Continuing our rhetoric history studies through the Napoleonic Era, we read another chapter in our book, Napoleon Bonaparte by Vincent Cronin, “Opening the Churches.”
Readers may recall that the Twelve who brought bloodshed on the streets during the French Revolution began their reign of terror by closing the churches.
Napoleon did the opposite.
Regarding the French Revolution itself, the moderate Revolutionaries were content to reform the Church and keep it out of politics. But the extremists wanted to root it out altogether. Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincent Cronin, p210
Although he was not deeply religious, Napoleon’s mother was, and he knew the people of France wanted their churches reopened.
When he met with disagreement from his officials, he sent them on a research mission to discover what the people wanted.
Acknowledging the people’s desire for churches to open, the question became, of which type?
Historically, European rulers decide on the state church.
Napoleon, however, reflected the uniqueness of the French King Henri IV, who in 1598 granted the Edict of Nantes, which named Catholicism the state church while allowing freedoms for Protestants.
On July 15, 1801, the Concordat was signed, which described Roman Catholicism as the choice religion of the people.
In April 1802 churches reopened in France…no single act of his rule was to prove more popular…an old woman with tears in her eyes spoke of her gratitude to the First Consul ‘for giving us back our Sunday.’ – Napoleon Bonaparte, Vincent Cronin, p217
Furthermore, he insured freedom of religions and equality to the Protestant sects, and he declared France the homeland of the Jews, after it became obvious he could not establish their national home in Palestine. –The Napoleon Series
This extensive freedom of religion which was unique in Europe, I think was a first for the Jews since they lost their homeland of Palestine hundreds of years before.
