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Of Catechisms and Sermons: Church-State Relations in France, 1890–1905

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Joan L. Coffey
Joan L. Coffey
Affiliation:
assistant professor of history at Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas.
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Extract

The years from 1890 to 1905 were tumultuous ones for church-state relations in France. The Third Republic (1870–1940) sought a more secular state while remaining ever mindful that the majority of French were at least nominally Roman Catholic. Anticlericalism became the unifying theme of an otherwise factious government, and a formal separation of church and state took place in 1905. The church in France, for its part, dreamed of reviving its former power and influence. Some in the church looked back and saw the restoration of the monarchy as the way to realize the dream; others worked to establish a presence in the modern world of factories and department stores. All were concerned with the decline in the number of communicants and the growth of socialism. Feeling threatened and increasingly forced into a defensive stance, the church determined to hold ground and, periodically, even to go on the offensive.

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 66 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 54 - 66
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1997

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References

1. See, for example, Protocollo 79, Fasciolo 4, Rubrica 248, Anno 1892, Segreteria di Stato, Archivo Vaticano (hereafter AV), Rome, Italy; Protocollo 2990, Fasciolo 1, Rubrica 12, Anno 1892, Segreteria di Stato, AV.

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27. Ibid., pp. 166–167.

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32. Prefect of Morbihan to Minister of Cults, 8 January 1903 and 3 March 1903, F/19 5503, AN. See also Inspector of the Academie Finistre to Prefect of Cotes-Du-Nord, 21 October 1902, F/19 5502, AN.

33. Le Signal, 6 October 1902; and La Semaine Religieuse, 17 October 1902.

34. Le Signal, 6 October 1902.

35. Archbishop of Cambrai to the Minister of Cults, 15 January 1891, F/19 5502, AN.

36. Prefect of the Nord to the Minister of Cults, 7 January 1901, F/19 5502, AN.

37. Prefect of the Nord to the Minister of Cults, 27 April 1901, F/19 5502, AN.

38. Prefect of the Nord to the Minister of Cults, 16 July 1902, F/19 5502, AN.

39. Prefect of Basses-Pyrénées to the Minister of Cults, 5 April 1903, F/19 5502, AN; see also Prefect of Vannes to Minister of Cults, 29 December 1902 and 13 January 1903, F/19 5503, AN. L'Eclair, 10 November 1902; see also La Croix, 6 November 1902.

40. Journal Officiel (Paris), 17 January 1903.

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42. Subprefect Lannion to the Prefect of Cotes-Du-Nord, 31 March 1905, F/19 5503, AN.

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44. Only one-fifth of parish priests received the title of curé, and with it secure tenure; all others became a simple desservant, or assistant pastor.

45. Prefect of Basses-Pyrénées to the Minister of Cults, 17 November 1902 and 5 April 1903, F/19 5502, AN.

46. Prefect of Cotes-Du-Nord to Minister of Cults, 13 May 1901, F/19 5503, AN.

47. In Brittany they were the majority. Prefect of Cotes-Du-Nord to the Minister of Cults, 29 December 1902, F/19 5503, AN.

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53. La Verité Française, 27 November 1902.

54. Curé Merreman to the Archbishop of Cambrai, 1 July 1902, F/19 5502, AN.

55. Curé Deblonde to the Prefect of the Nord, n.d., F/19 5502, AN.

56. Desservant Justin de Menditte to the Prefect of Basses-Pyrénées, 7 May 1903, F/19 5502, AN.

57. Prefect of Cotes-Du-Nord to the Minister of Cults, 13 May 1901 and 20 October 1902, F/19 5503, AN.

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59. Prefect of Finistère to the Minister of Cults, 13 July 1903, F/19 5503, AN.

60. Abbé Malgory to the Subprefect of Cotes-Du-Nord, 29 November 1904, F/19 5503, AN.

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63. Since Islam in Algeria continued to be subsidized after 1905, separation of church and state did not end payments to clergy in France, but withholding of salaries was no longer used as a disciplinary measure.

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