Revival Movements
The 19th century revival movement took shape within the context of romanticism. Its piety is of a more existential and sentimental nature, a piety « revived » when compared to a faith...
The orthodox movement Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy insists on the correct doctrine of the reformers Luther and Calvin as on a respectful reading of the Bible.
The conflicts
Theological conflicts happened in every protestant community. They caused the creation of the new Churches separated from the State. In Reformed Churches they led to the division between orthodox and...
Fideo-symbolism
Fideo-symbolism insisted on faith – on the relation to God – and lessened the importance of doctrine. The knowledge of God is something that lies beyond human formulas and expressions.
Social Christianity
At the end of the 19th century, some pastors, shocked by the poverty-stricken situation of the working-class, initiated a reflection on social justice.
Protestants and public life
One of the distinctive features of French Protestantism throughout the XIXth century was the dynamic presence of its community in public life, with two peak periods : firstly, the July Monarchy with...
François Guizot (1787-1874)
The life of François Guizot spans practically the whole of the XIXth century. He was born into a Protestant family on October 4, 1787 – during the Ancien Régime – and he died on...
Protestants and political power
Because of their theological and cultural background, Protestants were devoted to such democratic ideas as were embodied in the republican system. Since they had been favourable to the liberal system...
The Empire
Generally speaking, Protestants were in favour of the Revolution : it had granted them religious freedom and equality of civil rights. As a result, they had no difficulty in accepting first...
The Restoration (1814-1830)
The Constitution of 1814 had its ambiguities ; on the one hand, it guaranteed State protection of all denominations, yet it also declared Roman Catholicism to be « the State religion ». The...
The July monarchy (1830-1848)
Generally speaking, Protestants had no difficulty accepting the July Monarchy ; it began to consider them as ordinary citizens, since Roman Catholicism had once more become the « religion of the majority...
The Second Republic (1849-1852)
Protestants reacted in various ways to the Revolution of February 1848. Aware of the dire poverty of the people, many welcomed it. Others remained wary of the danger of socialist ideas.
The Second Empire
The Protestant attitude towards Louis-Napoléon and the Second Empire was ambiguous. Generally speaking, the regime seemed too authoritarian and clerical, at least in its early years. Nevertheless it relaxed the...
The Third Republic (1871-1940)
Most Protestants were favourable to the Third Republic and strongly influenced its beginnings. Several intellectuals were attracted by Protestantism and for some, the “protestantisation” of France was, they felt, the...
Protestants and Public Education
During the XIXth century, the July Monarchy and the Third Republic were the two significant periods of intense Protestant participation in the development of the public education system that had initially...
The Protestants and the Dreyfus Case
Many Protestants took sides in favour of Captain Dreyfus. Some will even take an active part in the movement that will allow the re-examination of the process, such as Scheurer-Kestner,...
Anti-Protestantism
The end of the XIXth century was marked by an anti-Protestantism accentuated by the Dreyfus case and opposing Catholics and Protestants, while the right wing anti-republicans denounced a « Judaeo-Protestant alliance ».
The Huguenot cross
A sign of recognition among the Reformed, the Huguenot cross appeared only one century after the Reformation was established in France.
Les tombes protestantes
La Réforme a introduit l’idée que le lieu d’ensevelissement est indifférent. Elle répudie tout culte rendu aux morts. Aucune cérémonie funèbre n’est prévue, le pasteur n’assiste pas à l’ensevelissement. Les...