From the Old Regime to the Napoleonic Era and the Bourbon Restoration, Catholicism was used as a tool for politics by both the devout and the not-quite-so devout. In the early seventeenth century, the Catholic Church had undisputed influence over much of how France should be ordered and governed in regards to the Three Estates and the divine right to kingship. By the time of the Revolution of 1789 and on through 1801, the role of Catholicism in the law was often diminished for largely political reasons before regaining some of its former authority – also for political reasons albeit slightly different ones – during the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte and the Bourbon Restoration.
In the Old Regime, Catholicism was used to maintain order and hierarchy …show more content…
This demonstrated that the government did not grant Protestants and Jews the same freedom to their religion that Catholics had. This inequality would become one of the issues associated with the Catholic Church in the years leading up to the Revolution. In November 1787, the government of Louis XVI, proposed the Edict of Toleration for Calvinists (who were considered to be a more pressing issue than Jews), which stated that “justice and the interest of our kingdom do not permit us to exclude any longer from the rights of civil status those of our subjects or resident foreigners in our empire who do not profess the Catholic religion” (Hunt 41). This document shows that, for the sake of order and fairness in the nation, Calvinists had to be allowed civil rights (but apparently not political rights). The edict did not go so far as permitting Calvinists to publicly worship, but the welfare of the state was indeed implied to be more important than the prejudice of Catholics to an extent. The Church rapidly lost even more influence as the Revolution came into full swing and it seemed less possible for there to be equality before the law whilst allowing the Church to retain its influence in how France was ordered and …show more content…
Despite being a constitutional charter, establishing a constitutional monarchy rather than an absolutist monarchy, the Charter of 1814 opens with the traditional “Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre,” emphasizing the Old Regime idea of kings having the divine right to rule (“Charter of 1814”). As a sign that the new head of government was a relatively devout Catholic, divorce was illegalized immediately in 1814. Following Napoleon’s lead, this new government was considerably more tolerant of other religions than the Old Regime with the charter stating that “Everyone may profess his religion with equal freedom, and shall obtain for his worship the same protection” (“Charter of 1814”). However, unlike Napoleon, who dismissed Catholicism as merely the religion of the majority, the charter states that “the catholic, apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the state” (“Charter of
In the Old Regime, Catholicism was used to maintain order and hierarchy …show more content…
This demonstrated that the government did not grant Protestants and Jews the same freedom to their religion that Catholics had. This inequality would become one of the issues associated with the Catholic Church in the years leading up to the Revolution. In November 1787, the government of Louis XVI, proposed the Edict of Toleration for Calvinists (who were considered to be a more pressing issue than Jews), which stated that “justice and the interest of our kingdom do not permit us to exclude any longer from the rights of civil status those of our subjects or resident foreigners in our empire who do not profess the Catholic religion” (Hunt 41). This document shows that, for the sake of order and fairness in the nation, Calvinists had to be allowed civil rights (but apparently not political rights). The edict did not go so far as permitting Calvinists to publicly worship, but the welfare of the state was indeed implied to be more important than the prejudice of Catholics to an extent. The Church rapidly lost even more influence as the Revolution came into full swing and it seemed less possible for there to be equality before the law whilst allowing the Church to retain its influence in how France was ordered and …show more content…
Despite being a constitutional charter, establishing a constitutional monarchy rather than an absolutist monarchy, the Charter of 1814 opens with the traditional “Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre,” emphasizing the Old Regime idea of kings having the divine right to rule (“Charter of 1814”). As a sign that the new head of government was a relatively devout Catholic, divorce was illegalized immediately in 1814. Following Napoleon’s lead, this new government was considerably more tolerant of other religions than the Old Regime with the charter stating that “Everyone may profess his religion with equal freedom, and shall obtain for his worship the same protection” (“Charter of 1814”). However, unlike Napoleon, who dismissed Catholicism as merely the religion of the majority, the charter states that “the catholic, apostolic and Roman religion is the religion of the state” (“Charter of