Conflict between Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church

Between 1871 and 1877, a series of conflict, commonly known as the Kulturkampf ("culture war"), happened between German Empire's chancellor Otto von Bismarck and the Roman Catholic Church over the perceived extent of its influence on German society.^[1]

Origin

The word Kulturkampf was reportedly invented by the liberal Prussian statesman Rudolf Virchow,^[1] who classified the conflict between the German state and the Catholic Church as having "the character of a great struggle in the interest of humanity".^[1]

Background

Bismarck was known for his negative views about the German Catholics,^[1] whose loyalty was doubted by him,^[1] especially after the Vatican declared the doctrine of papal infallibility.^[1] Back then, the German Catholics mostly supported the Centre Party (German: Zentrumspartei).^[1]

The conflict happened at a time when the values of the Enlightenment, nationalism, liberalism, secularism and scientific realism had replaced the Catholic Church in the political and intellectual domains of European societies.^[2] Those values were condemned as "false" by the Catholic Church,^[3] which angered liberals and secularists across Europe.^[2]

The separation of church and state had become a norm in several Western countries,^[2] which greatly reduced Catholic Church's influence over Europeans.^[2] Opposition to religious authority and anti-Catholic views were common,^[2] especially in the majority Protestant German Empire.^[2]

Events

1871

Historians believed that the conflict started in 1871 when Bismarck restricted priests from voicing political views and cancelled the Roman Catholic bureau in the Prussian Ministry of Culture.^[1]

1872

In March 1872, all religious schools came under state control.^[1] In June 1872, all religious teachers could no longer work at state schools,^[1] with the dissolution of the Jesuit order in Germany and the end of diplomatic ties with the Vatican in December.^[1]

1873

Prussian minister of culture Adalbert Falk announced the May Laws to put church appointments and religious training under state control.^[1]

1874

The German Catholic Centre Party doubled their seats in the Reichstag (Imperial German Parliament).^[1] Bismarck started to walk back on his policies as he formed the perception that he could not dominate over the Catholics.^[1] Bismarck also wanted to gain Catholic support for his struggle against the Social Democrats.^[1]

1875

Dioceses (areas overseen by bishops) that did not comply with the May Laws were denied state aid.^[1] Clergy were also exiled for resistance.^[1] The year is seen by some historians as the climax of the Kulturkampf.^[1]

1878

It is said that only three of eight Prussian dioceses still had bishops,^[4] about 1,125 of 4,600 parishes became vacant,^[4] and 1,800 priests were either sent to jail or driven into exile,^[4] along with thousands of commoners who allegedly helped them evade the laws.^[4] German jurist and diplomat Friedrich Heinrich Geffcken (1830–1896) commented on Bismarck's policies:^[5]

[w]ith the intention to emancipate the laity from the hierarchy, the main body of the Catholics was brought in phalanx into the hands of leaders from which it was to be wrested. But the state cannot fight at length against a third of the population, it has no means to break such a passive resistance supported and organized by religious fanaticism. If a statesman desists from the correctness of a measure it only matters that he has the power to enforce it.

1887

Pope Leo XIII declared the Kulturkampf over,^[1] when most of the laws against the German Catholics had been cancelled.^[1] The decade-long conflict consolidated German Catholic support for the Centre Party and parliamentary democracy by which they voted the party into becoming the second-largest party in the German Parliament.^[6]

The Centre Party stayed as a powerful force in the following half a century until Germany fell under Nazi rule.^[6] Commenting on the impact of the Kulturkampf, American historian Margaret Lavina Anderson wrote:^[7]

[The clergy] acquired a pragmatic, but nonetheless real, commitment to democratic elections, parliamentary procedures, and party politics – commitments in which they schooled their flock, by their practice as much as by their preaching.

