Ideas of Religious Toleration at the Time of Joseph II. A Study of the Enlightenment among
Catholics in Austria
Author(s): Charles H. O'Brien
Source: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 59, No. 7 (1969), pp. 1-80
Published by: American Philosophical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1006062
Accessed: 02-02-2016 02:54 UTC
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TRANSACTIONS
OF THE
SOCIETY
PHILOSOPHICAL
AMERICAN
HELD
FOR
AT PHILADELPHIA
PROMOTING
KNOWLEDGE
USEFUL
NEW SERIES-VOLUME
59, PART 7
1969
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION AT THE TIME
OF JOSEPH II
A STUDY OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT AMONG CATHOLICS IN AUSTRIA
CHARLES H. O'BRIEN
University
AssistantProfessorof History,Wittenberg
Dean, European AmericanStudyCenter,Allschwil,Switzerland
THE
AMERICAN
PHILOSOPHICAL
INDEPENDENCE
PHILADELPHI
DECEMBER,
SOCIETY
SQUARE
A
1969
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OPTIMAE UXORI
Society
X 1969by The AmericanPhilosophical
Copyright
Libraryof CongressCatalog
Card Number76-93502
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The writingof thisworkhas been generouslyassisted
by a Researchand CreativityGrantfromthe Board of
College Education and Church Vocations, Lutheran
Church in America, and by grants fromthe Faculty
Research Fund of Wittenberg University. I am
especiallygratefulto ProfessorPeter Gay of Columbia
and patientcriticism,
University,forhis encouragement
and to my wife,Elvy, who typedseveral draftsof the
textand helpedme thinkout manyof its problems.
USED IN CITING
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
DOCUMENTS AND PERIODICAL
LITERATURE
AOG
Geschichte
Archivfiurosterreichische
AVA
DTC
Wien
AllgemeineVerwaltungsarchiv,
Dictionnatire
de Theologie Catholique
HHSA
LThK
Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv
Lexikon fur Theologieund Kirche
MIOG
Mitteilungdes Institutsffirosterreichische
Geschichtsforschung
Neueste Beitrage zur Religionslehreund
Kirchengeschichte
NB
NE
RZ
WKZ
NouvellesEcclesiastiques
Realzeitung
WienerKirchenzeitung
3
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IDEAS
AT THE TIME OF JOSEPH II
OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
A Study of the Enlightenment among Catholics in Austria
CHARLES
H.
O'BRIEN
religiousperspective.The dynastyhad led theCounterin CentralEurope, and its greatestrepreReformation
PAGE
sentative,Maria Theresa, preservedthe policy of reIntroduction.
almost intactup to the end of her
7 ligious uniformity
.
I. The old order.
long reign. The officialchange under Joseph seems
13
II. The old orderchanges. ..........................
unusuallyabrupt; it took less than a year. But a proIII. Joseph'ssystemof religioustoleration............
22
found alterationin spirit among educated Austrians,
31 since the 1760's,had preparedthe way.
...............
IV. Educationand censorship.........
38
V. EnlightenedCatholics ................
............
It is truethatreligioustolerationin Austria,as elseVI. Jansenists.....................................
51 wherein Europe, was broughtabout largelyby non- or
58 irreligiousforces. Not exclusively,however. Joseph's
VII. Secular humanists...............................
69 ecclesiasticalpolitics,like the rest of his statecraft,
Epilogue .....................................
was
70 secularbutnot secularistic. To be sure,somehistorians
Conclusion.....................................
72 argue thathis policyof tolerationwas purelyutilitarian,
Bibliography.....................
................
77
Index .
.....................................
thatit did not springfromreligiousprinciples. Ultramontane Catholic critics, the historians Sebastian
INTRODUCTION
Brunnerin thenineteenth
centuryand FerdinandMaass
in the twentieth,
depreciatethe religioussignificance
of
I
the Edict, as well as most of the otherJosephinistreReligious toleration in the eighteenthcentury is formsof the Austrianchurch. From their
standpoint
usually associated with ProtestantEngland, Holland, favoringan extendedconceptionof the Roman Pontiff's
and Prussia. It is less well knownthat shortlybefore authority,
not only withinthe churchbut also vis-a'-zis
the FrenchRevolution,theHapsburgmonarchybecame the civil power,theyaccuse JosephII of violatingthe
the firstCatholic state to extend full civil rightsto church'sautonomymerelyfor reasons of state.
most non-Catholics. In the Edict of Toleration,OctoLikewise,secular-minded
historianshave ignoredthe
ber 13, 1781, JosephII initiatedthis reform. He car- religiousroots of the Edict. Accustomedto treating
ried it out with the assistanceof an enlightenedelite historyas if men were movedentirelyby
theirworldly
of governmentofficials,academicians,and journalists, interests,thatis, by economicconditions,social status,
and kindredspiritsin the aristocracy,clergy,and the desireforpower,and thelike,theyoverlookor
exclude
professionalclasses. Althoughthe needs of the state religiousmotivation. Paul Mitrofanov,
Joseph'smost
wereuppermostin themindsofmostof thesereformers, reliablebiographer,writesthat the Emperorconceived
an enlightenedCatholic point of view also prompted the policyof tolerationonly to serve the economicand
theirnew policyand helped determineits content.
politicalneeds of the state.' Recently,Ernst WangerThe expression,"enlightenedCatholic,"in this con- mann has reiteratedthis view: the Edict was nothing
nection,is an historicaldescriptionratherthan a value morethan"a deviceforattracting
foreignskilledcraftsjudgment. It refersto the significant
minorityamong men to thenew industriesof Austriaand settlersto the
eiglhteenth-century
Catholic clergy and laymen who wastes of Hungary."2
undertookto reformthe Catholic churchin the light
Grantedthat the needs of the state were foremost
ofcontemporary
and in Joseph'smind,theywere not his exclusiveconcern.
ideals of reasonableness,
simplicity,
humanity. Likewise neutral is the expression,"con- Both ultramontane
and secularisticcriticsoverlookthe
servativeCatholic," referringto the defendersof the Edict's indebtedness to the enlightened Catholic
statusquo, thatis, theinstitutions
of thepost-Tridentine thoughtrepresented
by theanti-curialRhinelandbishop,
church. More or less hostileto theprevailingtendencies Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, alias
Febronius,
of theirage, they upheld a baroque style of piety,a and by the erudite archivist of Modena in Ttalvscholasticpointof view in philosophyand theology,and
1 Paul von Mitrofanov,
JosephII. Seine politischeund kulusuallyan ultramontane
conceptionof churchorder.
turelle
Tdtigkeit,translatedfromRussian by V. von Demelic
Intoleranceof dissentcharacterizednot onlythepostwith an introduction
by Dr. Hanns Schlitter(Wien, 1910),
Tridentinechurchbut also, since the early seventeenth p.
712.
century,the Hapsburg dynasty. Hence the Edict of
2 Ernst Wangermann,
From JosephII to the JacobinTrials
Tolerationrepresenteda major shiftin the Hapsburg (London,1959),p. 14.
CONTENTS
5
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6
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Ludovico Muratori. These two writers stand out of Trent and the othergeneralcouncilsof the church.
growingout of the confrontaCatholicprotagonistsof The second controversy,
among the eighteenth-century
concernedthe
religiousunityand moderationin religiousdisputeswho tionbetweenrationalismand Christianity,
and the inspiredcharacterof Holy Scriphelpedto createamongAustrianCatholicsa climateof authenticity
of the churchassembledin general
opinion favorableto toleration. The Edict of Toler- ture,the infallibility
ationitselfjustifiesthenew policy,not onlyon grounds council,and the necessityof belongingto the church
of utilitybut also religion. In the didactic preface, for salvation. To these questions most Josephinists
minority
Josephcalls the reforma Christiantolerance,implying gave orthodoxresponses. Only an influential
that it is based on Christianprinciples. Josephhim- of nominalCatholicsconsideringthemselvesdeistsproself, unlike FrederickII of Prussia, was a professed fessedheterodoxopinions.
Christian,as weremostof themenwho helpedto frame
The Jansenistsamong Joseph's followersare more
and to defendhis policy. On the basis of the New difficult
to classify. On the one hand, contemporary
Testamentand other Christiansources, they treated ultramontane
criticsaccused themof holdingheretical
tolerance as charityapplied to non-Catholics. And propositions. But the Janseniststhemselvesinsisted
theyencouragedits practicewith specificallyChristian that their beliefs accorded with Holy Scripture and
inducementsand sanctions. Christiantolerancethus the decreesof the councils. Ignoringseventeenthand
reflectsa world view somewhatat variance with the early eighteenth-century
papal condemnationsof the
reasonable and humane outlook of many eighteenth- sect,the government
employedJansenistsas professors
centurydeistsand secularhumanists.
in the general seminariesand welcomedtheirwriting
in defenseof ecclesiasticalreforms. In any case, in
II
the Jansenistsin
issues touchingon religioustoleration,
This conceptionof toleranceraises the question: To Austria professedunequivocallyorthodoxdoctrines.
whatextentdid Josephand otherenlightenedCatholics
The meaning of religious tolerationvaried greatly
Catholicism?3 At
withcontemporary
comeintoconflict
religiousperspectivesheld by
accordingto the different
the level of doctrine,conservativeCatholicshave some- Austrians. To deists it meant religiousindifference.
times impliedthe most serious kind of conflict:these To enlightenedCatholics,on the otherhand, religious
reformerswere guiltyof heresy,of willfullyrejecting tolerationsignifiedboth respectfor the civil rightsof
on the other hand, indefinedtruths. Josephinists,
the dissenter,or religiousliberty,and respectfor his
directlyrespondedto this insinuationby virtuallyre- personaldignity,or Christiancharity. However generpudiatingthe notionof heresy. They argued that no ously theymightdefinereligiousliberty,and however
one can verifythe alleged "willfullness"inspiringre- benevolently
theymighttreatthe dissenter,enlightened
ligious dissent. It is only possible to say that certain Catholics usually could not overlook his unorthodox
views are heterodox,or in conflictwith authoritative beliefs.
of the faith,but not that theyare morally
definitions
ConservativeCatholics,in contrast,did not acknowlreprehensible.
this differencebetween deistic and enlightened
edge
Austria there were two
In late eighteenth-century
tolerance. They referredto both conceptions
Catholic
in whichheterodoxy
controversy
areas oflivetheo'logical
as religiousindifference.Out of anxiety
pejoratively
was likelyto be found. The firstwas the dispute,inconservativesapamong the faithful,
spread
lest
error
concerningjustification
heritedfromthe Reformation,
if
it
wereunavoidable
only
of
toleration
religious
proved
of
his
supporters
and the sacraments. Josephand most
such as to build
concessions,
restricted
to
and
specific
accepted Catholic doctrineas definedat the Council
churchesand to hold offices. They did not respectthe
3 At issue among historians is the orthodoxy of the German person being toleratedfor they consideredhim guilty
Catholic Enlightenment. A positive interpretationwas given of heresy. At best,theytreatedhim withcondescendby Sebastian Merkle, Die katholischeBeurteilung des Aufkldrungszeitalters (Berlin, 1909) and Die kirchlicheAufkldrungim ing kindness;theywould not admitthathis errormight
katholischen Deutschland (Berlin, 1910). The ultramontane be honorable. Anyone who rejects the doctrine
Catholic, J. B. Sagmiiller, took a contraryview in Wissenschaft preachedby the Catholicchurch,theyargued,must do
uind Glaube in der kirchlichenAufkldrung (Essen, 1910) and so willfully
grace
since God always offershim sufficient
Wissenschaftund Unglaube (Essen, 1911). In recentliterature,
for
believing.
der
an
und
Graz
in
kirchliche
Aufkldrung
Die
Posch,
Andreas
These theologicaldistinctionsconcerningthe orthoGrazer Hochschule (Graz, 1937) and Eduard Winter, Der
Josephinismus und seine Geschichte (Wien, 1943) hold that doxy of the enlightenedCatholic point of view have
enlightened Catholics aimed at a true reform of the church. profound
political,as well as religious,significance.The
In a revised edition, Der Josephinismus: Geschichte des Repartof an over-all
of
Toleration
was an important
Edict
altered
formkatholizisnzus(Berlin, 1962), Winter has somewhat
of the Hapsburgmonarchy. Not onlywas it to
his general interpretationof Josephinism,stressing its economic reform
and social roots. He continues to regard most Josephinistsas contributeto improvingthe economyof the state,but
sincere Catholic reformers,but he now insists that their point also to help to inoculate large Protestantminorities
of view was utopian, pp. 352 ff. He also takes issue with the
anti-Josephinistviews in Ferdinand Maass, Der Josephinismus against the virus of revolution. If religioustoleration
did not compromiseessentialCatholictruthsor conflict
(5 v., Wien, 1951-1961).
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
7
hereticsand opposed the use of forcein religion. At
the heartof Erasmian,as of Josephinian,
humanismis
a distinctiveview of the individualChristian'sintelligent,inwardserviceto God. Rejectingmanyscholastic
theologicalpropositionsas accretionsto revealedtruth,
humanistsattemptedto directthe individualChristian
to theindubitablecore of his faith,the Gospel as taught
I. THE OLD ORDER
by the early church. True Christianity,
theyargued,
I
consistedessentiallyof a way of lifeafterthe example
The historicalroots of Josephiniantoleranceextend of Christand accordingto His commandment
of love.
back to the sixteenthcenturywhen religiousdissent
In 1516 Erasmus, the "teacher of his age," sumfirstappearedin theHapsburglands. Luther'swritings marizedtheprinciplesof thisBiblical humanism,which
circulatedin Austria very soon aftertheirpublication, he called thephilosophyof Christ,in the introduction
to
and by 1530 Lutheranpreacherswere activein Vienna his translation
oftheNew Testament:
as well as in several of the Hapsburg duchies. After
of Christ],locatedas it is moretruly
the death of King Louis II in 1526, the crowns of In [the philosophy
in thedisposition
lifemeans
ofthemindthanin syllogisms,
Bohemia and Hungarypassed to ArchdukeFerdinand more than debate,inspiration
is preferable
to erudition,
of Austria,the brotherof Emperor CharlesV. In the transformation
is moreimportant
thanintellectual
compreformerkingdomthe majorityof the populationwere hension. Onlya veryfewcan be learned,but all can be
all can be devout.... 1
centurya kind Christian,
Hussites, professingsince the fifteenth
of proto-Protestantism
akin to Luther'sbeliefs. In the AlthoughErasmus does not entirelyreject scholastic
latterkingdom,bothin therumpthatFerdinandactually theology,he relegatesit to the peripheryof Christian
underTurkishdomination, concern. He therebytries to freethe Christianspirit
governedand in theterritory
the Lutheranand Calvinistchurcheswere firmlyestab- fromthe furortheologicusthat stimulatesheresy.
lishedby 1550.
Also in the introduction
Erasmus' favorableestimate
The Hapsburgsrecognizedin thisnew religiousmove- of humannaturelays the basis for a humanetreatment
menta threatto the ecclesiasticalsystemin whichthey of non-conformists:
believedand on which theirpoliticalpower in Central
easilypenetrates
intothemindsof
Europe partiallyrested. In the name of religiousre- Indeed,thisphilosophy
an
in
human
all,
action
especial
accord
with
nature. Moreform many of their natural rivals among the higher over,whatelse is the philosophy
of Christ,. . . thanthe
nobilityand princes of the Holy Roman Empire in- restoration
2
of humannatureoriginally
well formed?
creased theirstrengthby going over to the new faith,
confiscatingchurchproperty,and assumingcontrolof It is truethatErasmus believesin originalsin,or man's
ecclesiasticalappointments.Both CharlesV and Ferdi- fall fromgrace, and in man's redemptionby Christ.
nand, who in 1556 succeededhim as Emperor,reacted But, much more emphaticallythan scholastic theoalternatelycoercingand conciliatingthe logians,ErasmusinsiststhatthroughgracetheChristian
pragmatically,
Protestants. Charles V was too busy fightingthe recovers true human dignity. This new esteem for
French in Italy to give full attentionto the Empire human nature,enhancedby the teachingsof Socrates
while Ferdinand had to cope continuallywith the and the Greek and Latin stoic philosophers,inspired
Turkishthreatfromtheeast. Moreover,the Hapsburg Erasmian pacificismand abhorenceof religiouspersedynasticempirelacked the modernstate's monopolyof cutionand otherkinds of medieval"fanaticism."
Antipathyto so much of medieval religiondid not
of social coercion.
militarypowerand otherinstruments
lead
Erasmus and otherChristianhumaniststo abandon
In sum,circumstances
overwhichtheyhad littlecontrol
in the unityof the church. But, true to their
belief
and
deterredthe Hapsburgs fromall-out persecution
religious
vision, they emphasized inner, moral unity
led themtowardconciliatory
measuresforrestoringrethe
membersof Christ's Body, more than examong
ligiousunity.
ternal
to Christiandoctrineand law. Like
conformity
While this irenictendencyran counterto the official
many
Josephinian
writers,theywould restrictthe artiattitudeof the Catholicchurch,expressedin contemporary canon law and moral theology,it seemed likely cles of faithto what is trulyrevealed:
to benefitfromthe growthof Christianhumanism,an The RomanChurchwouldreconcilemanynationsto itself
movementof thoughtand senti- . . . by not treatingall sortsof thingsas if theypertain
earlysixteenth-century
ment usually associated with the name of its leading to thefaith,butonlythosewhichare clearlyexpressedin
Scriptureor withoutwhichwe cannotbe saved. . . . The
ErasmusofRotterdam. Like manyJoseph- essence
protagonist,
of Christianphilosophy
consistsin understanding
century,Erasmus and thatall our hopeshouldrestin God who freelygrantsus
inianhumanistsin the eighteenth
his followershoped to create a new, tolerantmentality 1
"The Paraclesis"in JohnC. Olin (ed.), DesideriusErasmus:
among their contemporaries. Although believing in ChristianHumanismand the Reformation(New York, 1965),
a Christian commonwealthbased on revealed truth, p. 100.
2 Ibid.
Erasmus taught respect for the human dignity of
withthe vital interestsof the church,it mightnot meet
resistancefromthe commonpeople or fromthe clergy,
nor even fromthe Holy See. In sum, it had a better
chance of being successfulif it were Christianas well
as useful.
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8
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
throughhis Son, JesusChrist,by whosedeath
everything
Christianrationaleof limited
This sixteenth-century
we are redeemed.3
civil tolerationverymuchresembleseighteenth-century
however,to deterdogmas,Erasmus believed, Josephinianthought. It is difficult,
Such temperancein defining
would promotepeace among rival schools of theology mine the degreeto whichthe latteris dependentupon
interrupted
hisand fosterChristianunity. Althoughhe defined,and the former. The Counter-Reformation
betweenthese two epochs of humanheresyin thetraditionalmanner,he pleaded toricalcontinuity
condemned,
Austrians could
ism. Moreover, eighteenth-century
forgreatrestraintin accusingpersonsof it.
Erasmus not only believed in the one, true church, reach theirown conclusionsfortheyread not only the
unitedon thebasis of a commoncreed; he also believed worksof Erasmus but also the New Testamentand the
in Christendom-thatis, in the coextensionof the literatureof classical and Christianantiquityon which
churchand thecivilsocietyof WesternEurope. Hence, Erasmus drew.
accordingto Erasmus, heresywas a crime as well as
II
a sin. For his sin, the hereticdeservedto be excomput the Erasmian pointof view to
The Reformation
municatedfromthe church. But for his crimehe did
the test of internalconsistency. Amid the religious
not deservedeathunlesshis heresyled to sedition. In
conflictsfollowingLuther's revolt,Erasmus and most
thus limitingthe prince's authorityErasmus did not humanistsexpressedtheirbeliefin churchunityby reintendto secularizethe state. He recognizedthat the mainingin communion
withRome. On theotherhand,
prince'scura religionisincludedthe dutyto preserveor in contrastto partisansof the Holy See, the humanists
restore Christianunity. But Erasmus doubted that attemptedto maintainChristianunitv,not with tratrue unitycould be imposed by violence or by other ditional medieval coercive measures such as the Inmeans contraryto the spiritof the Gospel.
quisition,but withconciliation. They advocateda proErasmus permits
Within the Christiancommunity,
gram of churchreformremovingmanyof the sources
a temporarycivil tolerationof heretics. Its purposeis of contention:in doctrinalquestions they would set
to affordthe clergy an opportunityto apply gentle aside late scholastictheologyand returnto Scripture,
means of conversionto the dissenters. But this kind interpreted
by the early church. In churchdiscipline,
of tolerationis reallyas permanentas the heresy. For theywished to abolish simonyand manyotherabuses
of violencein
condemnation
Erasmus' uncompromising
deeplyrootedin theRoman Curia.
religiousmatterswould preventthe authoritiesfrom
This "thirdparty"was inclinedby the innerlogic of
resortingeventuallyto the Inquisitionand othertradi- its religiousvision, as well as by the more worldly
tionalmedievalsanctions. Obstinatehereticsshouldbe desires of the Emperor and otherprincelypatrons,to
leftto God, writesErasmus in his patristicinterpreta- search for commondoctrinalground betweenthe optionof theparableof thetares:
posing standpointsof Protestantradicals and intranThe servantswho wantto cut out the weeds beforethe sigentCatho'lics. From the Diet of Augsburgin 1530
time are those who thinkthat the false apostles and for which Philip Melancthonprepared the Augsburg
heresiarchsshouldbe suppressedby the sword and by
corporalpunishment.But the Master of the fielddoes Confessionto the Diet of Worms in 1557, Catholicand
but ratherthattheyshould Lutheranhumanistsengaged in a series of theological
not desiretheirdestruction,
in case theyshouldamendand turnfromtares discussions. They seemed closest to success in the
be tolerated
intowheat. If theydid notamend,thetaskof chastising 1540's. At Regensburgin 1541 the Lutheran,Melancthemonedayshouldbe leftto theirjudge.4
thon, and the Catholic, Cardinal Gaspare Contarini,
on the docErasmus' point of view requires that civil toleration workedout a mutuallyacceptablestatement
to
failed
agree on
if
they
although
trine
of
justification,
basis
pluralism
religious
a
shouldbe puton permanent
becomesan ineradicablefact. Outsidethepale of toler- theEucharistor on papal authority.In 1548 CharlesV
ance, accordingto Erasmus, are fanatic or seditious issuedtheInterimof Augsburg,an essentiallyErasmian
hereticsas well as materialistsor atheists. It is the compromise,aimed at provisionallyrestoringreligious
former,the fanatics,to whom Erasmus refersin con- peace and unityto the Holy Roman Empire until a
demningthe Anabaptistsin the lower Rhineland in nationalchurchcouncil could carry out a satisfactory
reformation.But its vague dogmaticarticlesand its
1534:
disciplinaryconcessions to the Protestants
modest
A race of madmenbent on murder,. . . they have stolen
in underthe disguiseof piety;but theywill eventually pleased almostno one and were not generallyapplied.
