French Calvinists and the State, 1830-1852

Most studies on French Calvinism consider only the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries. Until recent years' scholars have generally ended their works with the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 or the passage of the Edict of Toleration in 1787. They have concentrated on the dramatic period of persecution and have not examined the era in which the Reformed Church came back to life. Apart from the works of Poland and Robert the period after 1787 has been mentioned only in very brief surveys or in works on individuals, small geographical areas, or special institutions. The purpose of this article is to help fill the gap by providing a study of church-state relations during the July Monarchy and the Second Republic. One of the most important aids to the revival of the Reformed movement between 1830 and 1852 was the encouragement of the state. Both the July Monarchy and the Second Republic approved increases in the number of pastors and supported church construction, because both regimes believed that extension of religious influence would contribute to the maintenance of order. At the same time these regimes discouraged the spread of Calvinism by hindering evangelization. When Calvinist ministers tried to win new converts and stirred up controversy the state quickly stepped in to prohibit agitation that might disturb the peace

Programming language · State (computer science · Computer Science · European Political History Analysis · History · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Religion, Gender, and Enlightenment

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  Open Access•Peter Stamatov•American Sociological Review•2010

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