Why was the Catholic Church so weak by 1780 Essay Example

deep devotion. On the contrary, the Jansenists emphasized a simpler, personal faith and understanding based on the doctrines of St Augustine. Numerous Jansenists regarded the opulent, baroque Catholicism of the Jesuits as excessive and frivolous, desiring for people to surpass a superficial comprehension of Catholicism and truly internalize Catholic Christianity. Throughout Catholic Europe, Jesuits held substantial influence and were essentially the embodiment of baroque Catholicism during this time period.

The Jesuits were highly esteemed educators for the wealthy and powerful, often serving as confidants to monarchs and spreading their teachings throughout far-flung empires. Their influence was so great that even the Vatican subscribed to their beliefs, which were closely associated with ruling elites. This led to controversy with those who opposed Jesuitism, eventually escalating to a point where the infallibility of the papacy was called into question. One contentious book written by Quesnel sparked further debate, particularly due to the assertion that priesthood was of greater importance than rank. Such issues inflamed existing divisions between the top tiers of the Catholic Church (predominantly comprised of the nobility) and parish priests from lower backgrounds, exasperating internal conflict. Opponents of the Jansenists charged them with heresy for challenging five points in Quesnel's book and questioning the Pope's infallibility in their writings.

Despite Archbishop of Paris Noailles's previous endorsement of Quesnel's moral reflections on the New Testament, the Jesuit-influenced Pope condemned the book and issued the Unigentus bull in 1713, leading to renewed persecution of the Jansenists and an increase in their anti-Jesuit views. Many Catholics found the bull one-sided and disconnected from their experiences. Furthermore, the bull accelerated the fragmentation of the relationship between the Church and

state by highlighting the papacy's fallibility, which some believed extended beyond matters of religious dogma. The Jansenists, fueled by persecution at the hands of the Jesuits and papacy, sought to weaken papal power and influence, contributing to the decline of the Catholic Church.

Catholicism was weakened by the downfall of the Jesuits who possessed wealth and had influence with the Papacy. Their prominent position resulted in animosity between them and both the people and rulers throughout Catholic Europe. Despite this, the Jesuits had been successful in promoting Catholicism to distant regions by adapting its tenets to the customs and practices of their target markets. However, they faced criticism while attempting to spread Jesuitism in Paraguay, South America. Accusations surfaced claiming that the Jesuits were taking advantage of their converts to increase their own wealth and incite native rebellion.

The Marquis Pombal of Portugal viewed the Jesuits as a threat to his authority, as did many other European leaders who were increasingly frustrated with the Jesuits' autonomous wealth and influence. In 1759, Pombal seized the opportunity to defame the Jesuits by accusing them of plotting to assassinate the King, resulting in their forced exile from Portugal and its surrounding territories, along with the seizure of their property. France followed suit in 1765, citing "commercial malpractice," and Spain's King Charles III exiled the Jesuits for similar reasons as Pombal. Eventually, Pope Clement XIV banned the Jesuits in 1773, leading to the suppression of a significant part of the Catholic church. The Jansenists were already denounced, and now the main advocates of baroque Catholicism - the Jesuits - found themselves in retreat.

Various Catholic groups affiliated with the Jesuits,

as well as the wider Catholic Church, experienced a disintegrating relationship with state rulers, stemming from long-standing disputes over jurisdictional matters. This tension arose as the Papacy feared losing power to the state and monarchy, leading some popes to assert their authority and exacerbate anti-Papal sentiments. By the end of the 18th century, the Papacy's political influence had waned significantly, rendering it a non-factor in Europe without a real army and ruling over a disadvantaged country. However, rulers such as Joseph I and Louis XV's governments faced obstacles in their pursuit of absolutism due to the church's stronghold on the nation. In order to bolster their own power, they sought to undermine the church's authority.

During the aftermath of the costly War of Austrian Succession, Louis XV's government targeted the Church as a means to obtain additional funds. While he initially challenged the Church's tax privileges, he ultimately did not follow through with any actions. However, the Austrian monarch Maria Theresa did take action by imposing restrictions and controls on the Catholic Church. This resulted in a reduction of the Church's wealth and land, which allowed for redirection of funds towards state initiatives such as education reform. Maria Theresa's son Joseph I continued this momentum and further stripped the Catholic Church of its privileges.