The Protestantmilitaryvictoryin 1552 led to the
pillagethecountry.5
of Augsburg's division of Germanyinto two
Treaty
3 Erasmus to Johan Slechta, Nov. 1, 1519,in P. S. Allen
(ed.), Erasmus,Opus Epistolarum(11 v., Oxford,1906-1947) rival Christianchurches. The treaty'sprinciple,cuius
the German princes'
regio eius religio, strengthened
4: p. 118.
4"Paraphr. in Matt. 13:24-30," Opera omnia 7, c. 80 E.
vested interestin perpetuatingreligious division and
QuotedfromJ. Lecler,Tolerationand the Reformation(New consequentlydiscouragedattemptsat doctrinalunity.
York,1960),p. 122.
5 Erasmusto Guy Morillon,Aug. 30, 1534,in Allen,op. cit. Moreover,the rise of Calvinismand numeroussects,as
well as bittertheologicalquarrels among Lutherans,
11: p. 39.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
9
made doctrinalcompromisevirtuallyimpossibleamong milian. Themselveseducatedin thehumanistic
tradition
Protestants. At the same time,fromthe Catholicside and advised by humanists,theyat least implicitlyendis- dorsed an enlightenedChristianrationalefortolerating
the Council of Trent sharplyand authoritatively
tinguishedCatholic truthfrom Protestanterror,vir- non-Catholics.8
As doctrinaldifferences
among Christianshardened,
anyfurther
Erasmiansearchforvague
tuallyprohibiting
this rationale increasinglytended toward a non-dogformulasofcompromise.
the influenceof matic foundationfor unityin Christianity. This apAlthoughunder these circumstances
humanistswas bound to wane, theycontinuedto enjoy pears alreadyin Ferdinand'sreign,in 1561, in the last
favorat theimperialcourtof FerdinandI and of Maxi- importantErasmian tracton tolerance,De officiopii ac
milianII, his successor. True,theunityof Christendom publicae tranquillitatis(sic) vere amtantisviri in hoc
shattered;but neitherthesemonarchs religionisdissidio,by Ferdinand'sfriend,the Flemish
was irretrievably
nor the humanistswished to give up the ideal of a theologian,George Cassander.9 Stressingthe spiritof
commoncitizenshipbased on faith. They triednow to charity,Cassander advocated Christianunity on the
attractProtestantswithinCatholic lands back to the basis of certainfundamentaldogmas in the apostolic
a lineof argumentthatreappeared
churchwithdisciplinaryconcessionsand civil tolerance. creeds. Anticipating
During the third,and finalperiod of the Council of among liberal Catholic theologiansduringJoseph II's
Trent,FerdinandI revivedan earlierproposalthatthe reign,Cassanderproposedthat
council postponethe discussionof doctrinalquestions Those who are unitedto the Head by a correctdoctrine
and earnestlyundertakemoraland disciplinaryreforms aboutChristare unitedto the bodyof the Churchby the
evenif theydifferamongeach
of the church. In an importantmemorandumof June bondof peace and charity,
6, 1562, preparedby George Giengerand severalother otherin a matterof ritualor opinion. One can in no way
themas schismatics
and strangers
to theChurch,even
Austrianhumanists,Ferdinandcalled for clericalmar- treat
if some otherpart whichholds the reins of powerand
riage, communionunder both species, and vernacular government
. . . seemsto have cut themofffrom. . .
singingduringdivine services,as well as the abolition communion
withtheothermembers
oftheChurch.10
of simony,abuses in grantingdispensations,and other Cassander's
extendsnot only to indi"comprehension"
evils rampantin the clergy.6 Ferdinand and his ad- vidual non-Catholicsbut also
to theirchurches:
visers claimed that most Lutheranswere attractedto
withtheteaching
thehereticalchurch,notby theologicalpropositionsthat All thatI findpure,sane,and consistent
very few could understand,but by the promise of a of the Gospelin one or the otherpart of this Churchthepartwhich recently
including
beencalledEvangelimoreChristianway of lifeand worship.7 Althoughthe cal-all thisI revereandhas
clingto as properto the Church
Ferdinandand later of Christ. EveryChurchwhichis based on the trueand
councilignoredthe memorandum,
MaximilianII managed to persuade Rome to concede Apostolicdoctrineas containedin thebriefSymbolof the
the chalice to the laityin Austria,Hungary,Bohemia, Faith, and whichis not separatedfromthe communion
and parts of southernGermany. And in 1571, over withotherChurchesby a wickedschism,I regardas the
trueChurch.1"
Pius V's protest,Maximilian granted civil toleration
CassanderreconcilesLutherans,Calvinists,Zwinglians,
to the Lutherannobilityin Austria.
This policy of conciliationwas at least in part the and Catholicsby virtuallydenyingthattheyare really
fruit of Erasmian humanism. True, the Austrian separated. This stress on the mysticalbond of unity
Hapsburgs had strong political reasons for granting among Christians distinguishesCassander's writing
toleration. They constantlyhad to ask for help from fromthatof earlierhumanists. But on the whole,his
withErasmus'.
the German Protestantas well as Catholic princesin views on thechurchare notinconsistent
order to hold back the Turks on the easternfrontier. Cassander likewisewas true to the ideals of Erasmian
And withintheir hereditarylands, the Hapsburgs in humanismin opposingcapitalor othervindicativepunthe sixteenthcenturyfaced powerfulProtestantnobili- ishmentof religiousfanaticssuch as the Anabaptists.
ties dominatingthe virtuallyautonomous provincial He favored"medicinal"sanctionsto bringthemto their
estates. Althoughthese limitationson theirauthority senses and to represstheirpropaganda.
Emperor Maximilian,thoughapparentlynot interdiminishedin the seventeenthcentury,the Hapsburgs
in Cassander'stheolozv.nonethelessseemsto have
ested
in
with
dealing
never acquired an entirelyfree hand
their Protestantsubjects. But reason of state alone
8 Cf. J. Lecler,Tolerationand theReformation
(New York,
does notaccountforthepoliciesof Ferdinandand Maxi- 1960), p. 264,forGeorgeGienger'sinfluence
on Ferdinand'sinstructionsto the imperialdelegationat the beginningof the
G. Constant,Concessiona l'Allemagnede la Communion thirdperiodof the Councilof Trent,1562. On Gienger,an
member
sous les deux especes: 8tude sur les debutsde la Reforme anti-curiallayman,Catholichumanist,and influential
Catholiqueen Allemagne,1548-1621(Paris, 1923), pp. 215-217. of Ferdinand'sPrivy Council,see Eder, op. cit., pp. 36, 41,
Kaiser FerdinandsI. auf and 87, and Constant,op. cit.,pp. 215-217and 355-360.
See G. Eder, Die Reformvorschldge
9 For Cassander'spointof view,see Lecler,op. cit.,pp. 270dem Konzil von Trient (Miinsteri. W., 1911), pp. 1-8, for
275.
thetextof thememorandum.
10 QuotedfromLecler,op. cit.,p. 273.
opinion. Cf. Constant,op. cit.,
7This was also Melancthon's
11 Ibid.
p. 87.
6
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10
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
held a rather similar irenic view of the Protestants.
Maximiliannot only toleratedthe Lutheranchurchin
Upper and Lower Austria but also called David
Chytraeus from Rostock Universityto organize its
worshipon thebasis of theAugsburgConfession.
Although approving capital punishmentof heretics,
to
Canisius intendedratherto provokethe government
isolate or expel the hereticsthan to destroythem.14
did
And in practicethe AustrianCounter-Reformation
not oftenresortto bloodypersecution. Like Archduke
by beFerdinand,it acted more subtlyand effectively
III
stowing or withholdingpatronage,threateningrecalWhile MaximilianII and Cassander vainlytried to citrantor waveringCatholics with loss of officeand
finda conciliatorysolutionto the religiousconflictsin other privileges, and exiling obstinate or relapsed
was alreadyvigor- heretics. Before the ThirtyYears' War began, these
theEmpire,theCounter-Reformation
aggressivepolicyof re- methodshad checkedthe growthof Protestantismin
ously pursuingan intransigent,
coveringby forceof arms,as well as by preaching,the Austria.
populationsthat had turnedaway fromthe Churchof
The ThirtyYears' War gave theAustrianHapsburgs
Rome. At the end of the sixteenthcentury,several theopportunity
in
to completethe Counter-Reformation
Hapsburg princes supportedthe Counter-ReformationAustria and to carryit out on a muchgreaterscale in
in the Austrianduchies. In Inner Austria,Archduke the predominantlyProtestantKingdom of Bohemia.
Charles,too weak fora frontalattackon the Protestant The personchieflyresponsibleforthisCatholictriumph
nobility'sreligiousliberty,at least grantedno further was Emperor Ferdinand II who, in the twentyyears
concessions. In the Countyof Tyrol,ArchdukeFerdi- priorto thewar,had suppressedProtestantism
in Inner
nand, his brother,broughtabout an almost complete Austria (Styria, Carinthia,and Carniola). In Upper
restorationof Catholicism. Afterthe Emperor Maxi- Austria,from1625 to 1626, his policies togetherwith
milian'sdeath in 1576, ArchdukeErnest, his nephew, the miseriesof war provokeda major peasant revolt
in Vienna and in othercities led by a folk-hero,
suppressedProtestantism
StephanFadinger. When Ferdinand
and townsin Upper and Lower Austria.
II had defeated the peasants and reestablishedthe
These Hapsburg archdukesjustifiedtheirrepression Catholicreligionamong them,he revokedthe religious
of Protestantismby appealing to the Peace of Augs- libertyof the Protestantnobilityin Upper Austria in
burg's principle,cuius regio eius religio, and to its 1627 and in Lower Austria in 1628. In Bohemia he
applicationby the GermanProtestantprinces. had alreadywon the decisivevictoryof White Mouneffective
But the Hapsburgs were also inspiredby the theology tain in 1620, breakingthe politicaland militarypower
of the Counter-Reformation.Its most illustrious of the Protestants. In 1627 he issued the Land Ordispokesman in Austria and other German-speaking nance,a fundamental
alterationof the religiousas well
lands, the Jesuit,Peter Canisius, called for an end to as political constitutionof the kingdom: it declared
compromisewiththe heretics.'2 In a sermonin Arch- Roman Catholicismto be the only legal religion,canduke Ferdinand's presence,August 5, 1571, Canisius
asserted that Catholic princes should use theirpower 633-634. This is the definitiveedition of Canisius' memoranda
not only to defendthe true faithbut also to root out and correspondence.
14 Cf. Johannes Metzler, Der hl. Petrus Canisius und die
heresy:
Neuerer seiner Zeit (Miinster i. Westfalen, 1927), pp. 6-16.
Since God has giventhemthe swordin orderthatthey Like most historians,Metzler stresses Canisius' relative modermightprotectdevoutand punishevil persons,Christhas ation but he also acknowledges that Canisius approved of the
them. . . thatthe enemiesof Christand the death penalty for heretics,in principleand in practice. Ignatius
commanded
Churchshouldnot be toleratedto the generaldetrimentLoyola advised him, however, that neither the death penalty
nor the Inquisition seemed appropriate to Germany: "Sed de
of thepeople.
extremo supplicio et de Inquisitione ibi constituendanon loquor,
With traditionalmedievalarguments,Canisius goes on quia supra captum videtur Germaniae, ut affecta est." Loyola
to Canisius, August 18, 1554, in Braunsberger,op. cit. 1: p. 491.
to authorizecapital punishmentof heretics:
Hence Canisius never explicitly demanded a specific heretic's
thecounter- death. Nonetheless, he regretted that at the beginning of
notto permit
It is thedutyofsecularauthority
feitingof gold and cointo go unpunished.Shall we then Luther's revolt German Catholics had not imitatedthe Spaniards'
theWordof God .. . to thecor- zealous severity toward heretics: "Hispanicam severitatem in
toleratethosewhofalsify
haereticos miranturmagis quam probant Germani: Sed utinam
ruptionof manythousandsouls? He who vilifies.
and may be punished zelum eundeminde ab exorto Luthero imitatifuissent." Canisius
is guiltyof lese-majesty
authority
am Leib und Leben. Shall theythenbe sparedwho in- to Lainez, July 22, 1559, ibid. 2: p. 480. In his large and small
sult,deny,and reject the Most Blessed Sacramentand catechisms Canisius avoids direct polemic. He presents doctrine mainly in a positive, dispassionate, and dignifiedmanner,
resistGod in his bride,the Church. . . ? 13
Canisius' intransigence,see the excellent biography by
James Brodrick, St. Peter Canisius ([London, 1935] Chicago,
1962), pp. 605, 608, and 611. A useful bibliographical essay on
Canisius is in B. Schneider,Petrus Canisius. Briefe. (Salzburg,
12For
1959),pp.301-310.
Beati Petri Canisii Societatis
13 Otto Braunsberger (ed.),
JesusEpistulae et Acta (8 v., Freiburg i. B., 1896-1923) 6: pp.
not mentioning Luther, Melancthon, or the other Protestant
leaders by name. On the other hand, in his controversial
writings,sermons, and correspondence,Canisius was much less
restrained. In his Opus Marianum, 1577, he called Luther, "a
hog in heat." Cf. Brodrick, op. cit., p. 746. And he often
referred to Protestant teachers as "beasts, servants of the
devil, and forerunnersof anti-Christ." See Metzler, op. cit.,
p. 13.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
11
celed all privilegesof the ProtestantEstates, and im- This did not mean a simple returnto medievalLatin
posed a Marian oath on all public officials. But, al- Catholicism. Rather a new spirit developed among
though Ferdinand II decreed the legal death of Catholics, basically medieval but better indoctrinated
Protestantismin Austria and Bohemia, he was too and more rigidly disciplined. The rapid spread of
busy fightingthe Swedes and the French to prevent heresy,makingmen anxious about salvation,prompted
Protestantsfromcontinuingto practicetheir religion. a defensive response among pious Catholics. The
church,therefore,
was even less
In the decade followingthe Peace of Westphalia, Counter-Reformation
Ferdinand III completedhis father'spolicy. In 1651 tolerantof dissentthan the medievalchurchhad been
he issued edicts for Austria and Bohemia, confirming but more refinedin its methodsof repression.
of thisCatholic"ghetto"or "fortress"
previous decrees that prohibitedshelteringProtestant Representative
preachers,attendingnon-Catholicservices,and reading mentality,Peter Canisius was also highlyinstrumental
Protestantbooks. In addition,these edictsestablished duringthe last halfof the sixteenthcenturyin implantlands. On the one hand,
special commissionsto registerthe Protestantsand to ing it in the German-speaking
invitethemto convertto Catholicism.'5 If Protestants he emphasizedthat Catholicsmust avoid contactwith
refused,they had to follow a six-week course of in- Protestantsand their books. Catholics living under
structionsin the Catholicfaith. Since this instruction Protestantprincesshouldemigrateifpossible. Catholic
could be prolonged indefinitely,Protestants would princesshouldeitherconvertor expel nativeProtestants
sooner or later have to convertand take part in the and not permitany more to entertheirlands. Among
mass, weekly catechism,and annual communion,or bothrulersand commonpeople Canisius cultivatedsusotherwiseemigratewith their property. The latter picion and antipathytoward Protestants,as if they
alternativeoftenproved illusorysince the government werecarriersofthepest.18
laid down onerous conditionsfor leaving the country. On the otherhand, he wished Catholicsto be selfhe and his Jesuitsuccessorsin the Hapsburg
One way or another,duringthe 1650's about 40,000 sufficient:
Protestantsleft Austria and about 150,000 left Bo- lands encouraged the developmentof a distinctively
hemia.16 By the end of the decade Protestantcommu- Catholicculture. Severe censorshiprestrictedCatholic
nities ceased to exist, except in Silesia. There the readingnot onlyin theologybut also in manyless conSwedes, in the Peace of Westphalia,secured religious troversialfields. The clergy directed education and
the Jesuitsthemselvesoccupytolerationforthe Protestantnobility. In the Treatyof otherpublicinstruction,
chairsof theology
Altranstadt,1707, with Charles XII of Sweden, the ingall theGermanCatholicuniversity
and philosophyexcept at the BenedictineUniversity
Emperor,JosephI, renewedthis concession.
and music were emIn the Kingdom of Hungary, recoveredfrom the of Salzburg. Art, architecture,
ployed
to
express
the
Catholic
view
of the Eucharist,
Turks in 1699, the Hapsburgspursuedthe same forcepower of the saints,
fulpolicybut withless success.17 In the distantborder the Virgin Mary, the intercessory
provinceof Transylvania,whereCatholicswere a small and other controversialdoctrines. Canisius stood at
minority,the Hapsburgs had to recognize the legal the beginningof the long historicalprocess that proparityof the Lutheran,Calvinist,Catholic,and Unitar- duced the relativelyclosed but well-orderedbaroque
ian churches,and grant religious tolerationto the CatholiccultureofAustria.
This new AustrianCatholicmentality
adopteda way
GreekOrthodox. In therestof thekingdomthepower
of the Protestantnobility,coupled with the threatof of looking at the problemof religious dissent,charCatholicism. True to the
war with the Turks, obliged the Hapsburgs to grant acteristicof post-Tridentine
medieval
way,
Catholics
continued
to regard the state
Protestantstherightto worshipin manyspecifiedtowns
and manors. Nonetheless, the Hapsburgs fostered as essentiallyChristian. But thegrowthof new powerthe Counter-Reformation,
wheneverpossible excluding ful monarchies,togetherwith the rising danger from
Protestantsfrompublic office,confiningtheirreligious Protestantsand Turks, caused Catholics in effectto
practicestrictlywithinthe legal limits,and preventing transferthe notionof ChristendomfromEurope as a
whole to theirown Catholicstates and to stressmore
Catholicsfromjoininga toleratedchurch.
Such repressivemeasuresconstitutedbut part of the than ever the monarch's responsibilitiestoward the
Counter-Reformation:
the Jesuitsand other religious 18 Canisius
to Andreas Fabricius,Nov. 4, 1567, concerning
ordersundertooka widespreadand oftensuccessfulre- the educationof Duke Ernstof Bavaria: "For a solid foundavival of Catholicfaithand pietyin the Hapsburg lands. tion in religionand the Catholicfaith,he shouldhave nothing
to do with sectariesor personsof dubiousbeliefs:he should
not discuss nor, much less, enterinto familiarity
with them.
1953) 2: pp.20-21.
. . . Heretics,he must realize, should be looked upon and
16Ibid., pp. 15-16.
execratedas the pest. It wouldbe good if he conceiveda cer17For Hapsburg policy in Hungary, especially in the tain hatredfor thembecause of the evil fruitstheyhave proeighteenthcentury,see F. Krones, Ungarn unter Maria duced in this and earlierages." Braunsberger,
op. cit. 6: p.
Theresia und Joseph II. (Graz, 1871), pp. 71-90, and H.
100. For similaradvice to privatepersons,see Canisius to
Marczali, Hungary in the Eighteenth Century ([Budapest,
Gerardand Otto Kaniss, his nephews,June11, 1579,ibid. 7:
18821 Cambridge,1910), chap. 4.
pp. 506-509.
15
H.
Hantsch, Die
Geschichte Oisterreichs (2 v., Wien,
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12
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
church. In the firstplace, as the Advocate of the beredabout3,400,000in a populationof twentymillion.
