The Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Religious reform proved the revolution's most divisive act. The Civil Constitution of the Clergy (July 1790) nationalized church property, made clergy elected and salaried state officials, and reorganized dioceses. This transformation, logical to revolutionaries viewing the church as another privileged corporation, violated Catholic understanding of spiritual authority. The required oath to the Constitution split French Catholicism, with roughly half the clergy refusing as "non-jurors."

Louis XVI's reluctant sanctioning of the Civil Constitution after papal condemnation created an impossible personal situation. His conscience, directed by non-juring priests, told him he had committed sacrilege. His public position required supporting constitutional clergy he considered schismatic. This religious crisis transformed a politically reluctant king into a counter-revolutionary seeking foreign intervention to restore traditional Catholicism along with royal authority.

The religious schism penetrated every French community. Constitutional and non-juring priests competed for parishioners' loyalty. Regions divided between revolutionary and counter-revolutionary allegiance largely along religious lines. The revolution, beginning with widespread clerical support, now faced religiously motivated resistance. The attempt to regenerate Catholicism according to Enlightenment principles created deeper divisions than any political dispute.