Since the mid 18th century, rulers and the state gradually ignored the papacy and established religious orders. This resulted in a disengagement between the church and the state and has been used as evidence for the Catholic Church's decline in importance. At this time, both institutions were competing agents striving to assert and further their autonomous position. With the state no longer

upholding the church to promote social order and Christianize civil ceremonies like marriage and burials, the Catholic Church was no longer propped up by the state. Instead, the state established its own position and source of unity and national identity through patriotism.

Illegitimacy rates were on the rise in the Austrian Netherlands and France due to the growing use of birth control, suggesting a shift away from Catholic values towards emerging forms of social identity such as nationalism. This posed a challenge to the Catholic Church's traditional dominance over society. Nationalism and patriotism took over as agents of social control, setting norms and values and regulating behavior, thereby replacing religion as the primary source of ethical principles.

Many people believed that the Church needed reform due to its dominant institutional status. Additionally, external factors contributed to the weakening of the Catholic Church during this time, including the Enlightenment - a popular secular movement that emerged in the 18th century and gained influence by the century's end. The Enlightenment aimed to free areas such as education and politics from the Church's control. Writers such as Voltaire engaged the public in debates with the Church concerning their monopoly on knowledge. Furthermore, the Enlightenment challenged religion, questioning its significance and usefulness in a period where human rationality could explain and assist human progress.

Influential in challenging the biblical account of creation were the writings of new rationalists and intelligentsia who pursued scientific inquiry. It became increasingly difficult to believe in the notion that all animals derived from the ark due to discoveries of overseas animals. The 'Age of Reason' rejected anything that lacked logical or empirical explanations, such as Catholicism and

its belief in an illogical God. Furthermore, higher literacy rates and the increase in secular publications served to weaken the church's monopoly over social and cultural life. As a result, religious works composed a declining proportion of new publications in the 1750s. Secular texts that were printed in French were capable of attaining a broad audience, read by cosmopolitan elites across Europe. In attempting to halt the decline, Catholic rulers often made erroneous judgments.

In an effort to promote devoutness and eliminate disorderly behavior, Catholic rulers sought to reduce the frequency and amount of feast days, pilgrimages, and other events that provided leisure and entertainment to the working classes. However, these measures were unpopular and had the opposite effect, resulting in dissatisfaction with the Catholic Church. Economic factors also played a role in its downfall as the Church's privileged position and wealth became a source of contention between Protestant and Catholic Europe.

After Britain's victory over Austria in the Seven Years War, there was a growing need to increase revenues. This led to the stripping of wealth and ostentation from the Catholic Church as it was perceived as a way to achieve financial goals. The Protestant model served as an effective means for this purpose, and Muratio Lodovico supported reforming the established clergy due to their perceived greed and excessive wealth. Such views were popular among people in Austria and Southern Germany, especially against Jesuits who were seen as avaricious. A decline in religious participation weakened the Catholic Church as evident from a decrease in priestly vocations in Austrian Netherlands around 1770 similar to France.

The decline in individuals pursuing a monastic or priestly career may have

been impacted by movements like the Enlightenment, leading to the closure of religious institutions due to insufficient new recruits. However, despite this decline, the Catholic Church remained resilient as of 1780, suggesting that there could have been a transformation within Catholicism instead of a decrease. The separation between church and state has traditionally been seen as evidence of secularization but could also signify a move towards an authentic form of Catholicism free from worldly matters.

According to Wolich, the enlightenment literature revolution primarily impacted urban areas and the intellectual elites as opposed to rural populations. He also observed that there was a greater degree of "de-Christianisation" in locations that were more urbanized and market-oriented.

Volvelle and other scholars have produced figures indicating a decline in the percentage of people requesting post-death masses from at least 80% to under 50%. However, this does not necessarily indicate a weak church in 1780. Rather, it could be argued that this was a result of personalisation and privatisation of Catholicism in the late 18th century compared to previous superficial practices. Historian Doyle notes that religion remained strong in rural France and some Catholic states of Germany during this period as well. Therefore, while there is evidence of religious decline in France, it is crucial to consider the presence of robust religious sentiment that limits any conclusions about this matter.

As of 1780, the Catholic Church's authority and sway over Europe had notably diminished. Although internal disputes were chiefly responsible for its decline, additional elements also contributed to eroding its leadership status. These factors collectively exacerbated the Church's vulnerability by 1780.