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This book explores the responses of the Roman Catholic Church to the French Revolution beginning in 1789, to the liberal revolution in 1830, and particularly the democratic revolution of 1848 in France, and asks how these events were perceived and explained. Informed by the collective memory of the first revolution, how did the Church react to renewed 'catastrophe'? How did it seek to influence political choice? Why did authoritarian government prove to be so attractive? This is a study of the impact of religion on political behaviour, as well as of the politicisation of religion. Roger Price employs the methodology of the social and cultural historian to explain the development and interaction of two key institutions, Church and State, during a period of political and social upheaval. Drawing on a wide range of archival and printed primary sources, as well as secondary literature, this book analyses the diverse perceptions of people with power and the impact of their decisions, and the responses, of a wide range of individuals and communities.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction.- Part I The Shock of Revolution, 1789-1848.- Chapter 2. Revolution and Empire: reconstructing the Church, 1789-1815.- Chapter 3. Restoration and Revolution, 1814-48.- Chapter 4. The Challenge of Democracy, 1848-1852.- Chapter 5. The Turn towards Counter-Revolution.- Part II Religion and Politics during the Second Empire, 1852-70.- Chapter 6. An Authoritarian Alliance, 1851-59.- Chapter 7. The Roman Question.- Chapter 8. Conflict over Education.- Chapter 9. The Search for a New Equilibrium: towards the liberal Empire, 1859-70.- Chapter 10. General Conclusion.- Appendices.- Index.
About the author
Roger Price is Emeritus Professor of History at Aberystwyth University, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He has published a large number of articles and books on the economic, social and political history of nineteenth-century France and Europe. Previous publications include
The French Second Empire: An Anatomy of Political Power(2001);
People and Politics in France, 1848-1870 (2004);
A Concise History of France (2014);
Documents on the Second French Empire, 1852-1870(Palgrave, 2015); and
The Modernization of Rural France: Communications Networks and Agricultural Market Structures in Nineteenth-Century France (2017). In addition to this book, his study of
Religious Renewal in France, 1789-1870: The Roman Catholic Church between Catastrophe and Triumph will also soon be published by Palgrave.
Summary
This book explores the responses of the Roman Catholic Church to the French Revolution beginning in 1789, to the liberal revolution in 1830, and particularly the democratic revolution of 1848 in France, and asks how these events were perceived and explained. Informed by the collective memory of the first revolution, how did the Church react to renewed ‘catastrophe’? How did it seek to influence political choice? Why did authoritarian government prove to be so attractive? This is a study of the impact of religion on political behaviour, as well as of the politicisation of religion. Roger Price employs the methodology of the social and cultural historian to explain the development and interaction of two key institutions, Church and State, during a period of political and social upheaval. Drawing on a wide range of archival and printed primary sources, as well as secondary literature, this book analyses the diverse perceptions of people with power and the impact of their decisions, and the responses, of a wide range of individuals and communities.
Additional text
“The Church and the State in France combines archival research with a very useful synthesis of the considerable secondary literature in this field. As such, the work offers a solid overview of Church-State relations after 1789, though the narrative ends rather abruptly with the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1870.” (Laura O’Brien, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 71 (2), 2020)
Report
"The Church and the State in France combines archival research with a very useful synthesis of the considerable secondary literature in this field. As such, the work offers a solid overview of Church-State relations after 1789, though the narrative ends rather abruptly with the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1870." (Laura O'Brien, Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 71 (2), 2020)