Related pages

References

↑ ^1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 ^1.13 ^1.14 ^1.15 ^1.16 ^1.17 ^1.18 ^1.19
- Healy, Róisín (2003). The Jesuit Specter in Imperial Germany. Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-0391041943.
- Clark, Christopher (2006). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674023857.
- "Kulturkampf | German Politics & Religion in 19th Century". Britannica. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5
- Franz, Georg (1954). Kulturkampf. Staat und katholische Kirche in Mitteleuropa von der Säkularisation bis zum Abschluss des preußischen Kulturkampfes. Munich. p. 16.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
- Knight, Frances. History of the Christian Church. Vol. 6: The Church in the 19th Century. I.B. Tauris, London, 2008, ISBN 9781850438991
- Robbins, Keith, ed. (2011). The Dynamics of Political Reform in Northern Europe 1780–1920: Political and Legal Perspectives. Leuven University Press. ISBN 9789058678256.
↑ Atkin, Nicholas; Tallett, Frank (2003). Priests, Prelates and People: A History of European Catholicism since 1750. Oxford University Press.
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Helmstadter, Richard, ed. (1997). Freedom and Religion in the 19th Century. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804730877.
↑ A Supreme Court in the culture wars Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine by Jeremy Rabkin in the Fall edition of the Public Interest
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Hajo Holborn, A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945 (1969), 258–260
↑ Anderson, Margaret Lavinia (2000). Practicing democracy: Elections and political culture in Imperial Germany. Princeton University Press.

This short article can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it.

[A-1] 1.00 ^1.01 ^1.02 ^1.03 ^1.04 ^1.05 ^1.06 ^1.07 ^1.08 ^1.09 ^1.10 ^1.11 ^1.12 ^1.13 ^1.14 ^1.15 ^1.16 ^1.17 ^1.18 ^1.19
Healy, Róisín (2003). The Jesuit Specter in Imperial Germany. Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-0391041943.

Clark, Christopher (2006). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674023857.

"Kulturkampf | German Politics & Religion in 19th Century". Britannica. Retrieved April 1, 2025.

[2] Healy, Róisín (2003). The Jesuit Specter in Imperial Germany. Boston: Brill. ISBN 978-0391041943.

[3] Clark, Christopher (2006). Iron Kingdom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600–1947. Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674023857.

[4] "Kulturkampf | German Politics & Religion in 19th Century". Britannica. Retrieved April 1, 2025.

[B-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5
Franz, Georg (1954). Kulturkampf. Staat und katholische Kirche in Mitteleuropa von der Säkularisation bis zum Abschluss des preußischen Kulturkampfes. Munich. p. 16.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Knight, Frances. History of the Christian Church. Vol. 6: The Church in the 19th Century. I.B. Tauris, London, 2008, ISBN 9781850438991

Robbins, Keith, ed. (2011). The Dynamics of Political Reform in Northern Europe 1780–1920: Political and Legal Perspectives. Leuven University Press. ISBN 9789058678256.

[6] Franz, Georg (1954). Kulturkampf. Staat und katholische Kirche in Mitteleuropa von der Säkularisation bis zum Abschluss des preußischen Kulturkampfes. Munich. p. 16.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[7] Knight, Frances. History of the Christian Church. Vol. 6: The Church in the 19th Century. I.B. Tauris, London, 2008, ISBN 9781850438991

[8] Robbins, Keith, ed. (2011). The Dynamics of Political Reform in Northern Europe 1780–1920: Political and Legal Perspectives. Leuven University Press. ISBN 9789058678256.

[3] Atkin, Nicholas; Tallett, Frank (2003). Priests, Prelates and People: A History of European Catholicism since 1750. Oxford University Press.

[C-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Helmstadter, Richard, ed. (1997). Freedom and Religion in the 19th Century. Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804730877.

[5] A Supreme Court in the culture wars Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine by Jeremy Rabkin in the Fall edition of the Public Interest

[D-6] 6.0 ^6.1 Hajo Holborn, A History of Modern Germany: 1840–1945 (1969), 258–260

[7] Anderson, Margaret Lavinia (2000). Practicing democracy: Elections and political culture in Imperial Germany. Princeton University Press.

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