Long biography
Childhood and intellectual development
June 3, 1962 • Born in Tananarive (Madagascar).
1964 • His parents returned to France. They decided to raise their four children in the countryside, in Dourdan in Essonne.
1970-1979 • Moved to Paris. A disruptive student with little aptitude for academics, Frédéric changed schools three times. As a teenager, he discovered authors like Hesse and Dostoevsky who awakened him to existential questions. He began to develop a passion for philosophy after reading Plato's Symposium.
1980-1985 • The Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung profoundly influenced his intellectual development 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 on the symbolism of Hebrew letters. Although very liberal, his Catholic upbringing left him with rather unpleasant memories—too much emphasis on dogma and morality—and Christianity held no appeal for him. At 19, he read the Gospels for the first time. It was a profound revelation. 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 stay in India, Israel, and in Christian hermitages and monasteries in France. While continuing his philosophy studies, 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 several books of interviews or investigations on philosophical and spiritual themes as an author.
1991 • He resigned from his position as editor to devote himself to writing and to his doctoral thesis at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (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 in the footsteps of Edgar Morin, one of his intellectual mentors, he approached the religious phenomenon from a multidisciplinary perspective, 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 offered a secular and cultural perspective on religion. Previously, he had been a regular contributor to L'Express and Psychologies Magazine . Under his leadership, the magazine's paid circulation quickly increased from 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 France 5, focusing on the phenomenon of cults worldwide: Sects, Lies and Ideals . He went on to author several other television documentaries. Between 2019 and 2021, he wrote and co-directed The Paths of the Sacred , a documentary film shot in 12 countries across 5 continents. The 90-minute film and the 5x52' series were broadcast on television and on Arte.tv in April 2021 and April 2022. The five episodes are available to stream on Arte.tv .
Radio
In 2008, he created the radio program "Les Racines du ciel" (The Roots of Heaven) on France Culture. He produced and hosted this weekly program dedicated to spirituality with Leili Anvar for eight years. He resigned in 2016 to devote himself to creating 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), as well as in other parts of France, and ran continuously from its premiere in January 2009 until March 2011. It has been adapted in five 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 • release in cinemas of the documentary film " The Circle of Little Philosophers ", directed by Cécile Denjean, which followed Frédéric Lenoir for a school year as he gave philosophy and meditation workshops in two classes in the Paris region.
Comic strip
The Prophecy of Two Worlds . A 4-volume saga. Script by Frédéric Lenoir . Illustrator: Alexis Chabert. Publisher: Albin Michel
The Chosen One , the fabulous destiny of George W. Bush. Script by Frédéric Lenoir . Illustrator: Alexis Chabert. Publisher: L'Echo des Savanes.
The Oracle of the Moon, 5 volumes . Script by Frédéric Lenoir. Co-writer: Rodolphe (for volumes 3, 4, and 5). Illustrator: Griffo.
Good God!
Books
Between 1987 and 2024, Frédéric Lenoir published around fifty books, including encyclopedias, interview books, essays, and novels, selling over 10 million copies and translated into some twenty languages. In 2016, the magazine L'Obs, in partnership with the GFK institute, published a ranking that revealed Frédéric Lenoir to be the French intellectual who had sold the most books over the previous five years.
Commitments
Ecology and animal welfare
1991 • He published The Time of Responsibility , (postfaced by Paul Ricoeur), a book of interviews with a dozen personalities on the resurgence of ethical concerns in our societies facing 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 raises an alarm about the threats facing the planet.
2012 • He publishes The Healing of the World , in which he denounces the quantitative and mercantile logic of our society and reflects on paths that prioritize respect for the earth and people to avoid the catastrophe towards which we are heading.
2013 • With the animal welfare organization 30 Million Friends , he became involved in animal rights and co-signed a manifesto with 23 intellectuals to amend Article 528 of the French Civil Code, which defines animals as "movable property." The ensuing petition garnered 800,000 signatures. The amendment was finally adopted by the National Assembly on January 28, 2015. It recognizes animals as "sentient beings."
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 related to animal welfare. In June 2018, the association organized a major conference at the National Assembly on the welfare of farm animals and is currently working on a project to create an ethical label.
Solidarity
2011 • He became the patron of the association Le Pari solidaire , founded by Aude Messéan, which fosters intergenerational solidarity by connecting isolated elderly people with low-income students they host. Since then, he has become the patron or partner of several associations:
- General Fraternity
- Seeds of the future
- The Sorceresses of Ose
- We take action
Education
2016 • Publication of * Philosophizing and Meditating with Children *. Simultaneously, creation, with Martine Roussel-Adam, of the SEVE Foundation , *Knowing How to Be and Live Together* (under the aegis of the Fondation de France), whose primary mission is to train facilitators for philosophy and meditation workshops in schools. In November 2017, SEVE received accreditation from the French Ministry of National Education. Between 2016 and 2022, SEVE trained more than 5,000 facilitators in France and more than 1,000 in Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and Morocco.
2024 • Creation of The House of Wisdoms to disseminate philosophical teachings that help to gain clarity and live better.