Before the revolution, the pope and
the Catholic Church had a lot of influence on the political, economic,
social and religious affairs of France. The Catholic Church and the
clergy were the most privileged in France. It's on this account that the
revolutionaries targeted the vast resources and influence of the
church. So in July 1790, the national assembly passed a law, which
incorporated the church in to state and the clergy in to civil service.
This became known as the civil constitution of the clergy. It had the
following implications/effects on France and Europe.
i)
It abolished the church tithe since it was a sign of feudalism and a
source of exploitation. This was a relief to the peasants who were able
to save part of their meager/ little incomes.
ii)
The Catholic Church monopoly over land was terminated. The church land
was nationalized, and, sold to the French citizens at a fair price. Such
a resolution availed land to the majority peasants and increased their
productivity and socio-economic welfare.
iii) For
the first time, the clergy (church officials) were to be elected by the
general public and their salaries were to be paid by the government. The
salaries of the lower clergy were increased while those of the upper
clergy were reduced. These measures turned the clergy in to paid civil
servants of France.
iv) The pope's influence and
interference on the politics of France and the Catholics in France were
nullified. He was not to have any power on altering elections and
payments of the clergy and any policy in France.
v)
It abolished old dioceses and established new ones, which corresponded
with the newly established districts. This decentralized the church
administration and increased its efficiency. Besides, the title of Arch
Bishop was abolished and each of the 83 Districts of France were to have
a Bishop.
vi) Through the sale of the church Land
and abolition of its privileges, the national assembly temporarily
raised some money for the administration of the country. A paper form of
money called Assignats was printed according to the value of Land.
However, by 1796 the value of Assignat was undermined by inflation due
to over printing.
vii) The civil constitution of
the clergy delivered a deathblow to religious intolerance that was
dominant in France by 1789. It asserted freedom of worship by legalizing
other religion besides Catholicism.
viii) In Dec
1790, a decree was passed by which all the clergy/church officials were
to take an oath of allegiance to the civil constitution. This divided
the clergy in to two i.e. those who took the oath who were called Turing
priests and those who refused who were known as Non-Juring priests.
This produced civil strife where the Non- Turing priests staged revolts
against the revolutionary government and the Turing priests (at Lavandee
District of western France). This contributed to the reign of terror in
France.
ix) The civil constitution of the clergy
brought hostility and war between France and the rest of the Catholic
states in Europe. The pope condemned it and sought support from all
catholic states against the revolutionary government in France. Besides,
it forced the clergy in to exile from where they organized counter
revolutionary forces with assistance from catholic states like Austria,
Prussia and Russia.
X) The civil constitution of
the clergy made King Louis XVI to attempt the abortive flight to exile
i.e. Austria. He had hesitantly signed it out of the fear that his veto
might bring him more troubles with the revolutionaries. However, when
the Pope .denounced it, Louis xvi regretted signing it. He confessed; I
ask God to accept my profound repentance for having affixed my name
though against my will to acts which are in conflict with the discipline
and belief of the Catholic Church. It was this that made him attempt to
escape from Paris and join the émigrés in Austria. This had disastrous
consequences because he was arrested and brought back as an enemy of
France and the revolution.
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