"Government and Religion under the Reign of Napoleon" Topic

"The French Revolution had a devastating affect on the Catholic Church, as well as religion itself throughout the nation of France. The Enlightenment had secured the idea that reason was to be worshiped more so than God, and when these ideals met with the radical thoughts inside the mind of Maximilian Robespierre (1758-1794), the church had no chance of survival in Revolutionary France. Interestingly enough the atheistic and deistic ideals of the Enlightenment which brought down the church in the first place would in turn be the same ideals that brought it back into power. In his first substantial political maneuver Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), a man who was not known for being religious, would bring back out of revolutionary exile the Catholic Church in France. This action secured Napoleon's place as a politician, showing that he could be a leader in areas other than the battlefield.

Napoleon's rise in politics, as well as his concern for religion, is a bit ironic when his family life, especially the relationship he had with his father, is taken into account. Napoleon was baptized into the Catholic faith as a child, however, he never became engrossed in the faith. His lack of personal interest in religion coupled with the political instability of his homeland may have led him to often question his belief in God. On the island of Corsica where Napoleon began his life, the Bonaparte family was one of the most prominent on the island. This prominence was due in part to the Bonaparte family heritage (which originated in Florence, Italy in the late 1200's) and Carlo Bonaparte (1746-1785)'s position in the Corsican Assembly. France had invaded the island and taken it over in 1768, which quickly resulted in the assimilation of the Corsican people into French society. Carlo did little to nothing to fight the French influence, as a matter of fact he very quickly became engrossed into the French nobility…"
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Religion in the Armies of Napoleon

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^@ Tango01: Well said!!!

My pleasure my friend…

Armand