Against the Monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the French Revolution

713 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Art and culture during french revolution

The French Revolution was a civil revolt that broke out in France against the absolute monarchy and the Roman Catholic Church, which lasted from 1789-1799. This resulted in the establishment of France as a republic, democratic government and caused the Roman Catholic Church’s necessity, as well as its power to be questioned. The French Revolution ended the thousand-year rule of the monarchy in France and began when King Louis XVI gathered representatives from the 3 social groups called the Clergy, the Nobilities and the Commoners to solve a great national debt and economic crisis France was experiencing.

The American Revolution is believed to have greatly influenced the French, and may have inspired the French Revolution. As the French had a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War, and funded the Americans in their revolution, revolutionary ideas of freedom and independence were spread amongst the two nations, inspiring the French to start their own Revolution.

The French Revolution was also influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, a movement that promoted reason and science rather than traditions. The Enlightenment gave rise to ideas of equality and liberty of an individual, democracy in governments, nationalism, citizenship and freedom of speech. The Enlightenment also challenged the Catholic Church’s power and the rights of the nobles.

The unfair ways of how common people were treated compared to royalty and nobility formed the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity, leading to the French Revolution. Unfair taxes that were only directed to the commoners, high society positions that were only to be obtained by nobles, food scarcity that only affected the poor and the royals having power over all caused the c...

... middle of paper ...

...nd the Nation Party.

Likewise, the National Assembly also made changes to the Catholic Church. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy was issued and caused the Church to become a state organization and the clergy to become employees of the state. The Clergy also had to swear an oath of loyalty to the nation and the property of the church was given to the state.

In 1791, France was made a constitutional monarchy due to the publication of a new constitution. This new constitution made citizens equal, marriage a civil contract and nobility titles to end. This caused conflict to rise between the three different estates and a counter-revolution to form.

King Louis XVI and his family attempted to flee from France along with some other nobles and clergy to join the counter-revolution, but failed. Caught by forces from the National Guard, the King was returned to Paris

Show More
Related

  • Comparing the French and American Revolutions

    891 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...on, Enlightenment ideas permeated the politics, economics, and religion of the French Revolution and the American Revolution. While both show several similarities, they predominantly differ on most things. Politically, American conservatives respected the individual and property rights of a citizen, while French politics respected the individual rights, took property rights in some cases, and used terror to influence people. Economically, the American free market idea left the economy alone, while the French input socialist ideas such as price ceilings. Religiously, the America closely associated itself with religion in the revolution, while the French public mostly despised the church.

    Read More

  • French Revolution Dbq Essay

    1455 Words  | 3 Pages

    This oppression of the Third Estate along with the financial problems that fell on the common people would lead to the French Revolution. Overall, the people of France revolted against the monarchy because of the unsuccessful estate system and the inequality it led to, because of the new enlightenment ideas that inspired them, and because of the failures of the monarchy.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The American Revolution And The Enlightenment

    703 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment period in Europe was a shift in the way that society thought about power and liberty. The ideals of this period helped to inspire the revolutions of the 18th century. The American colonies desired liberty from foreign rule, the French wanted to increase the power of the people in their class structure, and the Haitians fought for representation for the millions of slaves on their island. While the ideas of the enlightenment were not fully employed in each of these revolutions, they brought the nations closer to a fully representative government, rather than one of absolute power.

    Read More

  • Why Is The French Revolution Important Today

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    The French Revolution, also known as the revolution of 1789, was a movement that helped shape France into what it is today. The Revolution may have started in 1787 but it wasn’t till 1789 when the revolution actually started to become worse. The Revolution had many reasons for why it started, but it was only a few major things that really made it happen.

    Read More

  • Voltaire's Affect on Modern Western Society

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution was a period of upheaval in France, during which the French governmental structure and Catholic clergy underwent a large change due to Enlightenment ideas. The commoners of France began to revolt after hearing the ideas of famous philosophes like Voltaire. Voltaire was a deist who believed that the Catholic Church and its doctrines were not to be trusted since they used propoganda to get followers rather than the actual religion. He believed it was unfair that there wasn’t any religious freedom since you were expected to be a Catholic. He spoke openly about this, which of course got him into a lot of trouble. Nevertheless, the French commoners took his word into thought and decided to act upon what he said by revolting against the church. Voltaire’s ideas also critized royal absolutism because they had, in his opinion, too much power. He favored an elightened absolutist, which is an absolutist who adopts Enlightenment ideas. Once again, the French commoners took this to heart and agreed with Voltaire that the French government was too ...

    Read More

  • The French Revolution

    882 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution started in 1787 because the country was going through financial difficulties and there was unrest between the classes of citizens in the country. The differences between the lower class citizens and higher classes, being nobles and the monarchy were great. The citizens had heard of the revolution that went on in the colonies and they also wanted freedom and independence. The real start of the French Revolution was on July 14, 1789, with the storming of the Bastille. Between 1789 1793, a constitution was written, feudalism was abolished, war had broken out, and King Louis XVI was put to death. In late 1793 and early 1794, Maximilien Robespierre became the head of the Committee of Public Safety in France. This was the new governing body in France; it could be compared to the executive branch of a government. Robespierre was a great leader, he ins...

