Long biography
Childhood and intellectual formation
June 3, 1962 • Born in Tananarive (Madagascar).
1964 • His parents return to France. They decide to raise their four children in the countryside, in Dourdan in Essonne.
1970-1979 • Settling in Paris. A turbulent student with little interest in academic studies, Frédéric changed high schools three times. As a teenager, he discovered authors like Hesse and Dostoyevsky, who awakened his awareness of existential questions. He began to develop a passion for philosophy by reading Plato's Symposium.
1980-1985 • Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung had a profound impact on his intellectual journey and stimulated his desire to better understand the great myths and religions of humanity. Initially interested in astrology and Eastern spiritualities, particularly Tibetan Buddhism, he became interested in Kabbalah and took courses in symbolism based on Hebrew letters. Although very liberal, his Catholic education left him with rather bad memories – too much emphasis on dogma and morality – and Christianity did not interest him. At 19, he read the Gospels for the first time. It was a real shock. With his childhood friend, Emmanuel Rouvillois, who would later become a monk under the name Brother Samuel, he began studying philosophy at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. He embarked on a spiritual quest that led him to spend time in India, Israel, and Christian hermitages and monasteries in France. While continuing his studies in philosophy, he spent a little over three years in a religious congregation.
1986-1990 • He began his professional life as a collection director at Fayard publishing house and published as an author several works of interviews or investigations on philosophical and spiritual themes.
1991 • He resigned from his position as editor to devote himself to writing and his doctoral thesis at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) on Buddhism in the West (which he obtained with unanimous congratulations from the jury).
1992 • He became an associate researcher at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. Following Edgar Morin, one of his intellectual mentors, he approached religion in a multidisciplinary way, combining philosophy, sociology and history.
Professional activities
Press
Between 2004 and 2013, he was editor-in-chief of the magazine Le Monde des religions (a bimonthly publication belonging to the Le Monde ), which offers a secular and cultural approach to religion. Previously, he regularly contributed to L'Express and Psychologies Magazine . Under his leadership, the magazine quickly grew from a paid circulation of 30,000 to 60,000 copies per issue. He resigned from his position in 2013 to devote more time to writing.
TV
In 1998, he wrote and co-directed a 5x52' documentary series for Channel 5 devoted to the sectarian phenomenon in the world: Sects, lies and ideals . He will be the author of several other TV documentaries. Between 2019 and 2021, he wrote and co-directed Les Chemins du sacré , a documentary film shot in 12 countries on 5 continents. The 90-minute film and the 5x52' series were broadcast on air and on Arte.tv in April 2021 and April 2022. The rebroadcast of the 5 episodes is available until 7/10/22 on Arte.tv.
Radio
In 2008, he created the show Les Racines du ciel on France Culture. He produced and hosted this weekly show dedicated to spirituality with Leili Anvar for eight years. He resigned in 2016 to devote himself to the creation of the SEVE association .
Theater
In 2009, he co-wrote the play Bonté Divine , directed by Christophe Lidon, with Roland Giraud in the lead role. The play was a triumph in Paris (at the Théâtre de la Gaité Montparnasse), but also in the provinces, and was performed continuously from its creation in January 2009 until March 2011. It has been adapted in 5 other countries. In 2012, he wrote the play Renaissance (directed by Christophe Luthringer) which was performed in Paris at the Théâtre de la Renaissance.
Movie theater
April 2019 • cinema release of the documentary film “ Le cercle des petits philosophes ”, directed by Cécile Denjean, which followed Frédéric Lenoir giving philosophy and meditation workshops in two classes in the Paris region for a school year.
Comic strip
The Prophecy of Two Worlds . Saga in 4 volumes. Screenplay by Frédéric Lenoir . Illustrator: Alexis Chabert. Publisher: Albin Michel
The Chosen One , the fabulous destiny of George W. Bush. Screenplay by Frédéric Lenoir . Illustrator: Alexis Chabert. Publisher: L'Echo des Savanes
The Oracle of the Moon, 5 volumes . Screenplay by Frédéric Lenoir. Co-writer: Rodolphe (for volumes 3, 4, 5). Illustrator: Griffo
Sacré Dieu!
Books
Between 1987 and 2024, Frédéric Lenoir published around fifty books, encyclopedias, books of interviews, essays and novels, selling more than 10 million copies and translated into around twenty languages. In 2016, the magazine L'Obs established a ranking with the GFK institute which revealed that Frédéric Lenoir is the French intellectual who has sold the most books over the previous 5 years.
Commitments
Ecology and animal welfare
1991 • He published Le Temps de la responsabilité (postface by Paul Ricoeur), a book of interviews with around ten personalities on the resurgence of ethical concerns in our societies faced with major new challenges, notably that of ecology.
1992 • He participated in the founding of the association “Environment without Borders”.
2003 • Publication of a book of interviews with his friend Hubert Reeves, Mal de Terre , which sounds the alarm about the threats weighing on the planet.
2012 • He published The Healing of the World , in which he denounces the quantitative and mercantile logic of our society and reflects on the paths that favor respect for the earth and people to avoid the catastrophe towards which we are heading.
2013 • With the association 30 million friends , he became involved in the animal cause and co-signed with 23 intellectuals a manifesto to modify article 528 of the Civil Code which defines animals as “movable property”. The resulting petition collected 800,000 signatures. The amendment was finally adopted by the National Assembly on 01/28/2015. It recognizes animals as “living beings endowed with sensitivity”.
2017 • Publication of Open Letter to Animals and creation of the association Together for Animals, which aims to reflect on the relationship between humans and animals and to defend, in conjunction with other associations, major causes concerning animal welfare. In June 2018, the association organized a major conference at the National Assembly on the animal welfare of farm animals and is currently working on the project of creating an ethical label.
Solidarity
2011 • He became the sponsor of the association Le Pari solidaire , founded by Aude Messéan, which creates intergenerational solidarity links by connecting isolated elderly people and low-income students whom they accommodate. Since then, he has become the sponsor or partner of several associations:
- General Fraternity
- Seeds of the future
- The magicians of Ôse
- Let's take action
Education
2016 • Publication of Philosopher et méditer avec les enfants . At the same time, creation with Martine Roussel-Adam of the SEVE Foundation , Savoir Être et Vivre Ensemble (under the aegis of the Fondation de France), whose main mission is to train facilitators of philosophy and meditation workshops in schools. In November 2017, SEVE received approval from the Ministry of National Education. Between 2016 and 2022, SEVE has trained more than 5,000 facilitators in France and more than 1,000 in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Morocco.
2024 • Creation of La Maison des sagesses in order to disseminate philosophical teachings which help to gain lucidity and live better.