Church,he was obligednot onlyto protectecclesiastical The victoryof Catholicismwas completein thewestern
persons and property,to help maintainecclesiastical provinces except in neglected mountain districtsof
discipline,and to supportthe clergy'sspiritualmission Austria,in isolatedruralareas ofBohemiaand Moravia,
amongthepeoplebutalso to protecttheChristianCom- and in Silesia where the Protestantnobilitypreserved
monwealthfromTurkishattackand Protestantsedition. the rightto worshipprivatelyon theirestates. In the
Partlyin orderto dischargehis duty,theservantbecame freeport of Trieste,also, small Jewishand Protestant
tolerated,while the Greek
virtual master of the church in Austria as in most communitieswere officially
Catholiccountries. The Hapsburgs controlledthe ap- Orthodoxenjoyed the rightof public worship.
to highecclesiasticalofficesin mostprovinces
pointment
In the eastern provinces,the Counter-Reformation
but theyleftthe churchin controlof its property,the was much less effective.In Transylvania,the Hapsliturgy,and the educationof the people.
burg governmentmade modest progress encouraging
the me- Eastern rite Christiansto unitewith Rome, but it did
also transformed
The Counter-Reformation
dieval, patriarchal conception of manorial lordship not significantly
reduce non-Catholicpredominancein
into a religiouslycolored idea of absolute sovereignty. theprovince. The Orthodoxchurchkepttheallegiance
As fatherof his people (Landesvater) the Hapsburg of most of the Wallachian peasantry. The Protestant
nlonarch,fromRudolphII to JosephII, lookeduponhis churches retained public worship and other rights
realm as a personal trust and its populationas his grantedby the Hapsburgs during the Turkish wars.
childrenand servants. Among his chiefdutieswas to Protestantscontinuedto hold most publicoffices.
by heretics.The
safeguardhis subjectsfromcorruption
In otherpartsof theKingdomof Hungary,theupper
pointed nobility,its clientele,and the peasantryon ecclesiastical
fallof Adam, as traditionaltheologyfrequently
out, has leftman weak, inclinedto rebellion,and sus- lalndsbecame Catholic. Otherwise,the Hapsburgshad
ceptibleto religiousnovelty. The Catholicrulermust to continueto toleratea large,vigorousCalvinistminorsave the people fromtheirown weakness: he has to ityamongthe Magyarsand manyLutheransamongthe
keep themaway fromvernaculareditionsof the Bible, German-speaking
colonistsand merchantsand in the
fromProtestantbooks and preachers,and even from Slovak peasantry. The Orthodox church,to which
contact with lay non-Catholics. Moreover, anything many Serbs in southernHungary belonged,was also
invitesrebellion tolerated. In theKingdomof Galicia,annexedin 1772,
less thancompleteCatholicuniformity
and religiouswarfarelike that which ravaged Europe a large Jewishpopulation,several hundredthousand
centuries.
in the sixteenthand seventeenth
LutheranmerRuthenianOrthodox,and manyGernman
Althoughupholdingan essentiallymedievalideal of chants and colonistscontinuedto enjoy the edict of
AustrianCath- tolerationgrantedby the Polish king shortlybeforethe
thepost-Tridentine
Catholicuniformity,
olic rulerstreatedreligiousdissentin a more sophisti- firstpartition.2'
cated manner than Thomas Aquinas had prescribed. The conversionof these religiousminoritiesto the
Their pragmaticJesuitadvisers,likeningthe individual Catholic faithwas a lifelongdesire of the Empress,
Christian born and raised in Protestantismto the Maria Theresa, from1740 to 1780, the last Hapsburg
regarded of the Counter-Reformation.22
heathenwho had neverheard of Christianity,
Inspired by a deeply
ordinaryProtestantsas poor lost sheep requiringfirm religious,rigidlytraditionalview of her duties, she
but gentlecorrection.19Harsh measureswere reserved grantedonly such tolerationas practicalnecessitydicfor heresiarchsand for Protestantpreachers. More- tated. In Hungary,in the firsthalfof her reign,when
over, as experiencedmissionariesand educators,the she was especiallysevere,she at least honoredthe letter
Jesuitsunderstoodthatmethodsof conversionmustbe of the treatiesgrantingreligioustoleration. At times
suited to Austriancircumstances.20Outside Spain, at she restrainedthe Catholic nobilityand clergy from
any rate,rigorouspersecutiondid moreharmthangood violatingthe legal rightsof Protestants. Nonetheless,
to religion.
enforcedher father,Charles VI's
she conscientiously
decree of 1731 prescribinga Marian oath for public
IV
office,establishingsevere penaltiesfor apostasy from
As it drew to a close in the eighteenthcentury,the
on Protesthe Catholicreligion,and settingrestrictions
could boast of great success in
Counter-Reformation
the Hapsburg monarchybut it had failed to establish 21 Under pressure from Catharine II, King Stanislaus
religiousuniformity.In the 1770's non-Catholicsnum- Poniatowskiissued the Warsaw Tract, February24, 1768,
19See the memorandum
concerningthe trainingof Jesuits
forthecureof souls in GermanythatCanisiussentto Claudius
Beati Petri Canisii
Aquaviva,Jan.,1583,in 0. Braunsberger,
SocietatisJesu Epistulaeet Acta (8 v., Freiburgi. B., 18961923) 8: pp. 130-131.
20 See Canisius'memorandum
the dutiesof Jesuit
concerning
1565,in ibid.5: pp. 80-81. Also, Canisius
superiorsin Germany,
to HieronymusNadal, March 4, 1559,in ibid. 2: pp. 369-370.
establishingfull equalityamong the Christianchurches,civil
equalityamong theirmembers,free exerciseof religion,and
otherliberalregulations.On October13, 1772,afterthe first
thearticlesof the
confirmed
theAustriangovernment
partition,
Galicia. See G. Loesch, Geschichte
Tract for newly-acquired
in csterreich(Wien, 1921), pp. 196-197.
des Protestantismus
22 G. Dorschel,
Maria TheresiasStaats-undLebensanschaututng
(Gotha,1908),p. 88.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
CHANGES
13
of a tenaciousdefense
tant schools.23 Maria Theresa closed 191 "illegal" Calvinistgentry,in the forefront
churchesand schools and prosecutedmany Catholics, ofthekingdom'sautonomyagainstthecrown,keptalive
even of nob!e birth,for leaving the church.24 With the memoryof the Rakoczi rebellion,1703-1711.
similarseverity,despiteobjectionsfromthe Protestant The dangerof secretcooperationbetweenPrussia and
estates tCorpus Evangelicorum) of the Imperial Diet local Protestantsdid not cease with the end of the
at Regensburg,she restrictedthe libertyof Protestants Silesian wars. The loyaltyof Protestantsin the border
lands, in particular,was suspectup to the very eve of
to emigratefromthe monarchy.25
To maintainuniformCatholic beliefin the western the Edict of Toleration.28 However, during the last
provinces,she establishedspecial commissions,com- fifteenyears of Maria Theresa's reign, a perceptible
tookplace.
posed of civil officialsand clergy,and gave thembroad relaxationof theold controlsand restrictions
became the monarchy'schief
powers in areas suspected of hidden Protestantism. Peace and reconstruction
They were to set up mission stationsand distribute concern. The Government'sfear of seditiongradually
to be replaced,especiallyin the State CounCatholicliterature. A kindof inquisition,theyencour- diminished,
aged and receiveddenunciationsand ferretedout secret cil and the Co-regentJoseph,by a new enlightened
and Protestantbooks and preachers. They attitudetowardreligiousdissenters.
conventicles
even tried to prevent heretical opinions from being
ventilatedin conversationsat the marketsand in tavII. THE OLD ORDER CHANGES
erns. Thousands of Protestants,uncoveredby these
I
commissions,were forciblymovedto easternprovinces.
About
mid-eighteenth
century, many prominent
These unhappymigrationswere integratedinto an
Austrian
Catholics
came
to
regard the religiousdisolderprogramof settlingnon-Catholicsin desolateparts
of the eastern provinces.26 Charles VI had experi- senteras a potentiallyusefulcitizenof the state rather
mented with transplantingAustrian Protestantswho thanas a corruptingor seditiousinfluence. Moreover,
inclinedto attributean inviolable
adhered stubbornlyto their faith,to districtswhere theywere increasingly
religiousminoritieswere alreadypermitted.The earli- dignityto the individualperson,regardlessof his refrom 1733 to 1737, were very ligious profession. As a consequence,in the 1760's
est transplantations,
policy of reharsh. Not only were familiesuprooted from their and 1770's, the Counter-Reformation's
homes,and parentsseparatedfromtheiryoungerchil- pression decayed,like an old tree rottingaway from
reladren, but the governmentdid not allocate sufficientwithin. Because of Maria Theresa's intransigence,
in
little
occurred
constitutional
tively
change
the
posifundsfor decentlivingconditions. The next attempt,
from 1752 to 1758, was betterplanned and relatively tionof non-Catholics.But theway was beingprepared
for the reformsthatEmperorJosephII carriedout in
by the outbreakof war.
successfuluntilinterrupted
This severitywas due to politicalas well as religious the firstfew years of his reign.
The rise of the modernstate under Maria Theresa
reasons. The Hapsburgs and theirministerssuspected
non-Catholic subjects of disloyalty. In the 1730's contributednotablyto this declinein the politicalsigCharlesVI was alarmedwhen Prussia urged the Prot- nificanceof religiousdissent. Not only did the state
estantestatesin Regensburgto demandreligiousliberty weaken several of the main bastions of intolerance,
for Protestantsin Hapsburg lands withinthe Empire especiallythe estateof the clergy,but it also createda
and encouragedillegal emigrationof Hussites out of modern army, a bureaucracy,and other institutions
Bohemia and Moravia into Prussia. During the wars that lessened its need for support from the church.
with Prussia, Maria Theresa demonstrateda similar Driven by dire necessityduringthe wars with Prussia,
concern. For alleged pro-Prussiansympathiesduring from 1740 to 1763, Maria Theresa suppressed the
the occupationof Prague in 1744, she orderedthe Jews clergy'sexemptionfromdirect taxation. And in the
expelled fromthat city.27 Moreover,she feared that long peace followingthe Treaty of Hubertusbergin
similarsentimentsmightgrow in Hungary,where the 1763, the state continuedto extend its competenceat
thechurch'sexpense,assumingcontrolof educationand
23 H. Marczali, Hungary in the Eighteenth Century (Camthe censorship.' This change in the power equation
bridge,1910),p. 255.
24 Ibid., p. 263.
28 During the War of the Bavarian Succession, 1778-1779,
25 A patent of 1749 prescribedhanging for anyone who
Austrian officialsreported pro-Prussian sentimentsamong the
butit was never Protestant peasantry. Cf. Jos. Beyer, Oberamtmainnin Wsetin,
shelteredhereticsor assistedat theirmeetings,
enforced. E. Preclin and E. Jarry, Les Luttes politiques et
doctrinales aux XVII:e et XVIII:e siecles (2 v., Paris, 1956)
to Leopold Hay, December 7, 1778, in Frantisek Bednar,
Zapas moravskychevangelikuio ndbozenskou svobodzi v letech,
2: p. 397.
1777-1781 (Der Kampf der mahrischen Protestanten um die
religiose Freiheit in den Jahren 1777-1781) (Prag, 1931), p. 464.
26f Ernst Nowotny, Die Transmigration ober- und inneroster1 For the period 1760-1768, see the extensive documentation
reichischerProtestantennach Siebenbiirgen (Jena, 1931); Grete
Mecenseffy,Geschichtedes Protestantismusin fsterreich(Graz,
in Ferdinand Maass, Der Josephinismus (5 v., Wien, 19511956),pp. 199-206.
1960) 1: pp. 107-386. Papal anxiety over this developmentis
27 Hans
Pirchegger, Geschichte und Kulturleben Deutsch- reflectedin Clement XIII's letter to Maria Theresa, Aug. 20,
1768,in ibid., pp. 319-322.
osterreichs,von 1526 bis 1792 (Wien, 1931), p. 335.
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14
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
betweenchurchand state did not at firstimprovethe the monarchy'straditionalpatternof religiousuniformposition of religious dissenters. The censorship,for ity. Its responsibilities
seemedto fosterin the chancelexample, continuedto prohibitProtestantliterature. lor the unitarianspiritcharacteristic
of Hapsburg poliBut, giventhenaturalpropensity
of the stateto consult cies since 1617,defending
theprinciplethatCatholicism
its own interests,the state's directionof schools and was one of the monarchy'smain bonds of unitywhile
the press eventuallymeantlesseningthe forcethatthe Protestantismwas divisive.4 The work of this office,
churchcould bringto bear on hereticsand schismatics. whose Bohemianand Austrianlands comprisedthecore
The church'spoweralso suffered
withthe declineof of the monarchy,inevitablytouchedon the problemof
the provincialdiets in the westernlands. Composed religiousminorities. The chancelleryreceivedreports
principallyof representatives
of the upper clergyand fromthe governorsand certainotherofficialsand disaristocracy,these assembliesservedchieflyto maintain patched royal decrees, explaining if necessary their
an interlocking
systemof local privileges,includingthe legalaspect. The chancellorwas to informthemonarch
exclusion of non-Catholicsfrom public life. Under whetherthe royalcommandwas at variancewithexistMaria Theresa, the diets,togetherwith the town cor- ing law and point out evil consequencesthat it might
a conporations serving the church's interestsin the same occasion. Under cover of this responsibility,
Court
and fiscalpowers servativeat the head of the Bohemian-Austrian
way, lost mostof theiradministrative
to the centralgovernment.2In 1781, therefore,they Chancellerysuch as Count Heinrich Blumegen,from
in theHungarianCourt
couldnoteffectively
opposeJoseph'sEdict ofToleration. 1771 to 1782,or his counterpart
In contrast,the Frenchchurch'sautonomy,particularly Chancellery,Count Franz Esterhazy, could impede
the fiscal privilegescarefullyguarded by the biennial steps towarda new, tolerantpolicy.
Several semi-autonomouscommissionsreportingto
assemblyof the clergy,enabled the church to defeat
inseveralattemptsby Turgot,ComptrollerGeneralunder the monarchthroughthesechancelleriescontributed
towardreligioustolerLouis XVI, and otherenlightened
reformers
in the late valuablesupportto themovement
eighteenth
centuryto granttolerationto the Protestants. ation: the Court CensorshipCommission,the Court
While the Austrianchurch'spoliticalinfluencewas Commissionon Education,and the Court Commission
being restricted,the state perfectedits army, civil for Religious Affairs. Established during Maria
and other instrumentsof power that Theresa's reign, the commissions and their filial
administration,
lessened the need for religiousuniformity.Although branchesextendedtheirauthorityover the entiremonon thesecommissionswere mostly
Maria Theresa did not intendto be liberal,her reforms archy. The officials
bureaucrats
recruitedfromuniversitiesin
professional
centralizingauthorityin Vienna made it possible for
Joseph eventuallyto carry out unpopular measures the monarchyand in NorthGermany. Intellectualsof
improvingthe status of Protestants. The most pro- a sort,theywere all at least exposed to the Enlightenwas ment's corrodingeffectupon traditionalCatholic ingressive institutionof the central administration
the State Council,themonarch'shighestadvisorybody, tolerance. In dealingwiththe problemof religiousdisestablishedin 1760 at theurgingoftheState Chancellor, sent, they usually exercised their considerablepower
Count Wenzel Kaunitz. A majorityof its members, accordingto rational,humaneprinciples.
includingKaunitz, consistentlyrecommendedenlight- Below this relativelyenlightenedcentraladministraened solutionsto theproblemsraisedby themonarchy's tion the uneven progressof consolidationthroughout
as well as local circumstances,
permitted
religious minorities.3 Likewise, the State Chancery, the monarchy,
createdin 1742,whichnotonlyconductedforeignaffairs someprovincesto resistreligioustolerationmorevigorbut also administeredthe Austrian Netherlandsand ously than others. Most malleablewere the lands of
Austrian Lombardy,reflectedthe tolerantattitudeof theBohemianand Austriancrowns. Duringthe 1740's
Count FriedrichWilhelm Haugwitz had reorganized
Kaunitz,itshead.
into a relativelyunifiedadministrative
them
block,diOn the other hand, the court chancelleryfor the
provincesunder the Austrian and Bohemian crowns vided into ten gubernia,each sub-dividedinto several
apparatuswas diand the Kingdomof Galicia was less inclinedto change districts. This entireadministrative
rectedfromVienna. Aristocraticand clericallandlords
2 The more important reforms were effected by Count regulatedlocal affairs
in thecountryside
underthemore
Haugwitz in the late 1740's. According to his tax reform,the or less watchfuleyes of royalofficials.
Theresianische Kataster, the noble and clerical estates agreed
On the otherhand, in the AustrianNetherlandsand
to pay one-third of the increased annual direct taxation. In
by the State Chanaddition, they surrendered to the state the responsibilityfor Austrian Lombardy,administered
raising and maintainingtroops.
coloniesthan integralparts
cellerymore like profitable
3 C. F. von Hock and H. I. Bidermann, Der osterreichischeof the monarchy,Maria Theresa generallyrespected
Staatsrath (1760-1848) (Wien, 1879), p. 57. Since the
Staatsrathsakten were destroyed during World War II, this
book is the principal source for the opinions of the State
Councillors. See pp. 7-98 for summaries of the State Council's
activity under Maria Theresa, especially pp. 57-59 for its enlightenedattitudetoward Protestants.
4See Count Johann Rudolf Chotek, Court Chancellor until
1771, supportingCardinal Migazzi's accusations against Sonnenfels, in Wien, AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,Fz 10. Polizei- und
Cameralwissenschaften 1763-1784. For Chotek's successor,
Count Heinrich Blumegen, 1771-1782, see below, pp. 21-23.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
CHANGES
15
the status quo. The privilegedorders vigorouslyde- able to bear a heavy load of taxation and to supply
fendedtheirtraditionalrightto controllocal administra- sturdyconscriptsto the army,the Hapsburgs triedto
German peasants and
particu'larly
excluding attractimmigrants,
tion and justice as well as theirconstitutions
the promise
amongotherinducements,
non-Catholicsfrom offices,ownership of property, artisans,offering
of religioustolerationin Galicia and Hungary.
honorsand titles,and crafts.
The growth of cameralism in Austria in Maria
The Kingdom of Galicia, taken fromPoland in the
firstpartitionin 1772,preservedmuchof its traditional Theresa's reignreflectsthe state'sincreasingsecularity.
Catholic and aristocraticconstitution. However, the A German version of mercantilismconcernedchiefly
cameralism
Polish nobilitycontrollingthe lower levels of adminis- withthe problemsof publicadministration,
tration did not seriously challenge Maria Theresa's addresseditselfrathernarrowlyto increasingthe govpolicy of honoringthe religioustolerationgrantedby ernment'srevenueand improvingits efficiency.Since
King Stanislausin theWarsaw Tract of 1768. Through cameralistswere thoroughlypragmaticin spirit and
a royal governor,who reported to the Bohemian- disinclinedto questionthe validityof absolutism,their
AustrianCourt Chancellery,Maria Theresa controlled principlesprovideda suitableintellectualunderpinning
for the consolidationof the Hapsburg monarchy. In
Galicia's centraladministration.
Likewise, in Hungary the monarch'sauthorityex- 1763 Maria Theresa formallyintroducedthis discipline
tended chieflyover the kingdom'scentraladministra- into Austria, creatinga chair of Cameralwissenschaft
tion. The estates met infrequentlyunder Maria at the Universityof Vienna and appointingJoseph
Theresa, and not at all under Joseph. By 1780 the Sonnenfels,a young enlightenedjournalist,as its first
upper nobility,on the whole, had reconcileditselfto incumbent.5
Cameralismindirectlyimprovedthe position of retheloss of nationalautonomy,acceptedCatholicism,and
to look
thegovernment
by habituating
enteredHapsburg service. In contrast,the largelyCal- ligiousminorities
vinistlowernobility,throughtheircontrolof local gov- more to the state's economicthan to its ecclesiastical
ernment,kept alive the spirit of Hungarian indepen- interests. To be sure, as a partisan of absolutism,
dence. On the constitutionalpositionof Protestants, Sonnenfelsdefendedthe political necessityof a state
Hungariansdividedalong religiouslines: the Catholics church,as well as the need to curb free thinkingand
im- to suppress sectarianism,proselytizing,
and other exsupported,indeed triedto increasethe restrictions
posed on Hungarian Protestantismby Charles VI in pressionsof fanaticismlikelyto disturbpublic order.6
the early eighteenthcentury; and the Protestants But, on the whole,he exerciseda liberalizinginfluence
claimed the full religiouslibertypromisedto themby on Austrianpolicy. He argued that the state should
concernitselfonlywithexternalbehaviorand not with
century.
the AustrianHapsburgs in the seventeenth
The Grand Principalityof Transylvania,the eastern- a person's religiousopinions. Thoroughlysecularistic,
most part of the monarchy,retainedmost of its tradi- Sonnenfelstaughta generationof governmentservants
tional autonomy: the privilegednations, Hungarian, that increasinga country'spopulationwas fundamenperSaxon-German,and Seckler,managedthe affairsof the tally more importantthan religious uniformity,
province throughlocal councils and elected officials. suading many that religious tolerationcould prevent
The royalgovernorduringthe 1770's was theProtestant
5 See RobertKann,A Studyin AustrianIntellectualHistory
Count Samuel von Bruckenthal,who communicated (New
York, 1960), pp. 146-258,for Sonnenfels'intellectual
withVienna throughthe TransylvanianCourt Chancel- profile. For his mercantilism,
see especiallyL. Sommer,Die
Darstellery. The Hapsburgs had to respectthe constitution osterreichischen
Kameralisten
in dogmengeschichtlicher
und Verwaltungsgerecognizingthe Lutheran, Reformed,Unitarian, and lung ("Studien zur Sozial-, WirtschaftsRoman Catholicchurchesas establishedand the Greek schichte,"13 [Wien,1925]),pp. 312-444.Accordingto Sommer,
of
p. 321, Sonnenfels'politicalscienceis mainlya description
Orthodoxas tolerated.
of the monarchyduringthe last decade
the Regierungspraxis
This significantbut partial consolidationof central of Maria Theresa'sreign. AlbionW. Small, The Cameralists:
authorityunderMaria Theresa fosteredin the monarch the Pioneers of GermanSocial Policy (Chicago, 1909), conand translatedexcerptsof cameralist
and her ministersan increasinglysecular,businesslike tains lengthysummaries
including
centuries,
and eighteenth
of the seventeenth
literature
attitudefavorableto improvingthe statusof non-Cath- the writingsof JohannHeinrichvon Justi,professorat the
olics. Forced to devote more and more attentionto CollegiumTheresianum
on whichSonnenin Vienna,1750-1753,
findingnew sources of revenue and improvingthe fels based his early lectures.
