Secularisation in Western Europe, 1848 - 1914

Secularization can mean many different things - rising unbelief, the privatization of belief, weakening denominational identity, the development of a religiously neutral state. This study reveals both the many-sidedness of secularisation and the great unevenness with which it affected different areas of life. France is a classic example of the secularization of society in the later 19th century. Church and school, then church and state, were separated. Town councils tore down crosses and banned processions. Teachers and doctors were seen as a new priesthood. Yet even in France things were not so simple. In the west, most people remained practising Catholics, and Lourdes demonstrated the continuing vitality of "popular religion". When we look at Germany and England, or compare Catholics with Protestants and Jews, the picture becomes even more complex. This book examines the nature and causes of religious change in the three countries, and the class, gender and regional differences within each.