Secularization (church property)

Secularization is the confiscation of church property by a government, such as in the suppression of monasteries. The term is often used to specifically refer to such confiscations during the French Revolution and the First French Empire in the sense of seizing churches and converting their property to state ownership.

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Voiceover: We've heard in general about institutions. What they are, what role they play in society. Now let's take a closer look at specific institutions like education, family and religion. Each of these institutions plays a fundamental role in both creating and supporting society. And each shapes the individuals who make up that society. Education is more than just going to school, memorizing what the teacher writes on the board, and taking a test on it a few weeks later. There is a hidden curriculum of information that is taught outside the official curriculum. We learn how to stand in line, how to wait our turn to ask a question, how to treat our peers. We learn without realizing it. We are socialized to internalize certain social inequalities when girls and boys are treated differently in school by their teachers. Teachers expect different things from different students. And that expectation affects how students learn. Teachers tend to get what they expect from their students. If the teacher only expects a certain level of effort or skill, that's all the students will give them. Teachers put students into categories based on the student's perceived abilities. And the teacher expect certain things based on the categorization. But what if the categorization is wrong? Then the student is not challenged enough and might only meet the teacher's expectations rather than exceeding the expectation to reach their true potential. Sometimes the limiting factor comes from outside the classroom itself. Schools experience educational segregation and stratification in part because the way that we fund schools is most often through property taxes. This creates inequalities between different school districts which have different property taxes. So the schools in lower income districts will often get less funding than those in affluent neighborhoods. You can see a reflection of the socioeconomic inequalities in our society in the funding given to schools, and the residential segregation that occurs based on what neighborhoods people can afford to live in. There's a lot more to the institution of education than first meets the eye. Let's see what's hidden in some other institutions. Family is another institution essential to our society. It can defined by many forms of kinship including blood, marriage and adoption. In the United States, we put more value on the small nuclear family than on the larger extended family. Though, that depends on the society. Different family values go hand in hand with different social obligations to the family, and also with the economy. Rural families were production-based, so large families were beneficial. As people moved into cities, families became consumption-based. So, having a large family actually became a strain on their resources. With urbanization came changes and expectations of family roles and child care. There's much diversity in family forms. A family can be a married couple or a single parents or step families, or gay couples, adoptive families, generation skips where the grandparents take care of the little ones. Or some other unit I haven't mentioned. There is no one uniform type of family. When we talk about family, we have to talk about marriage and divorce. New families often begin with marriage. When people join together, and begin a life together. For something that was intended to be rather permanent, citizens of the United States tend to experience multiple marriages in their lifetime. We are serial monogamists as we go from one marriage or relationship to the next. This means that divorce is becoming a normal aspect of family life, but because we expect marriage to be permanent, divorce created tension. Especially when children are involved and custody battles or when a parent remarries. No family is perfect. And unfortunately, some families contain violence. We often hear of extreme cases of child abuse where the child is physically abused. Often by another member of the family. More common though is abuse through neglect, such as a lack of parental supervision, or poor nutrition or insufficient clothing. Children aren't the only family members to be abused. Elder abuse occurs when families aren't ready for the responsibility of taking care of elders. Having no plan of who will take care of the elderly, and the expense of nursing homes, can lead to robbery, threats, and neglect of elder members of the family. Spousal abuse is also very common. Again abuse is not just physical, it can also be psychological. While spousal abuse is usually perpetrated by men, men can also be the victims. Often, it is economic issues that lead to abuse. A pattern or behavior that takes years to escalate. It is about controlling the partner and limiting their support network, which makes it difficult for a victim to get out of the situation. It is difficult for abused spouses to seek help. Women's shelters don't always accept kids, while for men, the social stigma that men don't get abused keeps them quiet. There's much more to the institution of family than raising a kid. Religion is another institution that permeates our society. The religiosity, or how religious a person is, can range from private beliefs to spiritual routines to institutionalized religion. Or, to reading the Bible but not attending church. To celebrating Passover because your grandmother cooks dinner. To facing a keebla and praying five times every day. There are many types of religious organizations. Churches are established religious bodies like the Roman Catholic church. Sects tend to be smaller and are established in protest of an established church. They are a revival and break away from the established church like the movement of the restoration of the ten commandments of God. Cults are more radical. They break away and reject the values of outside society undergoing a complete religious renovation. They rise when there is a break down of societal belief systems but they're usually short lived because they depend on an inspirational leader who will only live for so long. Over the years religion has been affected by social change. Modernization has led to more information being available to the public, and less emphasis in society on religion, leading to secularization. Secularization in turn, is the weakening of social and political power of religious organizations, as religious involvement and belief declines. But then you have the reaction to secularization in fundamentalism, when people go back to the strict religious teachings and beliefs, though this can create social problems when people become too extreme. In the end, in some shape or form, religion affects everyone in society.