6 For his teachingin the 1760'son religiousfreedom
see his
yield fromold ones, the Hapsburgs like many other
(1763)," in
European rulers began to see that "Vorlesung uiber von Justis Staats-Wirtschaft
eighteenth-century
Fz. 10, Polizei- und CameralWien, AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
their power rested ultimatelyon the strengthof the wissenschaften,1763-1784,?142 and ?143. See also his
national economy. In particular,cameralisteconomic Lehrstitzenaus der Polizey-, Handlungs-und FinanzwissentheoryconvincedMaria Theresa, her ministers,and schaft(Wien, 1764), Nos. 3, 9, 12, and 13. He retainedthese
in the latereditions:cf. Grundsatzeder Polizey-,HandEmperorJosephthata state's power varied directlyin views
(2 v., Wien, 1770) 1: No. 91,
lungs-u. Finanzwissenschaft
proportionto the size and quality of its population. againstfreethinkersand atheists;and Nos. 116,117,and 119.
Hence, to providefor numerous,prosperoussubjects, Also, ibid. (3 v., Wien, 1787) 1: Nos. 94-98,and 145.
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16
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
the flightof non-Catholicsfromthe monarchyas well as superstitious,or, at best, theologicalopinions to
as encourageimmigration.7
whichno one shouldbe compelledto assent. The "reaCameralistssuch as Sonnenfelsmade theirstudents sonable" man thus came to doubtthe traditionalbelief
particularly
sensitiveto the emigrationof non-Catholics thatthe rulermustmaintainthe "true faith"amongall
from Bohemia and Moravia to hostile Saxony and his subjects. Naturallaw or social utilityshoulddeterPrussia, whichclose surveillanceof the frontiers
could minethe treatment
of religiousnonconformists.
not stop. Since the government
had grantedtoleration As a consequenceof thisinsistenceon reasonand the
to the OrthodoxChristiansin the easternprovincesto needs of the state,the principlesof naturallaw and of
lessen their favorable inclinationtoward Russia, it social utilityenteredinto Austrian jurisprudence. A
seemed reasonableto studentsof cameralismto apply state churchlaw based in part on naturallaw replaced
a similarpolicyin the westernlands to Protestantsin- Roman Canon Law reflecting
themedievaland CounterclinedtowardPrussia. As a warning,Austriancamer- Reformation
of heretics. The
outlookon the treatment
alists pointedto the mass exodus of Huguenots from firstAustrian jurist to draw a concept of religious
rationalistic
France as a consequenceof the Revocationof the Edict tolerationat leastpartlyfromcontemporary
of Nantes, and to an incidentof the 1730's, the mass principleswas Paul Josephvon Riegger.10 In 1733,
migrationof Protestantsfromthe neighboringecclesi- appointedprofessorof natural law at the University
of Innsbruck,he introducedNorthGermanlegal science
astical principality
of Salzburg to Prussia.8
To these inducements
to toleration,chieflynativeto intoAustria. From 1753 to 1775,as professorof ecclethe monarchy,the Enlightenment
added several that siasticallaw at the Universityof Vienna, he attempted
developed in Great Britain, France, and North Ger- to infusethe principleof freedomof conscienceintothe
many. In themasoniclodgesand throughcontemporary Staatskirchenrecht.
In his textbook,Institutiones
iurisliterature,especiallyin the writingsof Voltaire, edu- prudentiaeecclesiasticae,Riegger excludes the use of
cated Austriansgained a heightenedawarenessof the coercionin mattersof conscienceand forbidscompelling
dignityof the individualpersonand the naturalbonds religiousdissentersto participatein a cult whichthey
as contraryto reason.1"With
of humanfellowship. The humanitarianism
that Son- regard,evenerroneously,
nenfelspropagatedin his pamphletsand lecturesnot Christianreadersin mind,he appeals to theNew Testaonly contributedto reformingthe penal code and to mentand the writingsof the Fathers of the Churchas
suppressingtorture. It also eroded public support well as to naturalreason.
for the ideological foundationof the civil laws preOne of his early students,Karl Anton von Martini,
scribingthe use of forceagainst religiousdissenters.9 professorof naturallaw at the Universityof Vienna,
natMoreover, the Enlightenment'scosmopolitanoutlook 1754 to 1774,attemptedto reconcilecontemporary
of Cath- ural law with classical and Christianjurisprudence.12
weakenedthe sectarianattitude,characteristic
servantsas well
olicism during the Counter-Reformation,
whose spirit He taughta generationof government
of exclusivenesseasilyturnedinto religiousintolerance. as several of the childrenof Maria Theresa. In his
As the Austrianelite became more humane,it also treatiseon law, he asserts that religious convictions
adoptedmuchoftherationalistic
setofmind,commonto cannotbe forcedon anyone,and thatno humanauthoreducatedEuropeans in the eighteenthcentury. After ityis superiorto thelaw of reason.13 More liberalthan
mid-century,
Austriansmanifested
growingaversionto
10 For Riegger's career see C. Wurzbach,Biographlisches
"fanaticism,"to the ideas, attitudes,and behaviorthat Lexikon
des Kaiserthums Osterreich (60 v., Wien, 1859-1891)
contradictpractical reason. This new mentalityre- 26: pp. 129-133. His jurisprudenceis analyzedby Andreas
garded many of the dogmas of the establishedchurch Posch, Die kirchlicheAufkliirungin Graz und awl der Grater
Hochschule(Graz, 1937), pp. 99-101. Posch defendsRiegger's
7Sonnenfels,"Vorlesungiibervon JustisStaats-Wirtschaft,"Catholicorthodoxy:"his world view is not that of a rationof thechurchas infallible."
?143. See also Grundsitzeder Polizey-,Handlungs-und Fi- alist; he regardstheteachingoffice
Cf. also, R. Stintzingand E. Landsberg,Geschichteder
(Wien, 1787) 1: No. 145.
nanzwissenschaft
8For the effectsof the Revocationof the Edict of Nantes, deutschen Rechtswissenschaft (3 v., Leipzig, 1880-1910) 3/1:
und
der OQtellen
see Sonnenfels,"Vorlesung uiber Justis Staats-Wirtschaft,"pp. 381-382;and J. F. Schulte,Die Geschichte
see ChristianAugustBeck, Literatur des kanonischen Rechts von Gratian bis aitf die
?143. For the Salzburgmigration,
1880) 3/1: pp. 208-210.
manu- Gegenwart(3 v., Stuttgart,
(unpublished
oderKirchenrechts"
"Abrissdes geistlichen
script,HHSA, Wien, Hs W751), pp. 157-158. Beck prepared 11 Paul Joseph von Riegger, Institutiones iurispritdentiae
thistreatiseca. 1755-1760,for JosephII's educationin ecclesi- ecclesiasticae(Wien, 1768-1770). A revised,enlargededition
until1784.
prescribed
was officially
in fourvolumes,1777-1778,
asticallaw.
9 For Sonnenfels'indirectinfluence
upon the suppressionof Since 1754,Riegger'scourse was requiredfor all studentsin
in Austria,see R. Kann,op. cit., the facultyof law and, since 1767,in the facultyof theology.
tortureand capitalpunishment
12 For Martini's
viewssee AdolfMenzel,"Ein osterreichischer
pp. 184-189. The vigorof CardinalMigazzi's attack,in 1767,
RundOsterreichische
Migazzi's aware- Staatsphilosoph
des 18. Jahrhunderts,"
polemicagainsttorturereflects
on Sonnenfels'
of crim- schau 1 (1905): pp. 295-301,and Adam Wandruszka,Leopold
the treatment
forhumanizing
ness thatthe arguments
and indeedthreaten II. (2 v., Wien, 1963) 1: pp. 89-95.
inalsapplyevenmoreaptlyto non-Catholics
13 Karl Anton von Martini, Lehrbegriffdes Natur-, Statsconfessionalstate. Cf.
the entireedificeof the post-Tridentine
(4 v., Wien, 1783-1784)1: Nos. 25, 313; 3:
Migazzi's proteststo Maria Theresa in Wien, AVA, Un- und Volkerrechts
Nos. 120,249.
Fz. 10.
terrichtsarchiv,
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
CHANGES
17
his teacher, Martini allows the tolerationof erring spread conviction,expressedat the Universityof Louchurches,notmerelyin thecase of unavoidablenecessity vain in the early eighteenthcenturyby the Flemish
but also if,in any way,it servesthe publicinterest.
theologian,van Espen, that the post-TridentinecenBoth Rieggerand Martiniwrotechieflyin the service tralizationof the churchhad exceeded the limitspreofthestate; buttheEnlightenment
also affected
thinkers scribedby the New Testamentand Christiantradition,
who moredeliberately
attemptedto reconcilethe church an anti-curialmovementgrew up among Catholics in
to the age in whichtheylived. They consequentlyin- France,Germany,and theLow Countries. For political
auguratedtwo contemporary
religiousmovementsliber- supportit associated itselfwith an older, oftenhighly
alizing the attitudeof Catholicstoward religioustoler- secular effortby Catholic rulers such as Louis XIV
ation. From Italy, about mid-century,
came a current and EmperorJosephI to gain controlover the church
of enlightened
Catholicthought,
chieflyin thetheological in theirlands at the papacy's expense. Moreover,in
writingof Ludovico Muratori,archivistin Modena.14 Germanythisanti-curialdemandforautonomyvis-a'-vis
froman incipiEnlightenedclerics,particularly,
welcomedhis ideas as Rome gained impetusaftermid-century
a basis for condemningthe excesses of baroque piety entnationalawakening.
and as a guide to an active,practicalChristianity.It
In 1763 these tendenciesfoundan effective
voice in
is truethatMuratoriexpresslydefendstraditionalpro- the book,De statu presentiEcclesiae et legitimapoteshibitionsupon non-Catholicpublicworshipand regards tate romani pontificis,liber singularis,ad reuniendos
heresy as a civil as well as ecclesiastical offense.'5 dissidentesin religionecompositus. Under the pseudoNevertheless,he opposed the use of forcein religion. nym,Febronius,Bishop Hontheim,auxiliaryof Trier,
And his conceptionof an ethical,Christ-centered
piety, advocated not only strengthening
episcopal at the exdevoted to the practiceof fraternalcharity,prepared pense of papal authority,but also religioustoleration.
the way for the view that religious tolerationis a Both measures,he believed,mightinduce Protestants
Christianvirtueratherthan a formof religiousindif- to cooperate in a reunion of the Christianchurches.
ference.16His enlightenedpedagogicaldoctrineled to Toleratedby the Hapsburg censorshipdespitethe Holy
the conclusionthat evangelizingcan only be carried Office'scondemnation,
the book made a profoundimon by nonviolentmeans,by gentlepreachingthatelicits pact in enlightenedCatholiccircles. Its point of view
the non-Catholic'sfree assent ratherthan a mere ex- on Christianunityled manyAustrianclericsattracted
ternalconformity.JosephII, as well as many of his to Muratori'senlightenedpietyto attemptto win over
clergy,drew out theseimplicationsand embodiedthem the Protestantswithlove ratherthan force.
in an enlightenedattitudetowardnon-Catholics17
II
Also at mid-century,
while Muratori'swritingswere
softeningCounter-Reformation
attitudestoward nonDuring the Co-regency,while these principlespeneCatholics,another religiousmovement,Febronianism, tratedintothe educatedclasses, Josephshapedhis own
fostered tolerationby generatinglively concern for idea of religioustoleration.19The originsof this conChristianunity in Germany.'8 Rooted in the wide- ception,as of his brand of enlightenedabsolutism,is a
much debated issue of eighteenth-century
historythat
14A brief,comprehensive
studyof Muratori(1672-1750)and is not likely to be definitively
settled. Joseph wrote
his worksis E. Amann,"Muratori,"DTC 10: pp. 2550-2554.
and said littleabout his education; and contemporary
15 L. Muratori,
De ingeniorum
mediatione
in religionisnegotio sourcesadd littlelightto the subject. By naturea rest(Paris, 1714), Bk II, pp. 335-336. Sergio Bertelli,Erudizione
person,Josephlearnedstatee storia in Ludovico Muratori (Napoli, 1960), pp. 401-404, less,active,and headstrong
craft
mainly
through
travel
and practicalexperiencein
stressesthe ambiguityin Muratori'sconceptionof tolerance,
on the one hand his moral condemnation
of "holy war" and public affairsratherthan throughacademictrainingor
on the otherhis unreserved
approvalof the Revocationof the reading. In any case, it would be difficult
to tracehis
Edictof Nantes.
idea of a phenomenonlike tolerationthat permeated
18 For a summary
of Muratori'senlightened
moraltheology,
see his Della regolatadivozionede' cristiani(reprintof the the intellectualatmosphereof mid-eighteenth-century
1st ed., 1747; Venezia, 1761), pp. 370-384. His basic moral
treatiseis Della carita cristianain quanto essa e amore del toriquesur l'originedes reformesreligieusesde JosephII
prossimo(Modena,1723).
(Bruxelles,1891), chap. 4, perhapsexaggeratesthe directin17 For Muratori's
influenceon JosephII, see E. Winter, fluenceof Febronianideas upon the Emperor.
Der Josephinismus
(Wien, 1943), pp. 129,237, & 244. Mura19Paul von Mitrofanov,JosephII. Seine politische tnd
tori's Della regolata divozioneand his Della carita cristiana kulturelleTdtigkeit(Wien, 1910), is the most comprehensive
appeared in numerousGerman editions. "Under Joseph II and usefulstudy. S. K. Padover,The Revolutionary
Emperor,
above all theyenjoyedthegreatestregard"(p. 20). According Joseph II, 1741-1790 (London, 1934), the only full-length
to Winter,"Martiniwar von demGedankengut
der italienischen biographyin English, is inadequate. The "revised" edition
katholischen
Aufklarung,
wie sie Muratorivertrat,ganz durch- (Archon Books, 1967), essentiallyonly a reprint,does not
drungen . . ." (p. 37). See also pp. 96 & 129. For the great correctthe firstedition'sserious factual and interpretative
Josephinianphilologist,Joseph Dobrowsky,who translated errorsnor does it reflectthe progressin Josephinianstudies
Muratori'sDella regolatadivozioneintoCzech,see pp. 205-206. since 1934. For a brief,judiciousbiographicalstudy,see Paul
18J. Kiintziger,Febroniuset le Febronianisme.lGtudehis- Bernard,JosephII (New York, 1968).
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18
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
raries,25or attemptsto shock his mother.28 Maria
Theresa reproachedhim at times for imitatingthe
of FrederickII. Indeed, except
religiousindifference
at the end of his life,the Catholic faithwas perhaps
not a vital,personalconcernto Joseph.27But he was
notso close in spiritto the PrussianKing as his mother
whichhe never
feared. Joseph'sreligiousupbringing,
rejected,set him against free thinkers.28He disliked
and it was his own as well as
Voltaire'simpertinence,
his mother'swish not to visit him in 1777 on a trip
throughFrance.
Afterhis mother'sdeath,Josephcontinuedto demonrationaleon which
stratehis aversionto therationalistic
its idea of
based
often
Enlightenment
the French
tolerance. He forbadea German translationof Voltaire's completeworks. He also forbadethe books of
Moses Mendelssohn,for he did not want his Jewish
subjectsto become"naturalists."29 And on one occasion, he warned the Protestantconsistoryin Austrian
Silesia not to waste its energyon a quarrel about a
certainhymnal,but ratherto take steps to preventits
people frombecomingSocinian.30
from 1761 to 1780,
Experience in the government,
reinforcedJoseph's humanitarianconvictionswhile it
impressedupon himthe economicand politicalvalue of
tolerance. In the State Council in the 1760's, a kind
he came into fruitfulcontact
of royal apprenticeship,
with the problemsraised by non-Catholicminorities.
The membersof theCouncilusuallyshoweda relatively
tolerantoutlook,althoughtheydid not call fora fundamentalchange in the law.31 They helped trainJoseph
to adopt a gentle way of dealing with non-Catholics
and to regardthemas assets to the state.
Among the earliestexpressionsof his pointof view
on the conditionof the
to20 For a good discussionof the originsof Josephinism,
are passages of a memorandum
see Paul Bernard, monarchy,
footnotes,
getherwithcriticalbibliographical
at theend of 1765 to Maria
thathe submitted
Europe. Hence, historiansmust rely largely on inferenceor conjecture.20
Despite these reservations,it is possible to discern
certain specificinfluenceson Joseph's mind, notably
Germannaturallaw literature.21For Joseph'sinstruction, his tutor, ChristianAugust Beck, about 1754,
De officiohominiset cviss
adapted Samuel Pufendorf's,
secundurnlegem naturalem.22 Entitled, "Kern des
although
thiscompendium,
Natur-und V6lkerrechtes,"
original,
not a slavish copy of the seventeenth-century
of hereticsand other
retainsits views on the treatment
Beck vigorously
religiousdissenters.23Like Pufendorf,
of each individualconscience:
defendsthe inviolability
the ruler lacks the authorityto punish erroneousreligiousopinions. Coercionin religionis wrongbecause
it is contraryto thelaw of nature. On the otherhand,
also like Pufendorf,Beck approachesthe question of
the libertyof religious association from the vantage
point of society. The ruler should not toleratesects
like the Quakers or Socinians which,oftenunder the
piety,expressprinciplesdangercover of extraordinary
ous to society.
student,received
Joseph, otherwisean indifferent
It satisfiedthe
enthusiasm.24
with
instruction
Beck's
youngman's humanitarianaspirations,it preservedintact the substanceof a ruler's authority,and it could
be harmonizedwithCatholicprinciplessuch as a Hapsburg was bound to hold. The tolerationwhichJoseph
subsequentlyenacted is basically consistentwith the
versionof naturallaw.
Beck-Pufendorf
Josephdoes not seem deeplyindebtedto the secularexcept
istic literatureof the French Enlightenment,
when he seeks the applause of enlightenedcontempo-
Two Studies (Colorado Springs,
The Originsof Josephinism:
1964).
25 F. Engel-Janosi,
"JosephsII. Tod im Urteil der Zeit21 Cf. Hans von Voltelini,"Die naturrechtlichen
Lehrenund
43 (1930): pp. 324-346.
MIJG
genossen,"
Zeitschrift
Historische
18.
des
Jahrhunderts,"
die Reformen
26 In 1766 Maria Theresa rebukedJosephfor this trait:
105 (1910): pp.65-104.
theseclever
22 The olderhistoriography
held thatMartinitutoredJoseph, "It is hightimeto cease enjoyingyourbonsmots,
which . . . alienate all decent people. . . . You are a
phrases
proof
Convincing
Empress.
of
the
as well as theotherchildren
Quoted from G. P. Gooch, Maria
in favorof C. A. Beck,a professorat the TheresianAcademy coquetteof the mind."
(New York, 1951), p. 33.
Studies
Other
and
Theresia
in Vienna,is givenby A. Menzel,"Kaiser JosefII. und das
27 See Hugo Hantsch,Geschichte
Osterreichs(2 v., Wien,
Recht,N.F., 1 (1919/
furOffentliches
Zeitschrift
Naturrecht,"
was an eighteenthJoseph
that
the
view
for
233,
p.
2:
1953)
Hermann
by
confirmed
1920): pp. 510-528. Menzel'sthesisis
tradition.
Conrad (ed.), Recht und Verfassungdes Reichs in der Zeit centurydeist,a nominalCatholicbecause of family
p. 115, who considershim
editionof the Beck Cf. E. Winter,Der Josephinismus,
Maria Theresias(K6ln, 1964), a definitive
indicated,all
mss. Cf. also von Voltelini,op. cit.,p. 74. Despite Menzel's a zealous Catholicreformer.Unless otherwise
editionof
the
to
are
Der
Josephinismus
Winter's
to
references
still
historians
based on Joseph'sErziehungsakten,
monograph,
1943.
repeatthe discreditedthesis,e.g., Ernst Benedikt,JosephII.
28 A. Wandruszka,
Leopold II. (2 v., Wien, 1963) 1: pp.
als Erzieher
(Wien, 1947), p. 21; and W. H6gl, "Bartenstein
Franz
Stephan a major share in deterto
attributes
42-43,
of
University
dissertation,
Ph.D.
