A Religious Revolution?
A Religious Revolution?
Regeneration Transformed
In modern-day France, the involvement of Catholics such as Henri Grégoire in the Revolution has appeared puzzling at best, traitorous at worst. Because of the violent dechristianization of the later Revolution, which saw churches vandalized and royalist priests deported or executed, religion and Revolution have often been seen as sworn enemies. Many secular revolutionaries would not have objected to this depiction; for them, the Church was as much of an obstacle to progress as the monarchy. Moreover, when they used regeneration, they saw it not as a Christian term but as an anti-Christian one. When Grégoire discovered that others did not share his passion for the Revolution, however, his attacks on them became more fierce. While never one of the most blood-thirsty revolutionaries, he would play an integral role in the National Convention—something he would later try to downplay.
Keywords: France, Henri Grégoire, Revolution, Church, monarchy, regeneration, dechristianization, National Convention
California Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