Etymology

The Latin term saecularisatio was already used in 1559 and used as a verb in 1586.

“Saecularisatio” did not refer to the confiscation of property of churches at this time; “profanatio sacrae rei” was used instead to refer to this definition of secularization, referring to church property.^[1]

Examples of Secularization in History

Dissolution of the Monasteries in England

The Dissolution of the Monasteries in England began in 1536 under Henry VIII of England. While some monasteries were simply abolished, and their property retained by the Crown or by the King's favorites, others remained in the Church of England as collegiate foundations, including cathedrals and royal peculiars, staffed by secular clergy.

Ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal in Spain

The Ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal refer to a February 1836 decree for the Desamortización declared by Juan Álvarez Mendizábal. He was prime minister at the time of the release of the decree.

The Spanish government confiscated the property because they felt that the property was underused by the monasteries. The government saw this land as a perfect opportunity to gain wealth and increase the holdings of the nobility. The churches were not compensated for their property and were taken. Many middlemen were involved in the acquisition of the properties because the church excommunicated the auctioneers and buyers. In order for the transaction to go through to obtain the property, they had to use a third-party individual.^[2]

The confiscations took place at the same time as the First Carlist War, of which there were three. The Carlist Wars were a series of civil wars in the 19th century involving Liberal-Republican factions who wanted a secular and modern government. In contrast, the traditional Carlist faction wanted to preserve ancient traditions and royalty.^[3]

Josephinism in Austria

Josephinism in Austria refers to the actions of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, and the transformation of the Catholic Church as subservient to the monarchy. Enlightened absolutism was a concept that spread across Continental Europe, separating church and state and putting the authority of the state out of the hands of the church. Several monasteries were seized before the French Revolution.

The French Revolution brought about a period of extremity and conflict among traditional royalists, and enlightened liberals. Joseph II had a strong aversion for monasteries that he viewed as not contributing positively to society, although he was a Catholic. Upwards of 500 out of 1,188 monasteries in Austria were taken, and 60 million florins were taken by the state. 1700 new parishes and welfare institutions were created from this wealth and property.^[4]

German mediatization

German mediatization refers to the restructuring of German territory between 1802 and 1814 of the former Holy Roman Emperor into 39 German states, from the original 300 states and principalities. Many properties and buildings owned by the Church were confiscated and reallocated through this process. Monasteries, land, property titles, and authority were stripped from the princes and religious leaders of these German states.

The pressure of German Mediatization was not initiated by the Germans themselves, but rather by the diplomatic pressure by Napoleon and the French military^[5]

The legislation that brought about the German mediatization is known as The Final Recess of the Imperial Deputation (German: Reichsdeputationshauptschluss) of 25 February 1803.

This law brought about the property restructuring of the Holy Roman Empire. By reallocating the ecclesiastical states and the imperial cities to other imperial estates, they were able to satisfy Napoleon's demands and bring about increased secularisation.^[6]

Secularization of monastic estates in Romania

The Secularization of Monastic Estates in Romania refers to the confiscation of large estates owned and operated by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Romania. The land confiscated was utilized for land reform and agriculture. By confiscating monastery lands, the boyars of Romania were able to keep their estates intact while still developing the infrastructure of Romania.

The law that enacted the secularization of monastic estates in Romania was approved by the Parliament of Romania and brought about in December 1863 by Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.

Romania was then known as the Romanian United Principalities.