JosephsII." (unpublished
Beck's "Kern miningthe religiousoutlookof his sons: orthodoxin doctrine,
Vienna,1959), p. 90, who also errsin attributing
in politico-ecclesiastical
des Natur- und Vilkerrechtes"to Bartenstein,p. 114. Cf. regularin religiousexercise;anti-curial
in dealingwithpeople.
and humanitarian
issues; enlightened
Menzel,op. cit.,p. 513.
29 Gustav Frank, Das Toleranz-Patent
(Wien, 1881), p. 4.
23 C. A. Beck, "Kern des Natur- und V6lkerrechtes"
(un30 Ibid.,p. 109.
W752),
in Wien, HHSA, Handschriften,
publishedmanuscript
31 See JohannGotzlirsch,
"Der Staatsrat Maria Theresias
Bk. II, chap.19.
24Bartenstein
to Maria Theresa,March 6, 1759,in Menzel, und die Frage der Toleranz" (unpublishedPh.D. dissertation,
of Vienna,1925),p. iv.
University
op. cit.,p. 522.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
THE OLD ORDER
CHANGES
19
ProtTheresa.32 Under the influenceof Sonnenfels'camer- experiment,
begunby CharlesVI, oftransplanting
alist arguments,Josephcalls for religioustolerationto estantsfromareas wherethe practiceof theirfaithwas
encourageforeignersto settle in the monarchy. En- illegal, to underpopulatedeastern provinceswhere it
took place in
thusedalso about social equalityand freedombased on was tolerated. The last transplantation
naturallaw, Josephnot only advocates suppressionof 1774, from Styria, where hidden Protestantismon a
the censorship,but argues in principleagainst the use considerablescale was discoveredin the mountainous
offorcein religion. "In mattersof faithand of morals," districtsof the dioceseof Seckau. Because the Catholic
he writes,"coercionconvertsno one; personalconvic- clergy were spread thinly,the traditionalregulatory
tion is necessary." Althoughhe would not tolerate systemwas ineffective.Entire villages had remained
of "the innocent,"he would faithfulto Protestantismbeneatha surfaceconformity
publicscandalor corruption
close his eyes to faultsthat did not injure the state. to the Catholicchurch. In 1771 Bishop Spaur's harsh
of suspectpersonsled to an officialinvestiga"God wishes,"concludesJoseph,"thatwe employthose treatment
to whomHe has giventalentsand capacityforservice, tion of the districtthatuncoveredseveralhundredconleaving to His divine mercythe reward of good and vinced Protestants. When an eight-monthmission
of evil souls." 33
the punishment
failed to alter theirbeliefs,the bishop again proposed
This memorandum'sproposals, includingreligious severepunishment:thatthe familiesbe brokenup, the
toleration,were too radical to be adopted by the Em- young men draftedinto the army, and the children
press. But, thoughJosephcould not yet bringabout placed under Catholic guardians. The State Council,
a sweepingreformof the status of non-Catholics,he firmlyrejectingthe bishop's proposals, recommended
could use his considerableinfluenceas Co-regentin instead that the more obduratepeasants be moved to
pressurein that Transylvania and that the others be left in peace.
order to maintaina steady,efficacious
direction. During the Co-regency,from1765 to 1780, About 150 personsmoreor less willinglyundertookthe
the young Emperor,togetherwith Kaunitz and other journeyin 1774.
in several respects. For
enlightenedhigher officialsworked toward a limited, This episode is significant
tacit tolerationin an almost continuousseries of inci- one thing,it markedthe end of the experimentwith
dents involvingnon-Catholics.
as a means of preservingthe religious
transplantation
In the easternprovinces,the Emperor'spolicyaimed unity of the Austrian and Bohemian lands. Vienna
available to non-Catholics consciouslyconnived at religious dissent in Styria,
at wideningthe opportunities
in orderto encourageimmigration.This mercantilistic ratherthan bear the economiclosses involvedin the
of the population. Moreover,
idea took on immediacyfor Joseph during his many exile or transplantation
trips throughthe monarchy,serious investigationsof it was the firststep towardabandoningthe veryobjecin the westernprovinces.
social and economicconditionsoftenin mixed or non- tive of religiousuniformity
districtswere allowed
mountain
in
the
Protestants
Most
Catholicregions. It is typicalof Josephthatduringa
visitto theBanat districtin southernHungary,in 1768, to worshipprivatelyas theyhad done fortwo centuries;
he was struckby the scarcityof its population.34Dis- only those who insistedon professingtheirfaithpubease and warfarebetweenTurk and Christianhad made licly were in fact moved. Finally,the episode is sigthis districtdesolate, and it seemed now to cry out nificantsince it was the Co-regentwho helped bring
for colonists. Joseph suggested that non-Catholics about this change in policy. Of particularinterestis
againstcompulsorytransplantation.In
should be encouragedto come, by allowing them to his intervention
purchasepartsof the royaldomain. Despite opposition a note to the Bohemian-AustrianCourt Chancellor,
fromBaron Egyd von Borie and CountWenzel Kaunitz, Count Heinrich Blumegen,Joseph ordered that nonwho argued thatthe uncertainloyaltyof non-Catholics Catholicsshould not be moved unless theyfreelyagree
districtof great to it.
renderedthemunsuitablefora frontier
strategicimportance,the Empress adopted Joseph's
The economic advantages of allowing religious diproposal.
versityin thefreeportof Triestealso came to Joseph's
In the westernprovinces,in contrast,where Protes- attentionin the 1770's. From thedate of its foundation
tantismwas persecuted,Joseph'shumanitarianmotives by Charles VI, Trieste had been an exceptionin the
althoughusually sup- system of officialreligious uniformity. To attract
could appear more prominently,
to endingthe Levantine trade the Vienna governmentallowed the
portingreasonsof state. He contributed
Greek Orthodox to build a churchin Trieste and to
32 The textof thismemorandum
is in A. Arneth(ed.), Maria
hold
public religious services. Protestantswere not
(3 v., Wien,1868)
TheresiaundJosephII. Ihre Correspondenz
treatedso generously,but theywere allowed to come
3: pp.335-361.
33Ibid., p. 352.
togetherfor worship in a private home. They natJosefII. in der urally aspired to equalityof treatment,
"Die Wirtschaftspolitik
34K. Schiinemann,
but for many
MIXG 47 (1933): p. 27. Cf. years theywere not numerousenough to win further
Zeit seiner Mitregentschaft,"
also, P. von Radics, "Die Reisen Kaiser JosephsII. und ihre
concessions. After 1763, as the growthof the port
5sterreichische-Ungarische
Bedeutungfur Osterreich-Ungarn,"
Revue,N.F. 8 (1889): pp. 259-261.
speededup, Protestantsincreasedin number. In 1775,
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20
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
when Josephvisitedthe city,they petitionedhim for olics.38 The ruse worked,but the missionarieslearned
permissionto build a church.
that they had opened Pandora's Box. Peasant gulliTrieste's special status as a free port precludedthe bility turned into open defiance of the law. The
danger that concessionsmade therewould have to be churcheswere abandonedor closed to Catholicservices,
extendedto non-Catholicselsewhere. Hence, in 1778, as thousandsgatheredfor prayermeetingsin the field.
Josephgrantedthe substanceof the Protestantrequest Troops sentin by the local authoritiesclashedwithdisover the objectionsof the local bishop, Count Philip orderlymobs,leadingto some arrestsand fatalities.
Inzaghy. For Joseph'sdevelopmentit was important The news of this development shocked Maria
thatonce again he had studiedtheproblemsof religious Theresa. In a letterto Joseph,who was returning
man- froma tripto France, she describedthe coercivemeapluralismin a practical,ratherthana theoretical,
ner. He heard argumentsfor and against toleration sures she was planningand asked for his opinion.39
aired in numerousnotesand reports.35The His replyat the end of June,1777, is one of the most
thoroughly
importof this discussionextendedbeyondthe confines extremestatementshe ever made on the subject of
of Trieste. If the non-Catholicsthere proved to be toleration. Condemningforciblerepressionof the Protuseful,loyal subjects,and if the Catholic churchsuf- estants,Joseph justifiescompletereligious libertyas
fered no harm, then it would follow that the entire beneficialto the state withoutharmingthe Christian
monarchymightbenefitfromreligioustoleration.
religion:
Like a swamp-firethat flaresup in one place and
The opendeclarations
in Moraviastrengthen
of irreligion
then another,a demand for tolerationsoon appeared myconvictions:
of beliefand therewillbe butone
freedom
in Moravia. This was a crucialchallengeto the tradi- religionguidingequallyall thepeopleforthegood of the
you will not save moresouls
causing a serious clash be- state. Withoutthismethod,
tionalpolicyof uniformity,
tweenthe aged queen and her son. It was one thing and youwill lose manymoreusefulbodies. To do things
by halves is not one of my principles;you musteither
amongStyrianmoun- grant
to conniveat secretProtestantism
full freedomof worshipor expel all who do not
tainfolk;it was yetanotherto cope with10,000peasants shareyourbeliefs....
near the Prussian border,who openlyrefusedto pracHe goes on to restrictthe ruler to maintainingpublic
tice the Catholicreligion.
Indeed, he asserts:
morality.
These peasants,like the StyrianProtestants,had for
generationsconformedonly outwardlyto the Catholic The Holy Spiritshouldenlighten
theheartsof men; your
church. In a remote countrydistrictserved by an laws will onlyserveto hinderHis work.40
ignorantand negligentclergy,they had long escaped The strainedrhetoricof this letteris rich in deistic
detection. For some time, however,they had been overtonessuggestingthatimpressionsof Joseph'svisits
undersuspicion.36In 1777 two missionaries,members withFrenchphilosophesstilllingeredin his mind. The
of an inquisitorialcommission,who were experienced "one religion"whichwouldgrowout of religiousliberty
in "sniffing"
heresy,broughtthe peasants out into the mightmean no more than a commonfeelingof civic
open with a ruse.37 The peasants were led to believe responsibility
among Protestantsand Catholicsof the
that everyonewas now free to choose the religionhe monarchy.It was, ofcourse,withinthepale of Catholic
wished, Catholic or Lutheran,and practice it freely. orthodoxyforJosephto holdthatreligiouslibertywould
Some even concludedthatthe Empress wanted every- uniteratherthandividethepeople. On theotherhand,
one to become Lutheran and would persecuteCath- the text of this lettercould easily lead a conservative
Catholicto construethe"one religion"to mean a purely
35 Copies of the relevantdocumentsare in Wien, Hofkammerfor Christiarchiv, Litorale, Fz. 26. For the bishop's view that religious secular,civic religionthatwould substitute
freedom would confirmthe heretics in their errors, lead many anity.
Catholics into indifferenceor apostasy, and expose the Catholic
Joseph'sletteras a plea
Maria Theresa interpreted
religion to ridicule, see his memorandum,February 3, 1776.
In
her replyof July5, she
for
indifference.
religious
The enlightened governor, Count Karl von Zinzendorf, supportingthe Protestant request,respectfullyanswered the bishop, fastens upon the general tolerationJoseph wants to
that
July 22, 1776, with the assurance that the Protestants asked introduce.4' She calls it the greatestmisfortune
for merely private exercise of religion, which would not the monarchy
could encounter;it would resultin chaos
scandalize Catholics. It was to the church's advantage to
and the loss of souls. The root of this evil is his inattract non-Catholics to Trieste where they might more condifference
to religionand his preoccupationwith comthe
of
veniently than at home, be convinced of the truth
Catholic religion. It was also to the state's advantage to induce them to settle in Trieste rather than in rival Venice. A
lengthyreport by the Court Chancellery,August 24, 1776, persuaded Maria Theresa to reject the petition,September 7, 1776.
January 28, 1778, Zinzendorf renewed substantially the same
request, which Joseph approved, February 6, 1778.
36 See Baron Kressel's report to Maria Theresa, July 18,
1777, on the origins of the Moravian crisis, in Wien, HHSA,
Nachlass Kressl, Fz. 1.
3 Ibid.
38
Ibid.
A. von Arneth, Maria Theresiaund JosephII. Ihre Correspondenz(3 v., Wien, 1867) 2: p. 141.
40 Ibid.,pp. 141-142.
39
41 In this reply Maria Theresa seems to have been guided
by Cardinal Migazzi. Her criticism follows closely Migazzi's
critique of Joseph's letter,prepared apparentlyat the Empress'
request. See Migazzi's critique in Wien, Erzbischofliches
No. 50, Der Protestantismus.
Archiv, Konsistorialarchiv,
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THE OLD ORDER
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
CHANGES
21
But it ingrainedin theman antipathyto non-Catholics
and helped to justifythe repressivesystem. Joseph
and mostenlightenedCatholicspresumedthatreligious
dissidentserr in good faithand that non-Catholicworship does not insultGod. This changein attitudelessened the likelihoodthatthe Catholicrulerwould punish
or forciblyconverthis hereticsubjects.
For severalmonthsthisconflictbetweenmotherand
son abated as Maria Theresa, with Kaunitz' advice,
refrainedfromusing forceand energeticallyfurthered
the enlightenedmissionarywork of Leopold von Hay,
Provostof Nikolsburg,and others. The districtquieted
down and the movementaway fromthe churchhalted.
Thousands of peasants,however,continuedto profess
publiclythe Protestantfaith. When gentlemeansfailed
to persuade them to return,she decided to follow a
moreseverepolicyworkedout by the Court Chancellor,
Count Blumegen.45He recommended
thatthe military
make a show of force to manifestthe government's
serious intent. The local leaders were to be arrested
and put on trial,and unauthorizedgatheringsforbidden.
If thatdid not succeed,the obduratepersonswould be
transported
to Hungarywithouttheirchildren. When
theseplans becameknownto Josephin October,1777,
theybroughton the second,acute phase of this crisis.
Joseph,who was in Moravia on militarymaneuvers,
threatenedto resignas Co-regent,so the world would
know he was not responsible.
Maria Theresa felt herselftrapped between what
seemed her duty and Joseph'sviolentopposition. At
this point Kaunitz interveneddecisively. More astute
than Josephin dealingwith the pious Empress,he reTolerancemeansto me thatin purelytemporalaffairs,I
ferred
to the New Testamentto justifya broad view of
would,withoutregardto religion,employanyonein my
and worksforthe freedom of conscience.46 That a free thinkerlike
servicewho is capableand industrious,
welfareof the state; I wouldlet himhave land and exer- Kaunitz shouldmake use of religiousargumentsseems
and I wouldgivehimcitizenship.43 pure expediency,but this atteststo Maria Theresa's
cise his profession,
to a Christianconceptionof toleraJosephdoes not,however,renouncethe officeof Advo- growingreceptivity
cate of the Church. His conservativecriticswrongly tion. On thisbasis Kaunitz suggestedthatProtestants
assert that, in abolishingthe systemof coercion,he should not be forcedto take part in Catholicworship
showed indifference
toward the church'swork among or to receivethe Catholicsacramentsexceptforbaptism
men. Joseph's intention,in fact,was to supportthe and marriage,or to attendCatholicreligiousinstruction.
churchwithother,moresuitablemeans. This he dem- If theykept the peace, theycould worshipprivatelyin
onstratedin the 1780's whenhe establishedan improved theirhomes. Despite objectionsby Blumegen,the proparochialorganization,a simplifiedliturgy,a new sys- posal was adoptedby Maria Theresa and embodiedin
program a secretinstructionsent to the authoritiesin Moravia
temof social service,and a relativelyeffective
in November,1777.47
of generalreligiousinstruction.
This limitedtacittolerationrestoredan uneasypeace
The Empress and her son furtherdisagreedconcerning his irenicattitudetowardheretics. Maria Theresa for a few years. The cleric, Leopold Hay, remained
sharedthetraditionalbeliefin theinsincerity
of heretics, in the district,attemptingto carry out a reformation
guiltyof an outrageagainstGod's honor. In practice, on enlightenedprinciples. The civil authorities,howAustrian Hapsburgs had seldom proceededto the exvor JosephII.," Festgabe fur Hugo Hantsch
trememeasureswhich this beliefseems to authorize.44 Josephinismus
(Wien, 1965), 198.
merceand industry.Joseph,in a letterofJuly20, 1777,
tried to manifesthis orthodoxy,but he could not
appease her.42 At the end of July,she picked up the
threadsof her previousargumentson the necessityof
a uniformreligionfor society,and said she intendedto
followa middleway betweenthe extremesof persecution and toleration.
This correspondencereveals where Joseph'sconceptions diverge from Maria Theresa's and where they
concernsthe
adhere to tradition. The key difference
natureof the state and the ruler's functionin respect
to religion. The Empress believes that the state is a
and feelsa strongmoralobliChristianCommonwealth
gationto preserveunchangedits confessionalcharacter.
Her specificduty in religiousmattersis to safeguard
the truefaithand the souls of her subjects. Joseph,on
theotherhand,conceivesof the statechieflyas a secular
whose ultimatepurposeis the temporalwelinstitution
in civic life
fare of its citizens. Religion is significant
only as it secures obedienceto the laws and maintains
public morality. Gone is the assumptionthat all must
if all accept the
professthe same creed; it is sufficient
state's normsof morality. The ruler'schiefdutyis to
treat all subjects fairly and see to the increase of
populationand wealth.
Josephwas not a secularist. It is likelythat he is
sincere,in his letterof July20, 1777, in wishingthe
conversionof all his Protestantsubjects. But he departs fromHapsburg traditionin renouncingthe use
of officialcoercionand enticementsto help bring this
about:
p.
42
Arneth,op. cit.,pp. 150-153.
43Ibid.,p. 152.
44Under Charles VI, the Inquisition of Sicily executed two
persons in 1724 and one in 1732. In the last case, the sentence
was confirmedby Cardinal Kollonitz, Grand Inquisitor of Sicily
as well as Archbishop of Vienna. Cf. Heinrich Benedikt, "Der
45F. Maass, Der Josephinismus
(5 v., Wien, 1951-1960)2:
pp.49-52.
46 Vortrag,Oct. 18, 1777,in ibid.,p. 53, No. 50.
47Note to Bohemian-Austrian
Court Chancellery,Nov. 14,
1777, summarizedin A. Arneth,GeschichteMaria Theresias
(10 v., Wien, 1879) 10: pp. 71-73.
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22
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
ever, did not observeeitherthe letteror the spiritof
the Empress' instruction. Harassment by the police
eventuallyprovokedthe Protestantsof threeMoravian
villagesin January,1780,to demandfullreligiousfreeCourt Chancelleryredom. The Bohemian-Austrian
a rigorousapplicaacted true to form,recommending
tion of the law. Kaunitz again opposed force; he
broughtMaria Theresa to the point of agreeingto a
limitedbut explicittoleration. In this instance,however, he failed to reach a compromiseacceptable to
Joseph. The Empress refusedto yield to Joseph'sdemand that an edict of tolerationapply to all parts of
the monarchyand to all heterodoxpersons.
The old systemremainedofficiallyintact. It had,
in a patent of 1778, for the
in fact,been reaffirmed
Bohemianand Austrianprovinces,in whichnon-Catholics were again declared excluded fromoffices,from
theownershipof land,and fromcraftsand trades. But
Kaunitz had persuaded Maria Theresa, despite her
step
deepestconvictions,to take a small but significant
toward religiousliberty. It is temptingto speculate
whethershe mighthave made more substantialconcessions,had she lived ten years longer. The question
for she lived only anothereight
is purelyhypothetical
months;in November,Josephascended to the throne.
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
and demandedthattheChancelleryexplaincertain"very
harshinquisitions"in Bohemia.' Ten days later,Joseph
declaredthatheresywas no longera civil offenseand
repeatedthe prohibitionon compulsorytransportation
ofpersonsaccusedofheresy. In May, 1781,he ordered
local magistratesand clergy to cease searchingfor
heterodoxliterature.
While suppressingthe Theresian"inquisition"in the
westernprovinces,theEmperoralso extendedtherights
of non-Catholicsin Hungary. Althoughthe Hungarian
Court Chancellerydefendedthe old regulations,the
State Council recommendedthat they be abandoned
withoutarousingpublicattention.On January4, 1781,
Josephordered the Chancelleryto connive at certain
illegalreligiouspractices. Complaintsprovokedby the
Chancellery'sstubbornapplicationof the letterof the
law, led Josephon May 22, 1781, to give furtherrelief
to HungarianProtestants. They no longerhad to take
Catholic oaths or participatein Catholic ceremonies,
deviceswhichhad previouslyexcludedthemfrommany
craftsand offices. Protestantpastorswere not subject
to visitationby theCatholicbishops. Protestantparents
did not have to send theirchildrento Catholicschools.
