoire du laïcat en Pays beti, nous avons noté la réalité de ce problème. Mais nos investigations nous ont conduit à opérer un discernement dans l’herméneutique de cette question. Le problème de la « dichotomie religieuse» ne se pose plus de la même manière aujourd’hui qu’au sein de l’Église missionnaire ou même dans la période post-missionnaire des années 60. D’où la nécessité d’un redéploiement historique pour une bonne herméneutique de ce problème. Notre analyse nous conduit à des déplacements herméneutiques quant aux mobiles de ce malaise dans la pratique chrétienne des laïcs africains. Les défis d’une société moderne et même postmoderne ne sont plus seulement les conflits entre traditions ancestrales et culture christiano-occidentale. C’est en ce sens que l’on peut penser que le constat de « dichotomie » est beaucoup plus l’expression de ce malaise moderne que la désignation de la crise la plus fondamentale. Le principal défi du laïc aujourd’hui est l’adaptation du vécu de sa foi dans une société moderne aux interpellations multiformes. L’urgence pastorale est donc dans la prise en compte de la nouvelle donne socioreligieuse d’aujourd’hui. D’où la pertinence d’une « pastorale des signes des temps ». / The purpose of this research is to analyze the "dichotomy" whose many African faithful are subjected in their Christian practices. In fact, they are divided between, on one hand, a strong and sincere commitment to Catholic Church with its principles, and on the other hand, an appeal to traditional African cultures and ritual practices to solve their daily life problems. A survey of the history of the laity in the Betiland provides us the framework on which we build our analysis. Our investigation reveals a hermeneutical problem. In dealing with the problem of ‘dichotomy’ in the Betiland, two periods are to be acknowledged: the Missionary Period (until 1960) and Post Missionary Period (until today). Because of these two periods, there is a need of re-assessing an historical reading of the problem. This reading leads us inevitably to hermeneutical shifts in assessing the reasons of the malaise whom the African layman is confronted in his Christian practice. As a matter of fact, our discovery is that the challenges of a modern and even post-modern society are not only conflicts between traditions and Western Christian culture. There are results of a more fundamental crisis: the crisis of secular world. From this standpoint, the word ‘dichotomy’ becomes more than the expression of a solely post-modern malaise. It becomes a word that expresses the main challenge of today’s secular world in search of the adaptation of faith in modern society as this society faces multi breakdowns; thus our interest of evaluating its use on pastoral field and its relevance in terms of a "pastoral care of the signs of the times".

This thesis considers two questions, "How children aged 12 to 15 years rethinking of biblical texts? And how can using the Philosophy for Children stimulate thinking about faith of children aged 12 to 15 years?" To answer these questions, I chose the qualitative research, which consisted in various discussions in selected focus groups. This dialogue was guided by the principles of philosophy for children. The theoretical part of my thesis deals with the definition of important concepts, such as religious education, catechesis from the perspective of various documents of the Church and other educational programs, and specifying the key differences between these two concepts, define the structure and principles of philosophy for children, but also the historical development of this program. The practical part deals with the qualitative research in focus groups. This research includes discussion of selected focus groups, where individual statements are encoded and then included in the table of frequencies. According to these tables discussions is evaluated in terms of statements frequencies. Subsequently the content of discussions is also evaluated. The codes are divided into categories from which discussions are evaluated in the final summary with answers to the key questions.