The Catholic Publicist

1955 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-18
Author(s):  
Waldemar Gurian
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Human Nature ◽  
Decisive Role ◽  
General Situation ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Good Society ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Church

In the progressive alienation of the modern world from Christianity and the Church, in what is described as intellectual secularization, the publicist plays a decisive role.* The mere mention of the name of Voltaire suggests what the significance of anti-Church publicist work may be. In the name of reason it appeals against the superstition of religion, in the name of justice it covers with contempt and ridicule the claims of tradition, it directs its attacks against existing institutions, and it contrasts the light of secular philosophy to the darkness of Church dogma. All that is done in a facile, universally understandable way. The enlightened publicist does not seek to make an impression on the learned. He does not try to astonish by the fullness of his knowledge. He tries to draw the public opinion of good society to his side and to gain it for his cause. With such assurance does he proceed that he seems to achieve his goal. An educated man who has been shaped by eighteenth century France cares to hear nothing more about the Church as a divine institution. Enlightenment and public opinion became the same thing. Public opinion simply coincided with what the Enlightened publicist prescribed for it. Indeed, it was already apparent in the eighteenth century that it is not a simple thing to decide what corresponds to reason, justice, and untutored human nature. In the name of a sentimental inner religion Rousseau fought against the negative Enlightenment of the Encyclopedists, the circle of Voltaire and Diderot. But this struggle changed nothing in the general situation. Public opinion remained decisive. It was selfevidently opposed to tradition generally and, thus, also to the Church. If the reader of Voltaire jeered and ridiculed religion, the reader of Rousseau shed tears over the Savoyard Vicar, who, in metamorphosing Church dogma into a religion of feeling and humanity, thus deprived religion of its substance. Both would hear nothing of that fosterer of superstition and that oppresser of knowledge, that Church against which they had set themselves up as priests of public opinion, as publicists.

Monarchy

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joël Félix
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Reform Initiatives ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
The Social ◽  
Major Reform ◽  
Louis Xvi ◽  
Louis Xv

This chapter examines the social and political structures of the absolute monarchy. It explores the extent to which tensions and conflicts in the mid-eighteenth century, in particular disputes between government and parlements, divided the elites over reform and policy, and opened up the realm of politics to public opinion. Reviewing the fate of major reform initiatives through the reigns of both Louis XV and his grandson Louis XVI, it argues that political crises paralysed the ability of royal institutions to enforce authority and generate consensus, thus making the transition from the old regime to the modern world necessary and inevitable.

Symphonies and the Public Display of Topics

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Sisman
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Human Activity ◽  
Expanding Universe ◽  
Public Display ◽  
Musical Life ◽  
The Public ◽  
Multiple Audiences ◽  
The Church ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Musical Styles

To the multiple audiences for whom Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and their contemporaries composed—patrons, publishers, players, and an expanding universe of listeners at different levels of knowledge—symphonies were the ubiquitous markers of public musical life in the later eighteenth century, opening and sometimes closing concerts and theatrical events. To heighten their appeal and intelligibility, classical composers found topics for their symphonies in the expressive worlds of opera and theater, as well as in the realms of human activity in nature, at court, or (less often) in the church. In so doing, they heightened their listeners’ range of musical experiences and the possibility of shared interpretations. Rereading contemporaneous opinion to find surprising topical correlations, this chapter develops an understanding of symphonic topics that draws both on referential musical styles and on the textures and colors of the orchestra itself.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN INDEPENDENT LATVIA

Via Latgalica ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Vladislavs Malahovskis
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The State ◽  
Roman Catholic Church ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Church

