Author : Michel Vovelle
Release : 1991
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : /5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Revolution Against the Church by : Michel Vovelle

Download or read book The Revolution Against the Church written by Michel Vovelle. This book was released on 1991. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Paris in the winter and spring of 1793-94, a sudden and violent attempt at "dechristianization"--a willful endeavor to eradicate religious institutions, practices, and beliefs--flared up, crowned by the effort to set up a new cult, that of Reason. In this lively and well-researched book, Vovelle asks how we should evaluate this episode: as little more than a tragic accident, the folly of a day from which the profound faith of the masses nevertheless emerged intact? Or as a momentous break in religious history which has lasted to the present day? Or--a third possibility--as a symptom of the true state of popular indifference which had already begun with the philosophical propaganda of the Enlightenment? Drawing on a rich body of documentary evidence, Vovelle traces the growth of the revolutionary movement against the Church and uses several indicators: the surrendering of Church silverware, the taking down of bells, acts of iconoclasm, the burning of idols, and the closure of churches. He draws conclusions from these traumatic events about the history of the "dechristianizing" mentality in early modern Europe. Written by one of the foremost authorities on the French Revolution, The Revolution against the Church will be on interest to students and researchers in the history of France and the history of religion.