Church and state during the French Revolution in the works of J.M. Zakher

A.A. Kutuzova

Republican Information Center for Assessing the Quality of Education, Syktyvkar, 167016 Russia

E-mail: azzazell-x@mail.ru

Received November 27, 2020

Full text PDF

DOI: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.6.121-133

For citation: Kutuzova A.A. Church and state during the French Revolution in the works of J.M. Zakher. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki, 2020, vol. 162, no. 6, pp. 121–133. doi: 10.26907/2541-7738.2020.6.121-133. (In Russian)

Abstract

The relations between the church and the state during the revolutionary events in France in the late 18th century were discussed based on the works of Jakov Mikhailovich Zakher (1893–1963), an outstanding Soviet historian. J.M. Zakher’s works cast light on a number of questions: the general position of the church; the frame of people’s mind in the pre-revolutionary period; the emergence and development of the antireligious struggle; the roles played by J. Foucher and A. Schomet, two most prominent public figures of the deсhristianization movement who triggered the most dramatic changes in the spiritual framework of the French society; etc. It was concluded that, despite a whole complex of studies have been performed on the French Revolution, the works of J.M. Zakher provide an important systematic coverage of the state-church relations in France during the 18th century. His legacy clearly preserves the “École russe” traditions, such as thoroughness, scrupulousness and attention to details, as well as the desire to create a vivid and comprehensive picture of the past.

Keywords: J.M. Zakher, Great French Revolution of late 18th century, Catholic Church, Cult of the Mind, Cult of the Supreme Being

References

1. Kalthoff M. Faith and terror: Religion in the French Revolution. Boulder, Univ. of Colo. Boulder, 2015. Available at: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/vt150j891.
2. Hufton O. The French church. In: Callahan W.J., Higgs D. (Eds.) Church and Society in Catholic Europe of the Eighteenth Century. Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1979, pp. 13–33.
3. Carlyle T. Frantsuzskaya revolyutsiya. Istoriya. [The French Revolution. A History]. Moscow, Mysl’, 1991. 575 p. (In Russian)
4. Olar A. Tserkov’ i gosudarstvo v epokhu Velikoi frantsuzskoi revolyutsii [Church and State in the Age of the French Revolution]. Khar’kov, Gos. Izd. Ukr., 1925. Available at: http://istmat.info/node/28906. (In Russian)
5. Madelin L. Frantsuzskaya revolyutsiya [The French Revolution]. Berlin, Slovo, 1922, vol. 1: 348 p., vol. 2: 387 p. (In Russian)
6. Mathiez А. Kak pobezhdala Velikaya frantsuzskaya revolyutsiya [How the French Revolution Won]. Moscow, Voen. Vestn., 1928. Available at: http://istmat.info/files/uploads/27984/fr_victory_a-mathiez_1928.pdf. (In Russian)
7. Mautner F. Ateizm v epokhu Velikoi frantsuzskoi revolyutsii [Atheism in the Era of the French Revolution]. Leningrad, Moscow, Petrograd, 1924. Available at: http://istmat.info/files/uploads/ 28909/fr_atheism_f-mauthner_1924.pdf. (In Russian)
8. Domnich M.Ya. Velikaya frantsuzskaya burzhuaznaya revolyutsiya i katolocheskaya tserkov’ [The French Revolution and the Catholic Church]. Moscow,Izd. Akad. Nauka SSSR, 1960. 196 p. (In Russian)
9. Blumenau S.F. The French Revolution and civil framework of the church. In: Vseobshchaya istoriya: sovremennye issledovaniya [World History: Current Research]. Bryansk, 2002, no. 11. Available at: http://istmat.info/files/uploads/29128/2002_s-f-blumenau.pdf. (In Russian)
10. Kareev N.I. Istoriya Zapadnoi Evropy v novoe vremya [The History of Western Europe in the Modern Era]. Vol. 3: History of the 18th century. St. Petersburg, Tip. M.M. Stasyulevicha, 1913. 653 p. (In Russian)

The content is available under the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.