The aim of the paper is to reflect the political activities of the Roman Catholic Church in two periods of the history of Latvia and the Roman Catholic Church in Latvia – in the period of First Independence of the Republic of Latvia, basically in the 1920s, and in the period following the restoration of Latvia’s independence. With the foundation of the independent state of Latvia, the Roman Catholic Church experienced several changes; - bishops of the Roman Catholic Church were elected from among the people; - the Riga diocese was restored the administrative borders of which were coordinated with the borders of the state of Latvia; - priests of the Roman Catholic Church were acting also in political parties and in the Latvian Parliament. For the Church leadership, active involvement of clergymen in politics was, on the one hand, a risky undertaking (Francis Trasuns’ experience), but, on the other hand, a necessary undertaking, since in this way the Roman Catholic Church attempted to exercise control over politicians and also affect the voters in the elections for the Saeima. The status of the Church in the State of Latvia was legally secured by the concordat signed in the spring of 1922 which provided for a range of privileges to the Roman Catholic Church: - other Christian denominations in Latvia are functioning in accordance with the regulations elaborated by the State Control and confirmed by the Ministry of the Interior, but the Roman Catholic Church is functioning according to the canons set by the Vatican; - releasing the priests from military service, introduction of the Chaplaincy Institution; - releasing the churches, seminary facilities, bishops’ apartments from taxes; - a license for the activity of Roman Catholic orders; - the demand to deliver over one of the church buildings belonging to Riga Evangelical Lutherans to the Roman Catholics. With the regaining of Latvia’s independence, the Roman Catholic Church of Latvia again took a considerable place in the formation of the public opinion and also in politics. However, unlike the parliamentarian period of the independent Latvia, the Roman Catholic Church prohibited the priests to involve directly in politics and considered it unadvisable to use the word “Christian” in the titles of political parties. Nowadays, the participation of the Roman Catholic Church in politics is indirect. The Church is able to influence the public opinion, and actually it does. The Roman Catholic Church does not attempt to grasp power, but to a certain extent it can, at least partly, influence the authorities so that they count with the interests of Catholic believers. Increase of popularity of the Roman Catholic Church in the world facilitated also the increase of the role of the Roma Catholic Church in Latvia. The visit of the Pope in Latvia in 1993 was a great event not only for the Catholic believers but also for the whole state of Latvia. In the autumn of 2002, in Rome, a concordat was signed between the Republic of Latvia and the Vatikan which is to be classified not only as an agreement between the Roman Catholic Church in Latvia and the state of Latvia but also as an international agreement. Since the main foreign policy aim of Latvia is integration in the European Union and strengthening its positions on the international arena, Vatican as a powerful political force was and still is a sound guarantee and support in international relations.

STORIE DI FOLGORI: IL DIBATTITO ITALIANO SUI CONDUTTORI ELETTRICI NEL SETTECENTO

Nuncius ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 493-512
Author(s):  
STEFANO CASATI
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Natural Phenomenon ◽  
The Public ◽  
Scientific Innovation ◽  
Cultural Struggle ◽  
Heated Debate ◽  
Large Acceptance

Abstracttitle SUMMARY /title In the second half of the Eighteenth century a heated debate on the use of the lightning conductor took place in Europe. Franklin's ingenious discovery did not gain general approval among the European philosophers and raised fears and doubts in most part of the public opinion. In Italy the use of the lightning conductor gained large acceptance although it also aroused criticism and controversies that required the intervention of famous scientists, such as G. Toaldo. M. Landriani, and F. Fontana. Thanks to their efforts and dedication the idea that science could master a powerful and destructive natural phenomenon such as lightning was finally accepted. The cultural struggle for the use of the electric bars not only contributed to the achievement of a scientific innovation, but also to a change of mentality.

Disconnecting Church and State: Richard Whately’s Ideas in the 1830s

2003 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-70
Author(s):  
David de Giustino
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Church And State ◽  
Church Reform ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Church ◽  
Established Church

Addressing the clergy of his diocese in 1831, Bishop John Kaye of Lincoln spoke frankly. “We cannot be surprised at being told,” he said, “as we often are, that the days [of the established church] are already numbered, and that it is destined to sink…before the irresistible force of public opinion.” A similar warning appeared a few years earlier when, in his provocative little book Church Reform, Edward Berens urged the Church to acknowledge public opinion before it lost the public altogether.