And childrenof mixedmarriages,raised as Protestants
in violationof canonlaw, could notbe takenaway from
theirparents. Josephreaffirmed
the principlethatno
one
should
be
punished
because
of
his religion,so long
RELIGIOUS
OF
III. JOSEPH'S SYSTEM
as he obeyedthe laws.2
TOLERATION
During a visitto the AustrianNetherlands,the EmI
on religiousliberty.
perorremovedthe last restrictions
When Josephbecamethe sole rulerof the monarchy, AfterallowingProtestantsto have a churchin Brussels,
in November,1780, he was convincedthatconfessional Joseph issued in Ghent,June 16, 1781, a resolution
was no longer possible or desirable. In suppressingthe Religious Patent of August 27, 1778.:
uniformity
Moravia thousandsof peasants professingthemselves A personcouldnow takeup a craftor purchaseproperty
ProtestantschallengedVienna eitherto expel themor withouta Catholicpriest'sattestationto the orthodoxv
to changethelaw. In HungarythepowerfulProtestant of his faith. This reformwas precipitatedby the uIIminoritypresentedseveral lists of grievancesto the authorizedreturnof a StyrianProtestant,
namedWaldb
Emperor in the firstmonths of his reign. In the huber,who had been deportedto Hungary. Even the
Austrian Netherlandsthe time was also ripe for a Bohemian-AustrianCourt Chancelleryacknowledged
change. During the Dutch-EnglishWar of 1780-1784, that the man could no longer be punished,since the
it seemed likely that many non-Catholicmerchants Emperor had abolished the crime of heresy. Joseph
mightmove fromportsthreatenedby naval warfareto took this opportunity
to order that "no distinctionbe
the neutralharborof Ostend,but theywould insiston made betweenProtestantand Catholicsubjects except
religiousliberty.
thatthe formerwere not to worshippublicly."
Sympatheticto thesedemands,Josephtranslatedhis
This briefdocumentleftmanymattersunclear,giving
structural rise to a conflictover tolerationbetweenconservatives
conceptionof tolerationintoa comprehensive,
reform. He graduallyabolishedtraditionalrepressive and liberalswithinthegovernment.When local authorpractices,beginningwiththeinquisitorialreligiouscom- ities turnedto the Court Chancellorfor clarification
of
missions. On December31, 1780, the clericalcommis- the Ghent Resolution,this inveterateprotagonistof
sionerswere relievedof theirduties. For a time,the religiousunitygave the narrowestpossible interpretaCourtChancellorpreservedthecivil tion. To a questionfromthe Lower AustriangovernBohemian-Austrian
for theyserved as a special police, in- ment,Count Blumegenrepliedthatthe Emperor'sconcommissioners,
dependentof the local authoritiesand necessaryforthe cessionof social and economicequalitywas meantonly
effectiveoperationof the traditionalsystem. Joseph, for those who were Protestantsde jure at that time,
however,on March 20, 1781, suppressedthe civil com1 G. Frank,Das Tolerantz-Patent
(Wien, 1881), pp. 11-12.
2 Cf. C. F. vonHock and H. I. Bidermann,
missionersand shiftedtheirordinarydutiesback to the
Der osterreichische
local police. In the same resolution,Josephcensured Staatsrath1760-1848 (Wien, 1879), pp. 335-337.
forusingforceagainstnon-Catholics 8 Frank,op. cit.,pp. 12-16.
Moravianofficials
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
JOSEPH'S SYSTEM OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
23
not for Catholicswho became Protestantsafterward.' Tacit tolerationhad several drawbacks,however,as
The Chancellorwarned againstgrantinggeneraltoler- events in Moravia, from 1777 to 1780, had proven.
ation to Protestants. Their religionflattersthe weak- Some Protestantsneverheardof theEmperor'sinstrucnesses of human nature,he asserted,and if tolerated tionsor were toldthatthesewere meantforotherprovit would draw manypersonsfromthe Catholicchurch inces. Others feltthat the Emperor mighteasily rein theBohemianand Austrianprovinces. He accurately voke concessionswhichhe did not wish to promulgate.
predicteda loss of 60,000 to 70,000 in one year. Prot- Meanwhile,the Court Chancellorproposedto interpret
estants,he went on, were addictedto "fanaticismand the tolerationgrantedin Septemberas merelya grace
novelty in double measure." Contemptuousof the which could be revoked at the Emperor's pleasure.6
rightsof God and man, theyhad rebelledagainst the This concession,moreover,appliedonlyto theMoravian
Emperor in Germanyand Bohemia.
Protestants,since elsewherein the Austrian and BoIn the State Council, Baron JohannFriedrichvon hemianprovinces,he alleged,therewere no Protestants.
L6hr and Count Karl Friedrichvon Hatzfeld agreed His ideas were unanimouslydisapprovedby the State
with Blumegen's interpretationof the Resolution. Council. Even the conservativeHatzfeldjudged them
Kaunitz and Baron Tobias von Gebler,on the other contraryto the explicit intentionsof the Emperor.7
hand, thoughtthat the Chancellorhad clearlycontra- This rear guard actionby Blumegen,togetherwiththe
dicted the Emperor's intention. A convert himself, publicationof garbled versionsof the instruction,
led
Gebler argued that tolerationwould assure the loyalty Josephto spell out his ideas in the Edict of Toleration,
of Protestants. At this juncture,Joseph laid before promulgatedon October21, 1781.8
the State Councilan anonymoustreatise,verylikelyby
In the prologuethe Emperorjustifieshis concessions
Gebler,which offereda tolerantalternativeto Blume- as humanitarianand useful; he declares he has issued
gen's instruction.From theexperienceof the Austrian theEdict becausehe is
army, it demonstratedthat Protestantswere trustof the harmfulness
of all coercionof conscience
worthy.5 They served loyallyin the ranks and, like convinced
. . . convinced
also ofthegreatusefulness
ofa trueChristian
Count Dagobert Wurmser,a fieldmarshal,they filled tolerance
to bothreligionand thestate.9
the highestposts. The treatisewenton to explainthat
the Resolutionextendedthe rightof private worship The firstof thesevenarticlesgrantstheprivateexercise
of religion(exercitiumreligionisprivatum)to Lutherand fullcivil rightsto all Protestants.
Josephincorporated
the substanceof thistreatiseinto ans, Calvinists,and GreekOrthodox.10This traditional
an instructionhe sent to the Court Chancellery,Sep- categoryof worshipdid not permitany public display
tember 13, 1781. Rejecting Blumegen's views, the of religion. The Patent expressly forbids meeting
Emperor orderedthat all crafts,academic honors,and houses havingthe externalappearanceof churches,i.e.,
civil officeswere to be opened to non-Catholics. Com- towers,bells,and publicentranceson the street. Wherpetenceand good charactershouldbe the only require- ever non-Catholicsare numerousenough,one hundred
and a
ments for a position. However, since he did not familiesor more,theymay build a meetinghouse
school
and
have
a
pastor.
Otherwise,
they
may
attend
officiallypromulgatethis instruction,the existing rewithinthe monarchy.
strictionsupon Protestantsremainedformallyin effect. the nearestmeetinghouse
In the next article,the Emperorprescribesthat the
Why Josephkept knowledgeof his reformfromthe
at theirown cost,maymainpublicis not entirelyclear. In the instruction,
he does non-Catholiccommunities,
tain
schoolmasters
under
the jurisdictionof the pronotoffera reason,buthe verylikelyagreedwithGebler
vincial
educational
authorities.
He assigns the rightof
thatan announcement
would cause a "sensation." That
alone wouldnotdetertheEmperor,whosereformsoften appointingthe pastor eitherto the local non-Catholic
ignoredpublicopinion. More decisiveperhapswas the congregationor to the local authorities,whicheverasforhis support. The government,
fact that tacit tolerationsuited well his purpose. It sumes responsibility
however,
reserves
to
itselfthe right of confirmation,
relievedProtestantsfromoppressionand restrictedthe
use of statepower to the state'sinterest. On the other whichit exercisesthroughProtestantconsistories.
hand, it did not prompthis Catholic subjects to think 6 For Blumegen's
proposal,September26, 1781, see ibid.,
of changingreligionor shake themin theirfaith. To pp.25-28.
be sure, tacit tolerationcould not remain an official 7 See ibid.,pp. 28-30,for Hatzfeld'sopinionand forJoseph's
October13, 1781.
secretforlong,but it mightenablethe people to realize replyto the Court Chancellery,
See ibid.,pp. 32-40,for two substantially
identicalversions
graduallythattheirEmperorwas raisingProtestantsto of8 the
Edict: the finalversion,preparedin the State Council,
likeequalitybeforethelaw. When a general October20, 1781,and the
something
shorterversionwhich appearedin
patent was issued and swept away anachronisticre- the WienerZeitung,October 17, 1781. The Edict is dated,
strictions,the public would be less likelyto oppose it October13,1781.
9 Ibid.,p. 32.
or to regardit as an invitationto changereligion.
10
4Proposals of the Court Chancellery,August 10, 1781, in
ibid.,p. 18.
5 Ibid., pp. 21-23.
The Patent's irenic spiritis illustratedby Gebler'scorrectionof the firstdraft. He insertedthe neutralphrase,
"separated,"in place of the pejorativeterm,"schismatic,"
referring
to theGreekOrthodox.
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24
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
disorderwould
Various otherproblemsof ecclesiasticalorganization Edict were applied withoutrestrictions,
are dealt with in the next four articles. The Patent break out in Bohemia and Moravia.'2 Supportedby
recognizesthe legal existenceof non-Catholicreligious Hatzfeldin the State Council,he proposedthatofficial
organizations. Disputes in whichtheybecomeinvolved positionsbe reservedto Catholics and that the prodeterminewhenand whereProtesare to be settledwiththehelp of Protestantconsultants, vincialgovernments
accordingto theirconfession'sreligiousprinciples. The tantreligiousexercisemightbe allowed. Soon, indeed,
Patent assigns all stole fees to the Catholic pastor several instancesof disorderwere reportedfromthe
(parocho ordinario) but compromiseson the religious Chrudinerdistrictin Bohemia, where Protestantsapofchildrenof mixedmarriages. The canon- parentlyattemptedto coerce their neighborsto leave
upbringing
ical promises,by which the non-Catholicpartyagrees the church.
Josephreactedto this intemperance,
not by suspendto raise all children in the Catholic religion, are
abolished. Instead, if the fatheris Protestantand the ing the Edict but by indicatingpreciselyhow it should
motherCatholic,the boys are to be raised Protestant, be carriedout. In a resolutionof December31, 1781,13
the girls Catholic. If the fatheris Catholic,all the he outlinedthe methodby which religiouspreferences
childrenare to be raised Catholic. The Edict expressly should be declared. Protestantswere to come indiin favor of Catholics,"a vidually beforespecial commissions. When the preconsidersthis discrimination
scribed minimumnumberof non-Catholicswas regisprerogativeof the dominantreligion."
civiland politicalliberties, tered in a district,a Lutheran or a Calvinistparish
The last article,concerning
authorizesa dispensationto non-Catholicswho wish to could be formed. Group or mass declarationswere
purchasehouses and property,to join gilds and town prohibited,for they easily led to the intimidationof
to receiveacademicdegreesand positions Catholicsand engenderedconflict.
corporations,
According to the same resolution,violence due to
in the civil service. In requiringa "dispensation,"this
article seems ambiguous. On the one hand, it seems religiousdisagreementwas to be treatedas a common
to implythat the Emperormightwithdrawthese con- policematter. Catholicsand Protestantswereforbidden
cessions at will. For he leaves intactthe town,pro- to discuss religionin tavernsand in otherpublicplaces
vincial,and universitylaws whichdeny the aforemen- and were not to disturbone another'sworship. The
tioned rightsto Protestants. On the otherhand, the resolutioncommandedthe clergyto refrainfromconthecivilauthoritiesnot to show
Edict's prologueand its generaltenorsuggestthat the troversyand instructed
in non-Catholicreligiousaffairs.
Emperorrecognizesthe new libertiesas naturalrights prejudiceor to interfere
Bohemianofficials
attempted
and intendsthem to be permanent.1"The document Despite thisinstruction,
in
withthe
To
to
preserve
religious
uniformity
province.
the
dispensations
to
grant
orderslocal authorities
out hindrance,takinginto considerationonly the com- delay promulgationof the Edict, they prepared only
and Christianmoralcharacterof can- Germancopies of it, althoughmostProtestantsin their
petence,integrity,
didates. Should a non-Catholic'spetitionfor an office jurisdictionunderstoodonly Czech. This bureaucratic
or the like be rejected,an explanationmustbe sent to sabotage so infuriatedJoseph that in January,1782,
and thenceto the Emperor. he orderedthe governor,Prince von Fiirstenberg,to
the provincialgovernment
hoursto undergo
set out forVienna withintwenty-four
II
in his duties. When thesituation
a thoroughinstruction
In applyingthe Edict, the Emperorshowedthe sin- had not improvedby July,the governorwas dismissed
cerityas well as the relativelybroad scope of his toler- from his office. Thereafterthe authoritiescomplied
ation. He attemptedto ensureto Lutheransand Cal- withinstructions
concerningthe Edict.
viniststhe religiousfreedomdefinedin the Edict, while
Elsewhere, the Edict was applied withoutserious
theCatholicchurchfrominjury. In realizing difficulty.14
protecting
Within a year, over 70,000 Protestants
the formerobjective,he had to cope with obstruction registeredin the Bohemian and Austrianprovinces.15
fromprovincialofficialswho shared the point of view Slowly, parishes were organized and churches conof many Catholic landlordsthat Protestantismwould structed. In Vienna, prior to the Patent,Protestants,
cause unrest among the peasants. Shortlyafterthe
12 See G. Frank,Das Toleranz-Patent
(Wien, 1881), pp. 41concessionsbecameknown,CountHeinrichFranz Rotfor Rottenhan's
43,
noteto the Emperor,October20, 1781.
tenhan,a councillorof theguberniumin Prague, voiced
13 Ibid.,pp.65-68.
the anxietiesof the Bohemian governmentthat if the
14
to
clarifiedthe Edict's relationship
"1Joseph neverofficially
law of the monarchy.Count Blumegenadthe fundamental
vised him to declarepubliclythat the Edict merelyconferred
privilegeswhich could be revoked at the monarch'swish.
Joseph refused without giving a reason. His successor,
Leopold II, maintainedthat the Edict could be altered,for
law; and he suppressedit
it was not part of the fundamental
he regardedthe
in Belgium. For otherpartsof the monarchy
Edictas permanent.
of the Edict in
Cf. ibid., pp. 56-58, for promulgation
Tyrol, where no Protestantsregistered. J. Hofer, "Zur
Kaiser JosephsII. in Tirol,"
Geschichtedes Toleranz-Patents
HistorischesJahrbuch47 (1927): pp. 500-525,demonstrates
but the clergydid
that the Edict was officially
promulgated,
not make it knownto the peasants.
15 According
to Frank,op. cit.,pp. 79, 83, therewere 73,722
Protestantsregisteredby the end of October,1782; 107,454
were registeredby December,1785. The populationof these
provinces
was about8,000,000.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
JOSEPH'S SYSTEM
OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
25
about 3,000 in number,had worshipedin the embassy cessions,it was chieflydue to insufficient
financialsupchapels of Holland, Sweden, and Denmark. In 1783 port. Local congregationshad to depend for funds
they bought at auction a suppressedconventon the upon their own membersor upon gifts from North
Dorotheagasse and built two churches. By 1788, in Germany. The governmentdid not contributeto the
Bohemiaand Austria,non-Catholics
had established150 supportof the pastors or teachers. The Edict, moreparishes.1" In some instancesthe government
assisted over, assigned to the Catholicpastor the stole fees for
themwithland and buildings.17
marriages and burial ceremoniesperformedby the
Existing consistoriesin Teschen and Hungary tem- Protestantclergy.21 This financialdisadvantagewas
porarily supervisedthe new parishes. In 1784 and consistentwithJoseph'spolicyof treatingthe tolerated
1786 the Emperorestablisheda permanentadministra- churchesas privateassociations. In otherrespects,the
tion for the westernprovinces,consistingof two con- Lutheransand Calvinistsfoundrelativelylittlereason
sistories,a Lutheranand a Calvinist,locatedin Vienna, to complain about the Emperor's applicationof the
whose officers
were salariedby the state. He, however, Edict.
appointeda Catholicas presidentof both. Local conAlthoughJoseph,in principle,stood for a general,
gregationswere to selecttheirpastors,preferably
from uniformsystemof religious liberty,he did alter his
withinthe monarchy. If necessary,theycould choose policiessomewhataccordingto local circumstances.In
foreigncandidates,butnotfromSaxony or Prussia. In the Austrian Netherlands,loud protestshad met the
any case, approval of the gubernialgovernmentwas Patentin 1781. There were no nativeProtestants,but
necessary. Superintendents,
responsibleto the con- theBelgiansfearedthatnon-Catholicimmigrants
would
sistoriesin Vienna, supervisedthe doctrineand con- be attractedinto the provinceby the opportunityto
duct of pastorsand teachers,as well as the administra- enterofficialpositions,professions,
and crafts. Kaunitz
tion of churchproperty.'8 The Emperorapprovedthe gave assuranceto theBelgianEstates thatnon-Catholics
legal code in use in Protestantcommunitiesin Poland would not be appointedto officesin the province.22In
as a model for a projected code for Lutherans and 1790 Leopold II confirmed
thisCatholicmonopoly.23
Calvinistsin themonarchy.19
In Trieste,the Patent itselfadded littleto the rights
Althoughintegratedinto the administrative
structure already possessed by the Protestantcommunity. It
of an authoritarian
state,the non-Catholicchurcheshad did, however,encourage the Protestantsto press for
a large measureof self-government,
more than did the the public worship enjoyed by the Greek Orthodox.
establishedchurch. The governmentdid not attempt The immediateissue was whetherthe Protestantchurch
to "reform"theirliturgy. Nor did it concernitselfwith mighthave a churchtowerand bells and an entranceon
their church architectureand decoration,devotional thestreet. The deeperconcernof the Protestants,
howliterature,
sermonsand catecheticalinstruction,
and cler- ever,was for greaterprestige. Mostlymerchantsand
ical discipline. The government,moreover,did not representatives
of banks and shippingfirms,they dein the educationof the Protestantclergy. No sired that their legal status be equal to the Greeks.
interfere
facultyof Protestanttheologyexistedin the monarchy, Their petitionwas seconded by the governor,Count
althoughseveral high officialsin Vienna desired one. Karl von Zinzendorf,and a majority of the State
The government
had to permitcandidatesforthe Prot- Council. Zinzendorfpointedout that the Protestants
estantclergyto studyabroad,chieflyin Dutch or Ger- owned severalof the city'smost highlyregardedbusiman universities. Catholic seminarians,in contrast, ness firms. There was no doubt,he argued,thatif the
could studyonly withinthe monarchy,wherethe gov- requestwere granted,more Protestantswould come to
ernmentexercised strictcontrolover professors,pro- Trieste from Germanyand Venice. Apparentlythis
gramsof study,and textbooks. Protestantsfurtheren- reasoningconvincedJosephforhe approvedthepetition
joyed considerableautonomyin their secondaryand in January,1782.24
schools. Provincialschoolboards,however,
elementary
The Emperor also extendedhis policy of toleration
supervisedthe curriculumand the methodsof teaching. to non-Catholicsoutside the monarchy. An enthusiWhere separate schools were not feasible,the govern- astic believerin populationism,
he carriedon a rather
ment provided common schools, removingfrom the large colonizationprogram. Austrian agents in Gerschool programand the textbookswhatevermightof21 Frank, op. cit.,p. 61.
fend the childrenof toleratedconfessions.20
22 Kaunitz to Starhemberg,
February 2, 1782, in Hanns
If Protestantssometimescould not enjoy these con-
Schlitter, Die Regierung Josephs II. in den /Osterreichischen
16
17
P. von Mitrofanov,
Joseph II. (Wien, 1910), p. 718.
For the government's
assistanceto Protestantsin Salz-
kammergut,cf. Frank, op. cit.,p. 89.
18 Mitrofanov,op. cit.,p. 718.
19 Frank,op. cit.,p. 111.
20 G. Wolf, Das Unterrichtswesenin 6sterreich unter Kaiser
Joseph II. nach einer Darstellung von Joseph von Sonnenfels
(Wien, 1880),p. 25.
Niederlanden
(Wien, 1900),pp.21-22.
23 Eugene Hubert, Atude sur la condition des protestantsen
Belgique depuis Charles-Quint jusqu'a' Joseph II (Bruxelles,
1882),p. 144.
24CourtResolution,
January9, 1782,in Wien, Hofkammerarchiv,Litorale, Fz. 26. The Protestantsprosperedin the
1780's and early 1790's because of Austria'sneutrality
during
the AmericanWar and the militaryuse of the portduringthe
TurkishWar, 1788to 1790.
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26
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
many,especiallyin the Rhineland,recruitedProtestant of a Protestantpetitionfor a meetinghouse.29In Janas well as Catholic settlersfor the easternprovinces. uary, 1788, Vienna precipitately
approvedthe measure
includedreligiousfreedom,along with and continuedto give thehard-pressedreformers
The inducements
strong
exemptionfrommilitaryserviceand taxes. The coloni- moralsupportuntiltheirfinaldefeat.30In thiscontrozations were generallysuccessfulalthoughnot up to versy Joseph opposed his brother,ArchbishopMaxithe government'sexpectations. Several hundredrefu- milian,who ruledtheadjacentelectorateof Cologne.
gees from Switzerlandmoved to Belgium and ConReligious toleration,as Kaunitz had foreseen,restance25; and in Transylvania,ProtestantGermans duced religious antipathies,and cooperationbetween
villages.26 But settlersin Galicia Catholicand Protestantstatesbecameeasier.31 Ironicfoundedtwenty-four
and in Hungary did not adapt well to the inhospitable ally, however,it was Prussia, not Austria,who beneto deter- fited. WhateveradvantageJosephmighthave gained
theyencountered.27It is difficult
surroundings
mine whetherthe new policy staunchedthe trickleof was lost throughother,more aggressiveeffortsto inespeciallyfromBohemia, crease Hapsburg power in the Empire. In particular
illegal Protestantemigration,
in 1784 and 1785,to annex Bavaria,
Moravia, and Slovakia. It at least preventeda mass his secondattempt,
migrationlike thatof the ProtestantsfromSalzburg in aroused Protestantand Catholicprincesalike, driving
them togetherin 1785 into FrederickII's League of
1733.
