Vol. 1 - History of the Catholic Church from Renaissance to French Revolution

expound His revelation, that for centuries Christianity had been
corrupted by additions that were only the inventions of men, it might
well be asked what guarantee could Luther or Calvin give that their
interpretation of Christ's doctrine was correct or binding upon their
followers, and what authority could they produce to warrant them in
placing any dogmatic restrictions upon the freedom of human thought?
The very principles put forward by the Reformers of the sixteenth
century to justify their rejection of certain doctrines were used by
later generations to prepare the way for still greater inroads upon
the contents of Christianity, and finally to justify an attitude of
doubt concerning the very foundations on which Christianity was based.
Empiricism, Sensualism, Materialism, and Scepticism in philosophy,
undermined dogmatic Christianity, and prepared the way for the
irreligious and indifferentist opinions, that found such general
favour among the educated and higher classes during the eighteenth
century.

The movement, that owed so much of its widespread popularity on the
Continent to the influence of the French rationalistic school, had its
origin in England, where the frequent changes of religion during the
reigns of Henry VIII., Edward VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, the quarrels
between the Puritans and the High Church party, and the spread of
revolutionary principles during the reign of Charles I., had
contributed not a little to unsettle the religious convictions of a
large section of the community. Many individuals, influenced by
pantheistic teaching, did not believe in the existence of a personal
God distinct from the world; others, while holding fast to the belief
in a personal supreme Being, rejected the Trinity and the Incarnation,
and a still larger section insisted on the subjection of Christian
revelation to the judgment of reason, and as a consequence on the
rejection of everything in Christianity that flavoured of the
supernatural. The works of these men were imported from the
Netherlands into France in spite of all restrictions that could be
imposed by the police authorities, and their views were popularised by
a brilliant band of /litterateurs/, until in a short time Deism and
Naturalism became quite fashionable in the higher circles of French
society.

The principal writers of the English school were Lord Herbert of
Cherbury (1581-1648), whose works tended to call in question the
existence of a supernatural religion; John Hobbs (1588-1679) the
apostle of absolute rule, who saw in religion only a means of keeping
the people in subjection; John Locke (1632-1704), nominally a
Christian himself, whose philosophy of Empiricism and Sensualism
barred the way effectively against belief in a supernatural religion;
Charles Blount (1630-93), who like Flavius Philostratus sought to
discredit Christianity by setting up Apollonius of Tyana as a rival of
Christ; Collins, the patron of free-thinkers (1676-1729); John Toland
(1670-1722), who although originally a believer in Christian
revelation tended more and more towards Pantheism; and Tyndal (1656-
1733), who changed from Protestantism to Catholicism and finally from
Christianity to Rationalism. In England Deism and Naturalism secured a
strong foot-hold amongst the better classes, but the deeply religious
temperament of the English people and their strong conservatism saved
the nation from falling under the influence of such ideas.

In France the religious wars between the Catholics and Calvinists, the
controversies that were waged by the Jansenists and Gallicans, the
extravagances of the /Convulsionnaires/, the flagrant immorality of
the court during the rule of the Duke of Orleans and of Louis XV., and
the enslavement of the Church, leading as it did to a decline of zeal
and learning amongst the higher clergy, tended inevitably to foster
religious indifference amongst the masses. In the higher circles of
society Rationalism was looked upon as a sign of good breeding, while
those who held fast by their dogmatic beliefs were regarded as vulgar
and unprogressive. Leading society ladies such as Ninon de Lenclos
(1615-1706) gathered around them groups of learned admirers, who under
the guise of zeal for the triumph of literary and artistic ideals
sought to popularise everything that was obscene and irreligious.
Amongst some of the principal writers who contributed largely to the
success of the anti-Christian campaign in France might be mentioned
Peter Bayle (1647-1706), whose /Dictionnaire historique et critique/
became the leading source of information for those who were in search
of arguments against Christianity; John Baptist Rousseau (1671-1741),
whose life was in complete harmony with the filthiness to which he
gave expression in his works; Bernard le Boivier de Fontenelle (1657-
1757), who though never an open enemy of the Catholic Church
contributed not a little by his works to prepare the way for the men
of the Enclyclopaedia; Montesquieu (1689-1755), whose satirical books
on both Church and State were read with pleasure not only in France