How the French Revolution Affected the Catholic Church

It was called the "Age of Revolution" or the "Enlightenment" where during the 18th century the people witnessed the Industrial Revolution in England and both the Americans and the French revolted during this time. Out of all of this many new ideas and concepts were introduced into philosophy, religion, and society. The age of revolution had begun.

Many people such as the free masons, rationalists, and philosophers supported the extremes of the "Enlightenment", which laid the cornerstone for the French Revolution. It was felt that many of the French aristocracy and some corrupt monarchs had oppressed the common people far too long. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church in France had become too closely bound with the state. A pronounced division existed between the upper clergy, bishops and cardinals as well as with the lower clergy and priests. Causing divisions within the Church itself.

In 1789, the atmosphere began to change in France. The Church lands were taken over by the government with the understanding that the state would take care of the clergy. But the following year, all monasteries and convents were suppressed. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was enacted and one third of the diocese was simple gotten rid of.

In 1793, the Reign of Terror began, which resulted in the execution of many, often innocent, people during the French Revolution. King Louis XVI was deposed and also put to death. The hatred towards the Church reached the point of insanity. Poulenc's "Dialogues of the Carmelites (1957), a famous opera, highlights the ill effects of the French Revolution. This was based on a true story, the opera portrays cloistered Carmelite nuns who refused to take the new oath and submit to the laws of suppression. This finally led them to their deaths on the guillotine. This by the way was all too common in France during this time. The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, a bastion of French Catholicism, was reduced to dismal barracks for animals, and a statue of the goddess of reason replaced the one of the Virgin Mary.

Napoleon then came into power in France and saw that the French people were basically at Catholic at heart. He tried to get these people on his side by making bogus overtures to the Catholic Church. In 1801, he signed a concordat, which is a Vatican treaty, with Pope Pius VII, this gave back the property of the Church that was seized during the French Revolution and the infamous Reign of Terror. He went as far as to have the pope come to Paris and crown him emperor in Notre Dame. With great pride, he grabbed the crown from the old pope and literally crowned himself and then his Empress Josephine.

The French Revolution drastically changed Catholicism forever, not only in France but also throughout all of Europe. The people of France were able to declare themselves non-Catholic or non-Christian. By the creation of a civil state, divorce became acceptable. Anti-clericalism and atheism later flourished in a country that was once called the "Eldest Daughter of the Church".

After his unsuccessful campaign in Russia, Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and exiled to Elba. He returned a year later for a very short reign of 100 days and was then defeated by the Duke of Wellington. He was again exiled, this time to the island of St. Helena until he died from cancer in 1821. After his defeat and exile, there were two factions that occupied France. The Liberals who wanted to perpetuate the ideals of the French Revolution. The Conservatives who wanted a restoration of the monarchy and Catholicism. However, the Catholic Church in France never completely recovered from the devastation that the Revolution created. Seeds of indifference to the true faith were sewn.