The state also made use of tolerationin its foreign Princesagainstthe Emperor.32
policy. As early as 1764, in a reporton Hapsburg
III
policyin the Empire, Kaunitz had argued for systemWhile
sincere
demonstrating
respectforreligiousdisatically furtheringreligious tolerationin Germany.28
The fanaticalantipathyof Protestantsto anythingre- senters'consciences,Josephnonethelessneverlost sight
he wrote,couldtherebybe lessened. of theneeds of the establishedchurch. Afterall, it was
latedto Catholicism,
The cohesionof the ProtestantEstates would tend to an indispensablepart of the apparatusof the state, a
whose functionwas
weaken,since theirreason forbeingwas to defendthe civilas well as religiousinstitution,
would to createan inner,moralcontrolover humanbehavior
evangelicalfaith. Small Protestantprincipalities
feelless need forthesupportof Prussia and would per- thatthe law could not reach. Reason of state,as well
haps beginto fearits predominance.The trueinterests as familytraditionand personalconviction,inducedthe
of the small states, Catholic and Protestant,lay with Emperor to safeguardthe dominantposition of the
Austria who was the chiefguarantorof the imperial Catholicchurch. Not onlydid he insiston the Edict's
regulationsrestricting
theactivityof toleratedchurches,
constitution.
During Maria Theresa's lifetimethis aspect of for- but he also set new, and more stringentrequirements
as one of theirmembers. And he dealt
eign policyhad not receivedmuchconsideration. She forregistering
of harshlywithpersonswho refusedto conform. Neither
mightmitigatesomewhatthe rigorof her treatment
non-Catholicsfor fear of reprisalsagainst Catholicsin the Edict, nor the Emperor's subsequenttreatmentof
Protestantcountries. But she resentedremonstrationsnon-Catholics,underminedthe Catholic churchin the
fromthe ProtestantEstates againstthetransplantationsHapsburg monarchy.
and otherrepressivemeasuresas intolerableinterference The Emperor'ssolicitudefor the churchwas not,of
apparentto manyleadingCatholics.
withhersovereignrights. When Josephcameto power, course,immediately
he adopted Kaunitz' pointof view, activelysupporting Joseph'sreformmet with much formalprotest,if not
attemptsat religioustolerationin Catholic Germany. violentopposition,fromthe hierarchyand fromproThe Emperor intervenedin the imperialfree city of vincial estates. Cardinal ChristophAnton Migazzi,
Cologne,for example,where an enlightenedfactionin Archbishopof Vienna, in a memorandumto the Emthe citycouncil,in November,1787, securedapproval peror,October 17, 1781, declared that the Edict was
unnecessaryand harmful.33Like the majorityof the
25Wolfgang Muller (ed.), Briefeund Aktendes Firstabtes hierarchy,
he stronglyfearedthat allowingthe profesMartinII. Gerbertvon St. Blasien,1764-93(Karlsruhe,1957) sion of a non-Catholic
faithwould lead to a mass defec1: p. 3.
in tion fromthe churchand to widespreadreligiousindif26 Cf. F. von Zieglauer,Die politischeReformbewegung
made it knownto
in der Zeit JosephII. und Leopold II. (Wien, ference.34Neverthelesshe dutifully
Siebenbiirgen
1881), pp. 1-65,for Joseph'sreformsin Transylvania.
his clergy.
27 During Joseph's reign, according to Raimund Kaindl,
29 H. Stevens,Toleranzbestrebung
(3 v., Gotha,
derDeutschenin denKarpathenlWndern
im Rheinlandwiihrend
Geschichte
der
to Galicia num- Zeit derAufk1rung(Bonn,1938),p. 58.
1911) 3: pp. 126, 275, 376, the immigrants
30 Ibid.,p. 74.
beredabout16,000;to Hungary,about32,400. Roughly60 per
Germany. 31 L. Ranke, Die deutschenMichte und der Fiirstenbund
mostlyfromsouthwestern
cent were non-Catholics,
28 Adolf Beer (ed.), "Denkschriften
des FiirstenKaunitz," (Leipzig,1875),pp. 70-73.
AOiG48 (1872): p. 70. Cf. G. Kiintzel,FiirstKaunitz-Rittberg 32 Ibid.,p. 269.
33 Cf. C6lestin Wolfsgruber, ChristophAnton Kardinal
als Staatsmann(Frankfurta.M., 1923), pp. 34-36, for the
view that Kaunitz, though personallyinclinedto religious Migazzi (Saulgau, 1890), pp. 727-729,for the full text.
34 For the texts of similarprotestsfromprovincialestates
consultedexclusivelyreasonsof statein relatingit
toleration,
in the AustrianNetherlaixds,
see E. Hubert,Ptude sur la conto his foreignpolicy.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
JOSEPH'S SYSTEM OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
27
Joseph,in fact,did what he could to avert both de- Catholicssuggestedthata person mightenterHeaven
fectionand indifference.Thus, his Edict reservedpub- withoutbelongingto the One True Church. Catholic
lic worshipto the Catholicchurch. It assignedto the resistanceforcedJosephto compromise.WhereverposCatholicpastorthe fees paid for religiousservicesper- sible, Protestantswere to establishcemeteriesof their
formed by Protestantministers. Moreover, he re- own. Elsewhere,theywere to be given isolatedparts
mainedthe civil officialentrustedwithkeepingthe vital of the parishcemeteries.36
statistics,and he announcedall the banns of marriage,
These measurestemptedthe commonman, unaccuseven Protestant. Finally, althoughthe Edict opened tomedto distinguish
betweentheologicaland civil tolercareers to talent,it was not expected to result in a ation,to believe that the Emperor no longer regarded
noticeableincrease in the numberof non-Catholicsin theCatholicchurchas theone,savingreligion. To prethe higheroffices. Mostly peasants and foreign-born vent just this misunderstanding,
Count Blumegenhad
artisans and merchants,the membersof the tolerated recommended,October 20, 1781, that Joseph state
churchesgenerallylackedthewealth,education,political publiclyhis desire for the conversionof non-Catholics
experienceand social connectionsrequiredforadvance- and exhortthe clergyto increasetheirzeal.37 At that
mentin publicservice.
time,the State Counciladvisedagainstthe idea, believTo preventmass defection,Josephfirstphrasedthe ing thatit would stimulatereligiouscontroversy.Since
Edict, not as a generalinvitationto his subjectsto con- the Emperor'sviews continuedto be misrepresented
in
siderchangingtheirreligionbutas a concessionto those Bohemia,he finallydeclaredin a publicstatement,
April
who alreadybelongedsecretlyto the threetoleratedre- 16, 1782, that he was aimingat civil tolerationin the
ligions. Thus when Protestantpeasantswere reported strict sense, not religious indifference.38He denied
attemptingto registerentirecommunities,
Josephpre- that he was pleased by anyone fallingaway fromthe
scribed a methodof individualregistration. No one Catholicreligion,or thatthosewho fellaway would be
was to be admittedto a Protestantmeetinghouse
unless rewarded. He intended,he said, to uphold the One
he had a registration
slip, and thishe could obtainonly and Holy Catholicreligion,whichhe wishedall his subby appearingpersonallybeforea commissionand de- jects would freelyembrace. With the phrase, "One
claringhimselfa memberof the Lutheranor Calvinist and Holy," he underlinedhis Catholicorthodoxy.
church. The commission,
accordingto Joseph'sinstruc- Josephexpressedthis solicitudefor the state church
tions,was to persuadethosewhose motiveswere frivo- by restrictingthe growth of Protestantismin the
lous, or whose convictionswere weak, to returnto the monarchy. Non-Catholicswere strictlyforbiddento
Catholicchurch.35However, no intimidation
was per- proselytizefor converts,whereas Catholics, if they
mittedand the interrogation
had to be brief. Those workedin an enlightened
way,were honoredforbringwho persistedin theirdeclarationwere duly registered ing personsintothe church.39The procedureforjoinand giventhe registration
slip.
ing the churchwas relativelyeasy. A formerCatholic
In reducingthe likelihoodthatmanyCatholicswould could returnmerelyby makinga declarationbeforethe
abandonthechurch,thismethodof registration
lessened pastorand two witnesses. A Protestantwho wishedto
also the relateddangerthattolerationmightencourage join the churchunderwent,in addition,a briefcourse
religiousindifference.Josephcould not avoid raising of instruction
in the Catholicfaith.
the problemsince Catholicsin the eighteenthcentury These precautionary
devices,Josephthought,should
generallyequated tolerancewith the attitudethat doc- sufficeto maintainthe preeminenceof the Catholic
trinaldifferences
were unimportant.Hence, the Edict church. Withina year,however,the numberof regisinevitablygave a misleadingimpression. In making trations,over 70,000 in Bohemiaand Austria,
exceeded
Lutheransand Calvinistsequal to Catholicsin so many his expectations. Moreover,he realized that
the relathings,it led somepeopleto believethatJosephregarded tive ease of joining a toleratedchurchwas
awakening
the toleratedreligionsas almost as valid as the Cath- a desireto do so amongpeasants
who otherwisewould
olic. Furthermore,
his strictban on religiouscontro- have been contentwithinthe Catholicchurch.
In issuversy and proselytizing
suggestedthat civil peace was ing the Edict the
Emperorhad not set a terminaldate
more importantto him than Catholictruth. He reinof registration
lest it seem that he was offering
all his
forcedthis impression,when, in March, 1782, he orsubjectsan invitation
to changereligion. Early in 1782,
dered thatdeceased Protestantsbe buriedin the parish
he had rejectedCount Blumegen'sproposalfor ending
cemeteries.He therebysuppressedan ecclesiasticallaw,
excludinghereticsfromsacredground,whichinculcated registration.But in the spring,1782, Pius VI, during
belief in the necessityof being a member in good an otherwisefruitlessvisitto Vienna,reachedan understandingin thechurch. Openingthecemeteriesto non- standingwith Josephabout restrictingdefectionfrom
ditiondes protestants
en Belgique (Bruxelles,1882), pp. 118132.
35 Ordinance
of January25, 1782,in G. Frank,Das ToleranzPatent(Wien, 1881),p. 71.
36
Ibid.,pp. 101-104.
37 Ibid.,p. 44.
38
Ibid.,pp.77-78.
39 Ibid., p. 75.
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28
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
observinga moral code
the church.40Finally,in December,JosephAuersperg, peace-lovingpeople, faithfully
the enlightenedbishop of Gurk, with support from based on the Ten Commandments.46Since they reKaunitz and Martini,persuadedthe Emperorto set a garded religionas a purely spiritualactivitywithout
In any case, need of clergyor the authorityof any visible church,
terminaldate (terminuspraeclusivus).
for theyworshipedin theirown homes.
opportunity
Josephfelt that a year was sufficient
Their refusalto attendprescribedCatholic services
non-Catholicsto make theirdecisions. Out of respect
harshmeasures
to adoptsurprisingly
for freedomof conscience,he did not entirelyclose led thegovernment
but he attemptedto discouragethe weak- against them. AlthoughBishop Hay's officialinvestiregistration,
willedand frivolous.42As of January1, 1783,Catholics gation exoneratedthem of any suspicion of the imit confirmed
wishingto changeto a toleratedreligionwere required moralityoftenraised against sectarians,47
in the old thegrowingimpressionin Vienna,in March, 1783,that
to undergoa six-weekperiod of instruction
religious
faith. A Protestant,in contrast,who wished to join the Deists were eitherlatentlyrevolutionary
the Catholicchurchdid not have to undergoa similar fanaticsor cleverlyusing the cloak of religiousliberty
trial in the faithhe was about to leave. An exception to escape churchfees and taxes. Their obduratenonso engrossedthe Emperor that he talked
to the Emperor'srespectforfreedomof consciencewas conformity
his frequentrefusalto allow monksor prieststo declare about nothingelse for two days, even arguing with
of the sect.48 He attemptedto resort
themselvesnon-Catholics. Several who attemptedto representatives
to thelegal fictionused withthe Hussites. The Deists,
do so were put intoprison.43
Persons who did not registerin one of the three however,absolutelyrefusedto registeras Lutherans.
toleratedchurches remainedlegally Catholics. This Finally, on March 8, 1783, his patience exhausted,
especiallyin BohemiawhereHussites, Joseph ordered the young men conscriptedinto the
caused difficulties
Kressl, were more numerousthan army, the other adults transportedto Hungary and
Baron
to
according
Lutheransand Calvinists.4 But theHussiteswere per- Transylvania,and the childrenplaced with Catholic
mittedto formparishesof theirown if theyregistered guardians.49His advisersalluded in vain to the irony
as Lutherans. Mennonites,who settledin Galicia in of adoptingthe verysame measureshe had condemned
1784, were treatedin like manner.45The government in 1777 when he threatenedto abdicateratherthan be
felt that it could grant tolerationby this legal fiction associatedwithhis mother'soppressivepolicy.
Christiansand subThe Emperorsoon had to reconsiderthe stepshe had
because thesesectswere trinitarian
taken. Deists continuedto grow in number during
mittedto the authorityof a Protestantconsistory.
Othersects,however,were muchless tractable. The the springof 1783, until,withseveralhundredpersons
Czech peasantry,isolated from the German-speaking involved, their transportationbecame an expensive
aristocracyand middle classes, poorly educated, and undertaking. Furthermore,those who were sent to
neglectedby the clergy,occasionallyspawned curious Transylvaniacould not easily assimilatewith Magyarreligiousmovements. Several of these came to light speakingUnitarians. These practicalproblems,as well
led
reputation,
whenthe Edict was promulgated.The mostimportant as perhapsanxietyabouthis enlightened
sect,foundin severalvillagesnear Pardubitz,Bohemia, Josephto investigatepersonallya contingentof these
werecalledDeists byBishopHay ofK6niggratzbecause peasantsen routethroughHungary. He assured himthey professeda simple faithin one God and in the self that they were not really Deists and Israelites.
of the soul. They denied the Trinity,the Rather they had been misled partlyby stupidityand
immortality
divinityof Christ, and the divine inspirationof the ignorance,partly also by frivolityand restlessness.
Bible. Though superstitious,they were a docile and They admittedto himthattheyreallywantedto live and
die as Catholics. Hence, May 30, 1783,Josephdecided
40H. Schlitter, Die Reise des Papstes Pius VI. nach Wient, that the Deists shouldbe leftin peace as long as they
Fontes Rerum Austriacharum47 (Wien, 1892), Part I, p. 177,
did not voice their dangerousopinionsin public. If
for the papal note, April 10, 1782, which calls Joseph's civil
professedDeism,he shouldbe beaten,
toleration "an unheard-of novelty in a Catholic state" and anyonestubbornly
specificallycondemns permittingCatholics to change religion; "not because he was a Deist, but because he called
and p. 181, for Joseph's reply, April 13, 1782, justifying the himselfone, withoutknowingwhat it reallymeant."50
Edict but adding that it is not intended to incline Catholics
toward apostasy.
41 Frank, op. cit.,p. 79.
42 See ibid., pp. 80-83, for a decree of February 21, 1783,
which regulated in detail the six-week instructions. Also, cf.
(Wien,
G. Losche, Von der Dilduniig zur Gleichberechtigtulng
1911), pp. 172-180, for changes of religion after the terminal
date and p. 217 for statisticson the early nineteenthcentury.
43 Ibid., p. 210. Also S. Brunner, Die theologische Dienerschaft (Wien, 1868), pp. 440-441.
44 Cf. Hock and Bidermann, Der osterreichischeStaatsrath
1760-1848 (Wien, 1879), p. 368, for Baron Kressl's opinion.
45 Ibid.
46 Detailed reports by enlightened Protestant eyewitnesses
concerningthe Deists and a similar sect, the Abrahamites, are
foundin A. L. Schlozer, Staats-Anfeigen 5, 17 (1783): pp. 7-11,
and Friedrich Nicolai, Allgeneiie Deuitsche Bibliothek 54
(1783): pp. 629-633.
47 Schlozer, op. cit.,p. 8.
48 Cardinal Garampi, papal nuncio in Vienna, to Pallavicini,
March 8, 1783, in Schlitter, op. cit., Part II, p. 172.
49 For the text of the decree of the Hofkriegsrat, March 11,
1783, see Allg. Deut. Bibliothek 54 (1783): pp. 625-629.
50 Resolution, May 30, 1783, in HHSA,
Staatsrat Protokolle,
II, 1885.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
JOSEPH'S SYSTEM
OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
29
JosephtreatedDeism, not as heresy,whichthe law no and otherirrationalmotives,not by practical,if erronelonger recognizedas criminal,but as disobedienceto ous religiousreasoning.
thecivillaw regulatingmembership
in thefourchurches.
IV
In 1785 and 1786 Josephagain repressedsectarians.
In
many
ways
Joseph
treated
theJewsmoreliberally
For calling themselvesDeists, several Moravian peasthan
the
sectarians.
Since
the
Middle
Ages, Austrian
ants receivedtwenty-four
blows each. The Emperor
Jews
had
lived
from
apart
Christians,
usually in selfthreatenedthat, if they stubbornlypersistedin their
contained,
highly
orthodox
communities,
excludedfrom
error and refusedto take part in the worship of a
most
occupations
and
from
owning
immovable
proptoleratedconfession,he would deport them to Hungary.51 The Moravian sectarians of 1786 denied a erty.55As elsewherein the ChristianCommonwealth,
personal God and hence, implicitly,a final judgment. they were legally residentaliens ratherthan citizens.
By the reasoningof the age, they were holding sub- Maria Theresa's attitudetowardJews had been harsh,
versive,as well as immoralprinciples. On this occa- principallyon moral and religiousgrounds. Although
sion, in 1786, Josephcontrastedthe Bohemian Deists she grantedfavorsto those who establishedfactories,
of 1783, who had a God withoutreligion,i.e., without she carefullymaintainedthe traditionalrestrictions.
ecclesiasticalorganizationor cult, with the Moravian Josephalso personallydislikedthe Jews; but for their
Deists, who had a religionwithoutGod.52 With this greatersocial utility,he wantedto makethemcitizens.58
comparisonJoseph summedup the kinds of religious He, therefore,took the firstsignificantsteps toward
erasingthe distinctions
betweenthemand his Christian
practiceoutsidethe scope of his tolerance.
ects.57
subj
Many of the Emperor's enlightenedcontemporaries
This utilitarianspiritpervadeda comprehensive
resoprofessedto be scandalized by his treatmentof the
lution, May 13, 1781, which Joseph dispatched to
Deists and other sectarians. He seemed to belie the
severalchancelleriesforstudy. As the prologuestates,
principlesof natural law on which they thoughtthe
this "policy paper" aims at makingthe Jewishnation
Edict was based. There is, however,no serious inusefulto the state. To this end, it restrictsthe Jewish
consistencyin Joseph'spolicy. It rests upon the dis"national language" to religiousservices and requires
tinctionin Germannatural-lawjurisprudencebetween
all legal communication
to be in the officialprovincial
freedomof conscience,which is absolute,and freedom
languages. It allows the Jews the same educational
of religiousprofession,
whichis limitedby the rightsof
opportunities
as othercitizens,eitherin schoolsof their
othersand the needs of the state. Thus, on the one
own or in thepublic (Christian) schools. And it opens
hand, Joseph denied the sectarians' right to profess
new areas of employmentto them: farming,several
publiclytheirreligiousbeliefs. His educationhad incrafts,commerce,and manufacturing.Finally,it supspired in him the convictionthat sectarianfanaticism
presses all distinctionsin garb and other humiliating
is oftenharmfulto thestate.53In 1783 Josephexplained
laws (geistniederschlagende
Zwangsgesetze).
that he was transplantingthe Deists to preventthe
Joseph
incorporated
these
ideas intoseveralprovincial
spread of a "false doctrinethat disintegratessociety"
of
patents
toleration
the
which,
while revolutionizing
(so gemdhligenIrrlehre). If allowed to remain in
legal
status
of
Jews,
differed
from
the
Edict
of
TolerBohemia,theywould encourageotherpeasants to imiation in not obtainingthroughout
the entiremonarchy.
tate theirnonconformity.
The reformdid not extendto Tyrol, Styria,Slovenia,
On the otherhand, in repressingDeism, Josephreand Carinthia,whichtraditionally
excludedJews. The
spected the individualsectarian'sconscience. In Depatentsof November2, 1781,forBohemia,and of Jancember,1782, he reprovedthe BohemianGuberiumfor
uary 2, 1782, for Lower Austria, confirmedcertain
its "violence,"that is, for questioningpeasants so as
local rights, such as, existing restrictionson the
to forcethemto professtheirerroneousbeliefsand then
numberof Jewish residents. The patent issued for
arrestingthem. He orderedthat such peasantsbe rein
Lower Austriapermitted
Jewsto residepermanently
leased from prison. And, in his resolutionof May
Vienna only if they performeda useful service,pos30, 1783, prescribingblows for thoseprofessingDeism
sessed at least 10,000 gulden, and paid a special
publicly,he strictlyforbadeany investigationinto the Toleranz-Tax.58 Triestewas also
barredto poor Jews,
peasants' private opinions. In any case, Joseph did
but its wealthyand assimilatedJewishpopulationennotbelievethatDeism was a matterof conscience. The
Deists,he thought,
were "enthusiasts"movedby caprice
55The mannerof segregationwas not uniform.In Vienna,
Jewswereconfined,
not to a ghettobut to particularbuildings.
