Chapter 12Chapter 12The Age of “Isms”: Revolutionary Thinking Confronts the

Church

Church is still recovering from the Reformation

Faced with intellectual and political movements that at times appeared to threaten the church’s fundamentals and existence

On loose leafOn loose leaf

Why are people intolerant of beliefs different from their own?

Consider intolerance to religious beliefs…cite two examples of peoples negativity toward others’ religions

What groups today are persecuted? Why are they persecuted?

Europe as a BattlefieldEurope as a Battlefield

Gunpowder PlotThirty Year’s WarCatholic intoleranceWitch Hunts

New Styles of Religious LifeNew Styles of Religious Life

New styles to respond to the great needs of the people

Respond with compassionWere founded to serve the poor, the sick,

the ignorant, and the homeless

Vincentians and the Daughters of Vincentians and the Daughters of CharityCharity

Vincent de PaulOrganizes the Ladies of Charity to feed

the homeless and clothe the sickEstablished a band of priests who walked

the countryside preaching and teaching

Daughters of CharityDaughters of Charity

Founded by Louise de MarrilacRealized service to the poor was essential

to the Church’s missionRan hospitals, hospices, orphanages and

schoolsCharted a new course for women in the

Church

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Christians who serve poor people should live as much as possible in the lifestyle of the poor.

The Christian BrothersThe Christian Brothers

Founded by John de la SalleStarted schoolsFounder of modern education

◦Classrooms◦Language◦Variety of subjects

The EnlightenmentThe Enlightenment

New attitude toward lifeFocused on science and reasonIt challenged Church beliefs and existence

RationalismRationalism

The universe was regulated completely and reasonably by universal natural laws

Did not need the Bible or religious truthSkeptical of personal God revealed in

JesusDeists: rationalist philosophers who

believed God was distant and removed from the world

EmpiricismEmpiricism

All knowledge came solely from the senses or experience

What people saw, heard, touched…was only basis for knowledge

David Hume used philosophy to try to prove that God did not exist

Sir Isaac Newton

Galileo Galileo

Earth moved around the sunSeemed to go against the Creation

accountCondemned by the church for his beliefs1992 John Paul II

Religion and governmentReligion and government

Questions about bothMonarchies “divine right”Rousseau’s Social Contract Theory

◦Government by consent of the peopleChurch was attacked

◦Religious nationalism◦Church would rule itself through its own king

appointed bishops

SecularismSecularism

The exclusion of religious meaning or considerations from the affairs of human life

Separate the church and state◦Even oppress

French RevolutionFrench Revolution

Turmoil for the people and the ChurchNapoleon Pope imprisonedPapal StatesOverthrownFrance returns to small monarchyChurch begins anew

◦Lost wealth and prestige

ThinkThink

Agree or disagree with this statement: The worldwide church and local churches are better off without wealth and power.

Pope Pius IXPope Pius IX

Loses the Papal StatesClaims to be a “prisoner of the Vatican”Fears the pope will not be able to travel

freely in ItalyIt also generated money for the

administration

Pius IX (continued)Pius IX (continued)

Longest papacy in historyMoral and spiritual authorityAsserted dogma of Immaculate

ConceptionEncouraged all countries to build

seminaries in RomeWrote Syllabus of ErrorsCalled Vatican I

◦Infallibility

John Henry NewmanJohn Henry Newman

Anglican convert to CatholicismSaid liberal arts education was consistent

with the ChurchDeep respect for intellectual inquiry and

learningFaith and reason are not at odds

ThinkThink

Do you think that free intellectual inquiry is not only compatible with Catholic faith but encouraged by it?

Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution

Machines producing goodsPeople flocked to cities but they were

crowded dirty and disease riddenExploited workers

◦Low wages◦Unsafe working conditions◦Children working

MarxismMarxism

Karl Marx-father of modern communismTheory of property and ownership and

classless society that is the opposite of capitalism

Pope Leo XIIIPope Leo XIII

Rerum Novarum◦Workers have rights to just wages and

decent working conditions, to trade unions and collective bargaining with management

◦Extreme socialism and extreme capitalism are bad for a society

Beginning of Catholic social justice teaching◦Christianity emphasizes both the dignity of

the human person and the common good of society

DarwinismDarwinism

Movement that held the theory of evolution

Led the church to further scholarship and biblical study

Today Catholic scholars find no contradiction between a theory of evolution and Creation story in the bible

ConclusionsConclusions

Church as primarily a spiritual and moral force

Separated from the state the church could criticize society

Identified more with rights of workers and poor people

ImplicationsImplications

1. Religious intolerance still exists today2. Religious orders were models and still

exist today3. Catholic Social Justice Teaching4. Christians need not be afraid of free

intellectual and scientific inquiry.

Dream JobDream Job What is your dream job? (must be a

real job) Answer 5 questions

1. What is the best thing about your job?2. How would you describe the income level

of your dream job?3. Do you think that your dream job will help

your relationship with God? Why or why not?

4. How could your dream job help others?5. Based on your responses, what is most

important to you?