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→Dechristianization
===Dechristianization===
===Dechristianization===
The challenge to the rich, powerful Catholic Church came at first from intellectuals, who secretly circulated pamphlets that undercut traditional dogma. Some promoted atheism. The early years of the Revolution reversed the power relationship between belief and unbelief in France. The established Church was discredited, leading priests and bishops were forced into exile or executed, its churches and seminaries closed, its beliefs and rituals held up to ridicule. A strident unbelief became a political factor in public life, as seen in the intensity of the anticlerical dechristianisation. The French Revolution inspired skeptics across Europe to put the irreligious ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] into practice. <ref>See [http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html Investigating Atheism]</ref>}}
The challenge to the rich, powerful Catholic Church came at first from intellectuals, who secretly circulated pamphlets that undercut traditional dogma. Some promoted [[atheism]]. The early years of the Revolution reversed the power relationship between belief and unbelief in France. The established Church was discredited, leading priests and bishops were forced into exile or executed, its churches and seminaries closed, its beliefs and rituals held up to ridicule. A strident unbelief became a political factor in public life, as seen in the intensity of the anticlerical dechristianisation. The French Revolution inspired skeptics across Europe to put the irreligious ideas of the [[Enlightenment]] into practice. <ref>See [http://www.investigatingatheism.info/historyeighteenth.html Investigating Atheism]</ref>}}
===Cult of Reason===
===Cult of Reason===
Revolutionaries in the provinces, closed churches, and hunted down priests. Persecution of all religious ideas began, including Protestants as well as catholics. Many churches were forcibly closed and converted into [[Cult of Reason|Temples of Reason]] <ref>John Hall Stewart, ''A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution'', 1963.</ref>
Revolutionaries in the provinces, closed churches, and hunted down priests. Persecution of all religious ideas began, including Protestants as well as catholics. Many churches were forcibly closed and converted into [[Cult of Reason|Temples of Reason]] <ref>John Hall Stewart, ''A Documentary Survey of the French Revolution'', 1963.</ref>