The monasteries were untaxed and as they composed ¼ of Romania's land, the inability to tax these lands and the Church's ownership had negative effects on the state's ability to generate revenue.^[7]

Literature

Marcel Albert: The commemorative events for the 200th anniversary of secularization 1803–2003. A critical review . In: Roman Quarterly, 100, 2005, pp. 240–274.
Christian Bartz: The secularization of Laach Abbey in 1802. A case study. In: Rhenish Quarterly Journals, 62, 1998, pp. 238–307.
Paul Fabianek: Consequences of secularization for the monasteries in the Rhineland. Using the example of the Schwarzenbroich and Kornelimünster monasteries. Books on Demand, 2012, ISBN 978-3-8482-1795-3 .
Reiner Groß : History of Saxony. Berlin 2001 (4th edition 2012, ISBN 978-3-361-00674-4 ).
Volker Himmelein (ed.): Old monasteries, new masters. The secularization in the German south-west in 1803. Large State Exhibition of Baden-Württemberg 2003 . Thorbecke, Ostfildern 2003, ISBN 3-7995-0212-2 (exhibition catalog and essay volume).
Georg Mölich, Joachim Oepen, Wolfgang Rosen (eds.): Monastery culture and secularization in the Rhineland. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2002, ISBN 978-3-89861-099-5 .
Isa Lübbers, Martin Rößler, Joachim Stüben (eds.): Secularization - a world-historical process in Hamburg. Peter Lang, Frankfurt am Main 2017, ISBN 978-3-631-67547-2 .
Winfried Müller : A Bavarian special way? Secularization in Germany on the left and right banks of the Rhine. In: Alois Schmid (ed.): The secularization in Bavaria 1803. Culture break or modernization? CH Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-10664-1 , pp. 317–334.
Winfried Müller: The Secularization of 1803 . In: Walter Brandmüller (ed.): Handbook of Bavarian church history. Volume 3. Eos Verlag, St. Ottilien 1991, pp. 1–84.
Winfried Müller: Between secularization and concordat. The Reorganization of Church-State Relations 1803–1821 . In: Walter Brandmüller (ed.): Handbook of Bavarian church history. Volume 3. Eos Verlag, St. Ottilien 1991, pp. 85–129.
Alfons Maria Scheglmann : History of secularization in Bavaria on the right bank of the Rhine. 3 volumes. Habbel, Regensburg 1903–1908.
Rudolf Schlögl : Belief and religion in secularization. The Catholic City - Cologne, Aachen, Munster - 1740–1840. Munich 1995.
Dietmar Stutzer: Secularization 1803. The storming of Bavaria's churches and monasteries. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus Alfred Förg, 1976, ISBN 3-475-52237-3 .
Hermann Uhrig: The compatibility of Art. VII of the Peace of Lunéville with the Imperial Constitution . 5 volumes, Verlag Traugott Bautz, Nordhausen 2014, ISBN 978-3-88309-862-3 ; 2789 p. (at the same time expanded Jur. Diss. Tübingen 2011, urn : nbn:de:bsz:21-opus-56749 ).
Eberhard Weis : Montgelas . First volume. Between Revolution and Reform 1759–1799 . 2nd Edition. Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 978-3-406-32974-6 .
Matthias Wemhoff : Secularization and new beginnings . Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg 2007, ISBN 978-3-7954-1963-9 (on the occasion of the opening of the exhibition in the Regional Association of Westphalia-Lippe-State Museum for Monastery Culture in Dalheim Monastery ).

Bibliography

Marcel Albert: Die Gedenkveranstaltungen zum 200. Jahrestag der Säkularisation 1803–2003. Ein kritischer Rückblick, in: Römische Quartalschrift 100 (2005) S. 240–274.

^ Marie-Luisa Frick, Andreas Oberprantacher (University of Innsbruck): Return of the repressed? The 'crisis' of the secularization thesis is reflected in current debates on the phenomenon of 'religion' in Europe. Innsbruck Discussion Papers on World Order, Religion and Violence, No. 24, 2008 ( title entry at the ULB Tirol with PDF download ), p. 4: there with reference to the article Secularization, Secularization in Historical Basic Terms, Volume 5 (1984), p 794 f.
^ Bryant |, Tony (2021-02-19). "19 February 1836: Legislation orders the expropriation of monastic properties". surinenglish.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
^ "Heritage History - Products". www.heritage-history.com. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
^ Okey, Robin (2002), The Habsburg Monarchy c. 1765–1918, New York: Palgrave MacMillan
^ Whaley, J., Germany and the Holy Roman Empire (1493–1806), Oxford University Press, 2011, vol. 2, p. 620.
^ Curzon, Catherine. "Read The Imperial Recess Of 1803 Online". Scribd. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
^ Stoica, Vasile (1919). The Roumanian Question: The Roumanians and their Lands. Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh Printing Company. p. 69.

This page was last edited on 9 July 2023, at 17:34

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