Religion

• The Revolutionary's decision to destroy church independence was a prime cause of the French civil war, this meant reconciliation was appealing to Napoleon and would give him another vector of control.
• Reconciliation with the Church would help with amalgame and ralliement policies.
• The concordat agreement with the Catholic Church was on the 15th of July 1801.
• What were the main terms of the 1801 concordat?

  • Pope recognised as the Head of the Catholic Church
  • Pope recognised new French regime and promised to not reclaim Church land.
  • Clergy appointed by the first consul (oath of loyalty continued).
• The concordat was published in 1802 with the Organic articles, stated government approval was needed before papal legate could enter France.

  • Napoleon also sought the assimilation of Jews, had suffered during the Terror despite the 1790 toleration edict.
• Outcome of 1801/1802 Concordat?

  • Hailed as a triumph
  • Won over royalists and reassured notables of the biens nationaux security.
• Aftermath of the Concordat 1801/1802:

  • 1806, return to the Gregorian calendar.
  • Pope humiliated by Napoleon's 1805 coronation.
  • 1808, French troops occupied Rome
  • Napoleon imprisoned the Pope in 1809
  • Tensions resurface, Napoleon forces the Pope to sign the Concordat of Fontainebleau in 1813.