REL 1350 Lecture 22: The Age of Revolution
12 May 2017
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Department
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1) Conflicts between Britain and its colonies
a) In the 1760s Britain pushed the French out of Canada (1763 Treaty of Paris)
b) THe idea of introduction of ANglican bishops in the lower colonies
i) England is trying to expand their power and authority over the colonies
c) Quebec Act of 1774 (restored key privileges to the catholic church)
d) They were viewed as a threat to Protestant liberties in New England
i) Therefore the Quebec act was not viewed with favor
e) American revolution (13 colonies found themselves free form england)
2) American Revolution (1765-1783)
a) America was the first nation in the Christian world without an established church
i) Religious diversity; separation of church and state
b) Thomas Jefferson, “the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are
injurous to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods
or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.”
3) The french revolution (1789)
a) Revocation of the edict of nantes → only catholics could be citizens
b) Catholic clergy were exempt from taxation and posessed great wealth
c) Lower clergy favored radical reform that would redistribute power
d) Voltaire (1695-1778)’s skepticism and anticlericalism
i) Attacks on the catholic church
ii) Freedom of religion
iii) Freedom of expression
iv) Separation of church and state
e) Financial crisis of Louis XIV from his support of the american cause
i) After french lost Quebec to britain, french supported the early colonies in their fight
against the British.
f) The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790)
i) Redistribution of clerical incomes
ii) elimination of the authority of the pope
iii) Popular election of bishops and priests
iv) Imposed on all officeholders an oath of compliance
g) Execution of Louis XVI (1793)
h) A policy of extreme de-Christianization
i) Suppression of Sunday and the seven-day week
ii) Dropping of AD (Anno Domini)
(1) Wanted to count the days from their revolution
iii) “Temples of reason’, “reason’s goddess”, “Supreme being”
(1) Tried to reject christian tradition
iv) Partial restoration, Catholicism was again tolerated (napoleon)
v) Religious freedom was granted to non-Catholics
vi) “Liberty, equality, fraternity” (the cry of the revolution)
(1) Napoleon bonaparte -- established civil marriage, legal divorce, public
cemeteries
(2) Opening up of the Jewish ghettoes “were they willing to accept that now French
nationality and not their religion was the source of unity and identity?”
4) Francois-Marie Voltaire (1694-1778)
a) French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher
b) Attacked the established catholic church
c) Advocated for separation of church and state
5) American politics
a) Pro-British federalists vs pro French democratic republicans
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