Architecture, Space, and Abstraction in the Eighteenth-Century French Public Sphere

2008 ◽  
Vol 102 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Wittman
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
General Will ◽  
Spatial Experience ◽  
The Public ◽  
Spatial Dimensions ◽  
The Public Sphere

This essay investigates the spatial dimensions of the eighteenth-century transformation of the public sphere through the lens of contemporary French architectural culture. It analyzes not only how architecture was translated into discursive forms so as to maintain its publicity within a spatially exploded, informational public sphere but also how the concreteness of architecture and real spatial experience was sometimes appropriated in order to render the abstractions consecrated by this public sphere——like public opinion and the general will——less nebulous.

Present Religious Conditions in Germany

1910 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-124
Author(s):  
Richard Lempp
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Karl Marx ◽  
The Other ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Modern Culture ◽  
Restoration Movement ◽  
Secular Culture ◽  
External Power ◽  
The Church

In considering the present religious conditions and prospects in Germany, the main problem appears to be this: Can the church, which up to the eighteenth century had been the chief promoter and embodiment of culture, remain and be preserved over against a culture which has now become independent, or is this independent modern culture destined to sweep the church away? And if the latter be the case, what then will become of religion? This problem of the prospects of religion and church in the modern world has nowhere more significance than in Germany; for there, as nowhere else, an immensely rich and highly developed intellectual culture stands absolutely independent over against a strong and living church. Neither in France nor in England nor in America is the issue so burning as in Germany. In France secular culture faces no strong church filled with profound spiritual forces, but an outgrown institution governed by Roman spiritual tyranny; and therefore it has triumphed over the church. In England and America secular culture has not developed in opposition to the church, but is in the main friendly to it. In Germany, however, national culture since the eighteenth century has stood outside of the church and in a certain opposition to it; Goethe, who in his own person embodies our national culture, took a cool und unsympathetic attitude towards the church, and so have in a greater or less degree the other creators of our modern thought,—Kant and Schiller, the Darwinists and Karl Marx, the Naturalists and Nietzsche, the Liberals of 1848 and Bismarck. On the other hand the church made very great progress in the nineteenth century. German theologians—Schleiermacher, Strauss, Baur, Ritschl, Harnack—utilized for the church the best spiritual results of modern culture, and gave to German theology undisputed leadership in the Protestant world; piety in the church was profoundly deepened and enriched by Schleiermacher, Claus Harms, Löhe, Wichern, von Bodelschwing, Stöcker; while the external power of the church increased greatly in consequence of the restoration movement, the political leadership of the pious Hohenzollerns, and the establishment of a new and more democratic ecclesiastical constitution with synods and presbyteries.

Supporting the Monarchy and the Church of England during the Restoration

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-184
Author(s):  
Joseph Arthur Mann
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Father Figure ◽  
The Public ◽  
Oliver Cromwell ◽  
Charles Ii ◽  
Musical Propaganda ◽  
The Church

With rebellion and regicide an ever-present worry for the newly-restored monarchy and the new king Charles II, public opinion could not be ignored. Charles II was welcomed back to his kingdom with a mix of enthusiasm and relief, but his Church of England faced a more difficult restoration. After being outlawed for a decade, it faced the difficulties inherent in reconstituting the institution itself. It faced the challenge of countering the sentiments against it that had been spread during the Commonwealth. It also needed to establish religious harmony in a populace fractured into numerous denominations than it was before the war. Chapter three reveals how music was consistently pressed into service to maintain a favorable public opinion of Charles II and later James II and in the 1660s to support the restoration of the Church of England. It shows how musical propaganda was used to tout Charles II’s lack-luster victories over the Dutch as masterful triumphs, paint him as a benevolent father-figure to his people, and even give him a fictional victory over Oliver Cromwell. While these tactics recurred during the reign of James II, they were ultimately unable to overcome the public distaste for his Catholicism.

