Download Modern France Assignment

The Church in Early Modern France
Religious Nationalism – Revolution – Anti-Catholicism - Dictatorship
For most of the late 1600s and early 1700s, France was ruled by King Louis XIV, a very
authoritarian and powerful figure – rumored to have said “L'État, c'est moi” (I am the
state). The Catholic King Louis XIV wanted to unify his country and Gallicanism
became a way of bridging deep suspicion between France’s Catholics and Protestants.
Gallicanism or religious nationalism appeared in the late 17th century, when French
clerics and also theologians at the Sorbonne University declared that the Pope had no
authority over the king's realm, nor his superiority to a general council, nor infallibility
apart from the Church's consent. However, a few years later, French bishops wrote the
Pope a letter in which they disavowed everything that had been decreed in that assembly
in regard to the ecclesiastical power and the pontifical authority. The king Louis XIV
himself wrote to the pope to announce that a pro-Gallican royal order had been issued
against his will. Despite this, in the early 1700sGallicanism was supported by most
French clerics, and defended in universities, schools, and seminaries.
The Luxurious Palace of Versailles
Execution of Aristocrats after the Revolution
France became a heavily indebted country, after King Louis XIV spent a fortune on wars
and building his beautiful Versailles Palace. Later King Louis XVI spent a fortune to
help American colonists rebel against France’s rival England. National economic
problems led to a very high tax rate to pay of Frances debts in the time of Louis XVI,
leading poverty and unemployment. As well, there was a famine in the 1780s. Already
influenced by nationalist ideas, many French discontent people wanted radical change,
leading to the French Revolution. In 1789, King Louis XVI and his wife Marie
Antionette were removed from power and executed, the start of a reign of terror.
The French Revolution and the Catholic Church
Cult of Reason in Notre Dame
A Guillotine Execution - the Reign of Terror
Under the French Monarchy, the Catholic Church and clerics were protected, given
positions of power & honour and granted the right to tax the Catholic faithful. After the
Revolution, much of the fury of the Revolutionaries was turned against the king’s allies,
including Church. Churches were closed, many priests were executed, Catholic
monuments were destroyed, religious instruction was outlawed, clerics forcibly married,
and a Cult of Reason was instituted in France by the Revolutionaries. Of the approx.
40,000 French people executed, beheaded by guillotine, during the reign of terror,
nearly 3000 were clerics. As well, in 1793 the Catholic Cathedral in Paris, Notre Dame
was turned into a Temple of Reason and much of the sacred art and relics were destroyed.
Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and the Concordat
Napleon Bonaparte leading French Armies on Campaing in Russia
In 1801, the government of Napoleon Bonaparte signed a Concordat or agreement with
Pope Pius VII. This ended the anti-Catholic and de-Christianizing policies of the French
government. The agreement granted religious freedom and recognized that Catholicism
was the religion of the majority of the French. It guaranteed the Pope’s right to appoint
and remove bishops. As well, the French state agreed to pay salary to priests and to return
Church lands confiscated after the revolution. The concordat of 1801 made peace
between Catholics and the French stated, lasting throughout the 19th century. Three years
later, in 1804, Napoleon crowned himself emperor. During his reign Napoleon led France
to long, costly and destructive wars, that 100,000s of deaths and the destruction of much
of Europe.
Catholicism in Early Modern France
1) What sort of ruler was King Louis XIV? Why did he support Gallicanism for a time?
2) What were some of the main beliefs of French Gallican theologians?
3) What problems did Louis XIV’s construction of the Versailles palace bring about?
4) What was France’s economy like in the time of King Louis XVI?
5) What were some reasons why many French people supported the French Revolution?
6) What was the position of the Catholic Church in France before the Revolution?
7) Why did the Revolutionaries target the Catholic Church during the reign of terror?
8) How were people executed during the reign of terror?
9) What religious view did the Revolutionaries try to impose of France?
10) How did Napoleon Bonaparte end anti-Catholicism in France?
11) Was Napoleon Bonaparte a very saintly and peaceful ruler?