French Protestantism And The French Revolution

A study of the Calvinist minority in France, from the time of Louis XIV to the Napoleonic era, with the main emphasis on the period of the French Revolution. Mr. Poland traces the influence and political behavior of the French Protestants, their attitudes toward the Catholic Church the religious revival of the famed "Church of the Desert," and the effect of the Revolution on Protestant belief and behavior. Contrary to usual opinion, he reveals that the Protestants were found in almost every political camp, that they were Frenchmen first and churchmen second, and that they were not a conspiracy against the altar and throne of France. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

A study of the Calvinist minority in France, from the time of Louis XIV to the Napoleonic era, with the main emphasis on the period of the French Revolution. Mr. Poland traces the influence and political behavior of the French Protestants, their attitudes toward the Catholic Church the religious revival of the famed "Church of the Desert," and the effect of the Revolution on Protestant belief and behavior. Contrary to usual opinion, he reveals that the Protestants were found in almost every political camp, that they were Frenchmen first and churchmen second, and that they were not a conspiracy against the altar and throne of France. Originally published in 1957. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

This volume examines the history of religious dissent and discord in France from the time of the Wars of Religion to the present day. Contributors analyze the various solutions elaborated by the government, by religious institutions, and by private groups in response to the serious problems raised by religious differences. This collection of essays also explores the impact these problems and solutions have on religious and national identity, and how these issues play out in political and religious life today.

Clarke Garrett examines the differing responses of Catholics and Protestants and the resulting disturbances. Roderick Phillips describes the wide variation in provincial response to the revolutionary assembly's family reform measures. He traces the different reactions of urban and rural residents to such legal measures as liberalization of divorces, secularization of birth, death, and marriage registrations, and inheritance reform. Peasants in central France were already engaged in total revolution when Joseph Fouche arrived there in late 1793. Nancy Fitch argues that Fouche was formed by his encounter with indigenous peasant radicalism as much as the peasants were influenced by his rhetoric of a new political culture. Donald Sutherland, summarizing scholarly debate on the subject, argues that, in the final analysis, the Revolution itself was tragically and profoundly alien to many French men and women in 1789.