Scottish Literature in a Time of Change

2019 ◽  
pp. 199-212
Author(s):  
Ian Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Religious Practice ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Scottish Literature ◽  
Church Of Scotland ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Church ◽  
Century Literature ◽  
Public Worship

This essay attempts, by selective reference to a range of works in several genres, to identify and comment on some of the ways in which Scottish writers have responded to centuries of development and change in public worship and the exercise of personal Christian faith since the middle of the eighteenth century. As the Church of Scotland and the public perception of worship have changed, notably so in the last century, literature has tried to find a way which accurately reflects that change, while highlighting some of the legacy of Scotland’s religious practice.

scholarly journals Christian visions of homosexuality: new debates of old churches

2018 ◽  
pp. 144-163
Author(s):  
Alla V. Aristova
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Canon Law ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
The Public ◽  
Christian Churches ◽  
Christian Anthropology ◽  
Official Position ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Church ◽  
Pastoral Practice

The article is devoted to the study of the relationship between the processes of erosion of the traditional norm vs deviation matrix in the public consciousness and changes in the position of Christian denominations and churches, new tendencies in theological research, canon law, social work, pastoral practice. The purpose of the work is to characterize the processes of diversification of Christian churches for their attitude towards homosexuality under the pressure of changes in the structure of social deviations and the liberalization of the Christian environment. The author defines the main types of historical stigma of homosexuality; characterizes changes in the public opinion of the population of traditionally Christian countries (based on the modern sociological studies); highlights the main innovations in the social doctrine and practice of various Christian denominations; and identifies the dominant trends in eastern and western Christianity in relation to homosexuality. It is substantiated that the contradiction between the official doctrine, the conservative position of the church hierarchy, on the one hand, and liberal tendencies in the public opinion of the secular community, on the other hand, are more or less common to all Christian denominations. The most difficult situation related the Roman Catholic Church, whose followers live in Western countries with a high level of tolerance for homosexuality. Under the pressure of changes in legal institutions, public morals and public opinion, the traditional Christian interpretation of homosexuality is filled with new connotations; changes were introduced in canon law, institute of spiritual education, other religious institutions; the church becomes more open to discuss problems that have long been taboo. Church policy and pastoral practice are based on the clear delineation of the concepts of "homosexuality", "acts of homosexuality", "homosexual inclinations", "homosexual intentions", "homosexual temptation", etc. It has been shown that despite the existing changes in rhetoric, canon law and church practice, the official position of churches is subject to constant critical attacks. Criticism refers not only to the "lack of" acts of homosexuality, the preservation of religious stigma of homosexuality as sin, the condemnation by the church of homosexual behavior, same-sex marriages and gay culture, but also the rooting of patterns of such behavior in monastic and priestly structures. An alternative to the official position of traditional Christian churches is the growing theological movement, which was called "Queer-Theology", which produces its own version of Christian anthropology. Processes of destroying of traditional structure of deviations in the globalized world, from one side, and processes of post-secularizing - from other, generate contradictory consequences for functioning of religious institutes; the palette of possible attitudes to homosexuality becomes complicated. Overall, the differently directed trends were done distinctly in western and east Christianity. In Catholicism, there are processes of liberalization of Christianity, the search for ways to adapt homosexuals to the religious environment, and in the problem field of Christian anthropology new theological interpretations of gender ethics are proposed. In the flow of Orthodoxy, especially of Russian, the fundamentalization and nationalization of Orthodoxy, the defense of the matrix of traditional values will preserve the religious stigma of homosexuality in the future. Research results can be drawn on in the courses of religious-studies and sociological disciplines; in research of the problems of social and religious deviation. Foreseeable assumptions about the development of the research object are finding the best ways to investigate the newest tendencies in attitude of Christian churches toward the social issues of the day; to provide comparative and cross-cultural analysis of processes of diversification of Christian environment.

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