    Read More

  • The Enlightment Caused the French Revolution

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Enlightenment was a major influence of the French Revolution. The Enlightenment caused the revolution in three ways. First of all, the Enlightenment made people see how France was not a perfect society. It opened their eyes to the fact that France was helping other countries more. For example, the French government gave money to support the American Revolution while the people in their own country need money. Also, Voltaire who was an Enlightenment thinker caused uproar by the peasants upon his return to France when he announced that England was superior to France (Voltaire 7). Second, it made people skeptical about whether the government was there to fulfill their duty of protecting the people’s natural rights. The Enlightenment encouraged people to question divine right, the God-given authority rulers claimed to have (Enlightenment, Its Origins and the French Revolution 15). Finally, it made the third estate realize how the taxation was simply greed. It made their eyes open to the fact that...

    Read More

  • Industrial, French, and American Revolutions: Common Social Revolutions?

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution was one of the larger social revolutions. It can be considered a revolution on the political, social, religious, and economic front, although the biggest causes were social. The French Revolution began on July 14, 1789, with the fall of Bastille and continued until the rise of power of Napoleon Bonaparte. The main re...

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    530 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first underlying cause of the French Revolution was the Old Regime. The people of France were divided into three estates. The first estate was composed of the highest church officials. They held about ten percent of all the land in France. They paid no direct taxes to the royal government. The second estate was made up of nobles. They were only two percent of France’s population, but owned twenty percent of the land. They paid no taxes (Krieger 483). The third estate accounted for ninety-eight percent of France’s population. The third estate was divided into three groups; the middle class, known as the bourgeoisie, the urban lower classes, and the peasant farmers. The third estate lost about half their income in taxes. They paid feudal dues, royal taxes, and also owed the corvee, a form of tax paid with work (Krieger 484).

    Read More

  • Alexis De Tocqueville Was The Main Cause Of The French Revolution

    615 Words  | 2 Pages

    Other overall problems contributed to the French Revolution. The social structure in place consisted of three estates; the clergy, the nobility, the common people and peasants. It was very hard for anyone of the third estate to move into the nobility. In other words, one’s power came from his birth not his merit. In addition, France’s wealthy increased during

    Read More

  • Causes of the French Revolution

    1384 Words  | 3 Pages

    In order to understand the causes of the French Revolution we must first understand the separations within the French society at the time. The population was divided into 3 states, the Clergy and the Nobility which were the first and second Estates, both of whom did not have to pay taxes and were given privileges such as high positions in the army and civil service. The Third Estate consisted of everyone else, the pheasants, farmers, landless labourers, serfs and the emerging middle class called the bourgeois. 80% of the population was rural and were very highly taxed by the king, like the rest of the ...

    Read More

  • The French Revolution and Christianity

    1720 Words  | 4 Pages

    The French Revolution represents a period in history that brought about a major change in not only Europe but the entire world. The French revolution spanned from 1789 to 1799. It brought about several key changes in not only the economic state of France but also the perception of the Christian church, specifically the Catholic church in France. Its impacts both economically and religiously are still felt to this day. The French Revolution may have temporarily destroyed Christianity in France, however, it acted as a savior for the future of Christianity.

    Read More

  • Causes and Effects of the French Revolution

    2273 Words  | 5 Pages

    Revolution? The major cause of the French Revolution was the disputes between the different types of social classes in French society. The French Revolution of 1789-1799 was one of the most important events in the history of the world. The Revolution led to many changes in France, which at the time of the Revolution, was the most powerful state in Europe. The Revolution led to the development of new political forces such as democracy and nationalism. It questioned the authority of kings, priests, and nobles. The Revolution also gave new meanings and new ideas to the political ideas of the people.

    Read More

  • Four Causes Of The French Revolution

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    The National Assembly was still working hard to create the constitution, but along the way changes were needed to be made, nobles could no longer pass their status along to their offspring and unions and worker groups were banned, hence no

    Read More

  • The French Revolution: 1789 - 1799

    539 Words  | 2 Pages

    The French Revolution, which occurred from 1789 to 1799, was a time where the monarchy was overthrown, a republic was formed, and limits were put on the church. The French Revolution ended with the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The French Revolution created France’s legislative assembly, which is still in place today. Many would argue that the Enlightment was a cause of the French Revolution, but the Enlightment was not one of the main drivers for the Revolution. The bad living conditions, France’s monarchy, and the involvement in the American Revolution and other wars caused the French Revolution.

    Read More

More about Against the Monarchy of the Roman Catholic Church in the French Revolution

Open Document