Cf. G. Wolf, Geschichte
der Judenin Wien,1156-1876(Wien,
51S. Brunner,Die theologische
Dienerschaft(Wien, 1868), 1876),p. 72.
p. 440.
56 CourtResolution,
June15, 1786,in P. Mitrofanov,
Joseph
52 Ibid.
II. (Wien, 1910),p. 720.
53Cf. C. A. Beck, "Kern des Natur- und Volkerrechtes," 57Accordingto Wolf, op. cit., p. 77, Josephwas, in fact,
Book II, chap. 19, paragraph6.
more generousto the Jews than was FrederickII who re54 Resolution,
March8, 1783,in HHSA, StaatsratProtokolle, stricted
themto commerce.
58Patent,June2, 1782,in Wolf, op. cit.,pp. 83-89.
I, 949.
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30
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
joyed the public exercise of religionand other rights The Emperor also issued strictregulationsprotecting
accorded to the Greek Orthodox. Galicia, with over the Jewsfrominvoluntary
baptism.
100,000Jews,presentedso manyspecialdifficulties
that
The majorityof Jews dislikedJoseph'seducational
its legislation,almostthe same as Lower Austria's,was policy,for theyconsideredit a serious threatto their
not promulgateduntil 1788 and 1789.51
especially
traditionalway of life. Some communities,
In contrastto its relativelyrespectful
attitudetoward in Galicia, offeredvigorous resistance. Nevertheless,
the Lutheranand Calvinistchurches,the government the movementtoward assimilation,especially in the
showed itselfantipatheticto many importantinstitu- westernprovinces,wenton inexorably. Beforethe end
tionsof Jewishcommunity
life. Josephsuppressedthe of Joseph'sreigna Jewishnormalschool was in operrabbinicalcourts and transferred
theirbusinessto the ation in Prague, with the blessingof the enlightened
local courts. The officiallanguages,German in most circles.6' In Trieste, Herz Homberg, a disciple of
provinces,Latin in Hungary,replacedHebrew in con- Moses Mendelssohn,organizedschoolsin thenew spirit.
tracts,wills, court proceedings,and in education. So The Jews of Trieste,more attunedto the mentalityof
stringentwas this regulationthat Jews were not per- theirChristianneighborsthanwere the Galician Jews,
mittedto studythe Talmud, nor to marry,untilthey acceptedmost of the reformsin language and dress,
reacheda prescribeddegree of proficiency
in German. educationand occupation. But theytoo opposed cerA court decree, December 31, 1781, suppressedthe tain measures,such as the educationof women.
special commissionsfor Jewishaffairsand transferred Jews, on the whole, had less reason to complain
their duties to the provincialgovernments.60Other about Joseph'sattemptto increasetheirvocationalopregulationsconcerningdress, beards, and names at- portunities. Under Maria Theresa, the government
fromother had encouragedwealthyJews to set up factoriesand
temptedto make the Jew indistinguishable
persons.
to engage in wholesaletrade as well as moneylending.
Througheducation,the Josephinists
triedto freethe The Arnsteinfamilyhad becomewealthyand prominent
Jews from "superstition"and to prepare them for as suppliersto the Court. But therewas littleopporuseful service to the state.6'1 The governmentnot tunityfor the ordinaryJew, except in peddling and
only encouragedJewishchildrento attend the public othermenialtrades. Josephopened severalcraftsand
(Christian) schools,but it also placed such schools as professionsto them, such as cobbler,carpenter,and
the Jews themselvesbuilt under the strictsupervision architect. He also encouragedthem to colonize unofpublicschoolauthorities.The official
languageswere developed parts of the monarchy,in the hope that
requiredfor textbooksand classroomexercises. Girls farmingwould "regenerate"them.
Prejudice had too strong a hold on the Christian
also had to attendschool,sometimestogetherwithboys.
Althoughthese regulationsare more pronouncedly majorityto allow muchmore. The gilds,particularly,
utilitarianin tone than the general patentfor Protes- resentedcompetitionfrom outsidersand much more
tants, they sometimes also express the Emperor's fromJews. Josephdid not permitJews to attainthe
humanesentiments.Besides suppressing"humiliating" master's rank or membershipin town corporations
the governmentinstructedlocal and pro- (Biirgerrechte). Nor did he allow them to possess
distinctions,
vincial officialsto teach the people to treat the Jews immovableproperty,a restrictionwhich remainedin
spiritled
likeotherfellowmenand to punishanyonewho molested effectuntil1860. A meddlesomepaternalistic
mills,
renting
from
Jews
forbid
to
government
the
them.62 When it was decided to conscriptJews for
or
the
tax
the
salt
for
market
and
franchise
the
places,
militaryservice, Joseph ordered that their religious
tithe,"until theyhad grown diligentin otheroccupabeliefsbe respected:
tions."65 Althoughthe army was opened to themlate
As a manand as a citizenof the state,theJewshouldbe in Joseph'sreign,it was manyyearsbeforea Jewcould
else. However,he
at thesametasksas everyone
employed
rise high in the ranks or obtain a commission. This
in his religion.63
be disturbed
maynotthereby
to the military
was due not onlyto Jewishindifference
59Patent,May 19, 1788, in ibid., pp. 270-271. Cf. Franz career, but also to the refinedanti-Semitismof the
Kratter,BriefeuiberdenitzigenZustandvon Galizien(Leipzig, Austrianpoliticalelite. Particularly
whose
thenobility,
1786), for a contemporary
description,
sympathetic
to Jewish prerogativeit was to fill the high posts in the army,
emancipation.
were inclinedto regard the Jews as devoid of honor
60 Circular,
November11, 1788,in Mitrofanov,
op. cit.,p. 721.
and courageand hence unsuitedto commandmen.
61 See thisattitude
especiallyin JosephRiegger'sreport,June
Althoughthe Austrian governmentlargely shared
Fz. 85
6, 1786, from Prague, in AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
than tradiRiegger,theson of Paul JosephRiegger,was an influential
ad- thesepreconceptions,
it was more confident
viserto theBohemianGubernium.
noblementhateducationand legislationcould
tion-bound
62 Mitrofanov,
op. cit.,p. 722. The bureaucracy
was poorly
63 Court Decree, December31, 1781,in Mitrofanov,
op. cit.,
disposedforthistask. For an exampleof its anti-Semitic
attitude, cf. Count Rottenhan,in Hock and Bidermann,Der p. 722.
64RZ 1785: pp.689-698.
Staatsrath 1760-1848 (Wien, 1879), p. 375.
osterreichische
65 Patent for Galicia, May 7, 1789,in Mitrofanov,
op. cit.,
For the higherclergyin 1790,cf. Wolf, Geschichte
der Juden
in Wien 1156-1876(Wien, 1876), pp. 95-97.
p. 724.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
EDUCATION AND CENSORSHIP
31
whichhe derivedhis principlesof education. In contrast to Martini,his chiefenlightenedadversary,who
liked the relativelyliberal regimeof the Universityof
G6ttingen,van Swieten, an admirerof Frederick II,
docilityto the state.4
thePrussianuniversities'
preferred
Van Swieten feared that rational inquiry,if entirely
freefromcontrolby the state's censorship,mightlead
IV. EDUCATION AND CENSORSHIP
to philosophicalskepticismor atheism. He conceded,
I
however,that the professorsin the universitiesshould
If the non-Catholics,Jews or Christians,were to not be curbedso long as theydid not express opinions
enjoy theirnew rights,the intolerantmentalityof the contraryto naturalreligionor the welfareof the state.5
people had to undergo a fundamentalchange. For
Van Swieten, in fact, was less anxious about the
this purpose, the governmentused the schools and dangers of skepticismthan about those of orthodoxy.
the censorshipto train the people and especiallytheir He regardedChristianbeliefsas the fruitof credulity,
spiritualleaders,the governmentofficials,schoolteach- impedingprogress in the sciences, creatingsectarian
ers, and clergy,to regardthe dissentersas fellowciti- controversies,
the ruler'sauthorityin
and undermining
zens. Josephinisteducational policies, however, de- thestate. As head of the schools,he aimedat stripping
parted somewhatfromJoseph'sown aim, in that the educationof its Christiancharacter. The studentswere
kind of tolerancetheyoftentaughtweakenedthe Cathoto be taughta systemof values based on "philosophy,"
lic church,particularly
in highereducation. Josephwas that is, on reason ratherthan faith.6 His enterprises
himselfpartiallyresponsible,forin educationhe largely in
favorof naturalreligion,however,were restrictedto
overlooked whatever was not directlyuseful to the what he thoughtthe Emperor and the circumstances
state.' He wanted the schools to produce doctors, would permit. Van Swieten had difficultyfinding
obedientcivil and ecclesiasticalofficials,and peasants zealous followersamong the schoolteachers
and clergy,
and artisanswho could read and write. Until late in
for rationalismwas relativelyweak in the monarchy.
his reign,he neglectedspecificallyChristianreligious
Moreover,the Emperorwas a Christianas well as an
educationin which the churchclaimed a predominant
absolutistwho dislikedsignsof independenceamonghis
role. Some of his ministers,takingadvantageof this
ministers.
inattention,
propagatedin the schoolstheview thatnatBefore Gottfriedvan Swieten assumed his office,
ural moral rectitude,ratherthan serving God in the
November29, 1781, highereducationwas already out
"one, truechurch,"is theessenceof religion.
ofthehandsofthechurch. In the 1750's,commissioned
For this encouragementto religious indifference,
his father
by Maria Theresa to reformthe university,
Baron Gottfried
van Swieten,thepresidentof the Court
had deprivedthe universityfacultiesof theircorporate
Commission on Education (Studienhofcommission),
autonomyand had placed at thehead of each, a director
bears the principalresponsibility.2As virtualhead of
responsibleto the state. The Societyof Jesus lost its
the centralizedschool system,he controlledappointexclusiverightto staffthe facultiesof philosophyand
-mentsto its key positionsand supervisedteachers;and
theologyand eventuallywas excluded fromthem alhe helped determineschool programs,textbooksand
together. In legal studiesthe Jesuitswere replacedby
teachingmethods,and school organization. His power
notably,Paul Joseph
partisansof the Enlightenment,
was, in part,based on his friendship
withthe Emperor. Riegger,Karl Martini,and JosephSonnenfels. These
As a child, van Swieten had come into contactwith
reforms
wereconceivedand executedin accordancewith
Josephwhile his father,Gerhard,was Maria Theresa's
the principlethat"the school is and remainsa political
personal physician. But he enjoyed Joseph's favor
7
matter."
mainlybecause he shared,and vigorouslyapplied, the
althoughpolitiUnder Maria Theresa the university,
Emperor'sbeliefin a rigorouslycentralizedschool syscized, was still largelya Catholicinstitution.She retem, devoted to narrowlyutilitarianpurposes of the
jected CountJohannAnton Pergen's audacious scheme
state.3
of 1770, to bring North German scholars to Vienna,
Althoughraised in a devouthome,van Swieten became a partisanof a rationalisticenlightenment
from 4Van Swieten'sfamiliarity
with Prussia dates chieflyfrom
"regenerate"the Jews. This melioristicattitude,however,lacked a firmbasis in enlightenedreligioussentiment. Many Catholics,includingJoseph,applied the
principlesof Muratorianpiety to the Protestants,to
whomtheyfeltspirituallyakin,but not to the Jews.
his service as Hapsburg ambassadorto the Prussian court,
G. Wolf, Das Unterrichtswesen
in Osterreichunter 1770-1776. He reproachedthe Universityof G6ttingenfor
Kaiser Joseph II. nach einer Darstellungvon Joseph von being "a teachingacademy of sciences." Quoted from A.
Sonnenfels(Wien, 1880), p. 40, for Joseph'sutilitarianism
in Novotny, Staatskanzler Kaunitz als geistige Personlichkeit
a Court Resolution,November30, 1782: "Young people (at (Wien, 1947),p. 215.
the university)are not to be taughtanythingwhich,later on,
5 Strakosch-Grassmann,
op. cit.,p. 90.
theycan use rarely,if at all, for the good of the state."
6 See his instruction
forwritersof textbookson religion,Oc2 G. Strakosch-Grassmann,
Geschichtedes osterreichischentober20, 1781,in Hofkammerarchiv,
Litorale,Fz. 26.
Unterrichtswesens
(Wien,1905),pp.89-90.
7 For thisdeclaration
by Maria Theresa,October2, 1770,see
3 Cf. K. Radlecker,"Gottfriedvan Swieten" (unpublished J. Helfert, Die Griindung der osterreichischen Volksschule
Ph.D. dissertation,
Universityof Vienna,1950), pp. 54-60.
durch Maria Theresia (Prag, 1860) 1: p. 117.
1 Cf.
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32
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
as well as the oftenrepeatedproposalfor a facultyof to its heterodoxopinionsand its attackson the Catholic
Protestanttheology.8 In theologyshe replaced the church. These, he asserts,simplyrepresentthe comJesuitswith membersof other religiousorders. And mon Protestantview: its errorswill not hurtCatholic
she refusedto permitnon-Catholicsto attainthe doc- students;its truthswill enlightenthem.15Van Swieten
of church
torateor to teach.9
stronglyimpliesthatthebook's interpretation
During Joseph'sreign,the universitylargelylost its historyis substantiallycorrect. He thus allows the
Catholic character. Consistentwith the Edict, the studentsto share Schrockh's view that the Catholic
Emperor suppressedthe traditionaloath, dating from churchis merelyone, and notthepurest,amongseveral
the reign of Ferdinand II, which had excluded non- Christianchurches.16 Implicit in these books, as in
Catholics from promotionto the doctor's degree.10 the lectures,is a rationaleof religioustoleration,quite
fromthatwhichinspiredthe Edict.
However,non-Catholicstudentsdid not becomenumer- different
An exception to this secular outlook in Austrian
ous at the higherlevel, chieflybecause candidatesfor
the Protestantministrystill had to study outside the higher education,the trainingof the clergy did not
country. The Emperoralso orderedthatteachingap- come under van Swieten's influencebut under that of
Catholic,Franz StephanRautenstrauch,
pointmentsbe made on the basis of competenceand theenlightened
moralcharacter,ratherthanreligion.11WilhelmBauer, Abbot of Braunau. As Director of the Theological
a Protestant,became directorof the normalschool in Facultyat the Universityof Vienna and a memberof
as the Court Commissionon Education, Rautenstrauch
Vienna. To make highereducationmore efficient
his views on
well as less sectarian,JosephsuppressedCatholiccere- was in an excellentpositionto imnpress
monieswhichhad markedthe openingand close of the a generationof seminarians. His religious outlook
academicyear,Catholicfeastdays,and the Marian Con- was akin to the Emperor's: averse to curialismand to
whichhad directedmuchof the students're- many Tridentinemodes of religioustlhoughtand exfraternity
pression,yet essentiallyorthodoxChristianin belief.
ligiouslife.12
In the last years of Maria Theresa's reign,RautenThe university,no longer specificallyCatholic,bebut a base for strong strauchapplied this point of view to a major revision
came, not a neutralinstitution,
Tridentineaspects of the of theological studies throughoutthe monarchy.17
attacks on characteristically
church. Under theprotectionof the CourtCommission Canon law had already been dropped,in 1767, from
on Education, radical professors,such as Heinrich the curriculum. Rautenstrauch'sreformreduced the
Watteroth and Matthias Dannenmayer,polemicized scholasticphilosophyand dogmatictheologyrequired
against scholastic theology,credulityabout miracles, of students,and it relievedthe coursein moraltheology
the monasticsystem,papal supremacy,and the Inquisi- of its casuistry. The time tlhussaved was given to
tion.13 Typical of van Swieten's patronage of this the study of Sacred Scriptureand to a new science,
critiqueof theCatholicchurchis his defense pastoraltheology. The generaleffectof thesechanges
rationalistic
of thetextbookshe choseforthecoursesin ecclesiastical was to shiftthe focus of theologicalstudyfromtradihistory. In 1786 he defendedthe book by the enlight- tional doctrinalpropositionsstressedby the post-Triened Protestanthistorian,Matthias Schrockh,as the dentinechurchin responseto the Protestantchallenge,
bestin thefield.14 He brushedaside Migazzi's objection to new practical sciences, such as pastoral theology,
which were free from religious controversy,and to
8 For Pergen'sproposalin theStateCouncil,August,1770,cf. Scripture,about whose meaningProtestantsand CathStrakosch-Grassmann,op. cit., pp. 88-89.
olics substantiallyagreed.18 In defendingearnestly
9 In September,1778, Maria Theresa approveda proposal the authenticity
and divine characterof Revelation,
to attainthedoctoratein Law, Philosophy,
allowingProtestants
and Medicine. VigorousprotestsfromMigazzi,Blumegen,and
15Vortrag,November3, 1786, in AVA, Unterrichtsarclhiv,
of Viennamovedher to revokethisconcession;
the University
8.
Fz.
zu Wien
cf. R. Kink, Geschichteder kaiserlichenUn'iversitit
16 Essentially
by Matthias
is presented
thesameinterpretation
nach den Quellenbearbeitet(2 v., Wien, 1854) 1: Part 2, pp.
Dannenmayer,Institutioneshistoriae ecclesiasticae Novi Testa281-286,and2: pp. 586-587.
10H. Zschokke,TheologischeStudien und Anstaltender menti(2 v., Wien, 1788), whichwas adopted,in 1788,in place
rationalism,cf. E.
Kirche in Osterreich(Wien, 1894), p. 150. The of Schr6ckh'sbook. For Dannenmayer's
katholischen
in Freiburg
firstProtestantto receivethe doctoratewas A. L. Schlozer, Sager, Die Vertretung der Kirchengeschichte
the G6ttingenpublicistand historian,at Innsbruck,1783; cf. (Freiburgi.B., 1952), pp. 283-284.
17 For Rautenstrauch's
Febronianand Jansenistic
moderately
G. Frank,Das Toleranz-Patent(Wien, 1881), p. 61.
(Wien, 1943), pp. 17711 JosephII to Blumegen,November29, 1781, AVA, Un- views,cf. E. Winter,Der Josephinismus
1774to 1778,see AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
191. For his reform,
Fz. 1.
terrichtsarchiv,
12 Zschokke,
Fz. 15.
op. cit.,p. 150.
18 Rautenstrauch's
13 Cf. van Swieten'sreport,November8, 1787,exonerating
orthodoxyis apparentin his plan for
evident
Fz. 8. In this polemicaltheology.It showsno traceof the tendency,
AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
thesetwo professors,
ecclesiasticalhistory,to treatcontemporary
case, Joseph reprimandedWatterothand Dannenmayerand in Dannenmayer's
cf. Zschokke,op. cit.,pp.
as unimportant,
in theclassroom. His resolution, doctrinaldifferences
insistedon absoluteorthodoxy
irenicmethodof
43-44. On the otherhand,his constructive,
December29, 1787,is in Kink,op. cit.2: No. 207.
14MatthiasSchr6ckh,Historia religioniset ecclesiaechristi- theologicaldisputation
drew praise in Vienna fromthe Realanae adumbratain usus lectionum(Berlin,1777; Wien, 1786). zeitung April 23, 1782: pp. 259-261.
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EDUCATION AND CENSORSHIP
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
33
the reformsreflectan awarenessof a commonenemy, tion well enoughif he studiedat one of the monarchy's
universities. Moreover,the generalseminaryalienated
rationalism,dangerousto all believingChristians.
When Josephascended the throne,he continuedthe thebishopswho resentedbeingalmostentirelyexcluded
reformbymakingclericaltraininga directresponsibility fromthe supervisionof theirfutureclergy. In 1790
of the state. Until his reign,candidatesfor the priest- Leopold II suppressed the general seminaries and
hood lived in seminariesunderthe bishop'ssupervision allowed episcopalseminariesto reopen. Clericaltrainand attendedclasses at the universities. If they be- ing remainedin otherrespectsthe same; in particular,
longed to a religiousorder,theystudied in theirown it continuedto teach a conceptionof tolerationdrawn
monasteries. Some of the more promisingyoungmen fromevangelicaland patristicsources.
were educatedin Rome in the CollegiumGermanicum- At the lower levels of education,whose confessional
Ungaricum. To bring all these studentsunder his characterJosephgenerallypreserved,the teacherstried
effectivecontrol, Joseph conceived the idea of the to instilltolerancein the commonpeople. Where Jews
general seminary. A productalike of his desire for attended the Christian schools, the governmentatand foran enlight- temptedto break down anti-Semiticattitudesin the
forcentralizedauthority,
uniformity,
ened Catholicreform,the generalseminarywas a state studentbody:
institution,
entirelyindependentof the bishop,in which
It shallbe a concernof theprovincial
and local authorities
all candidatesfor the priesthood,religiousas well as to disposetheChristian
youththrough
theirschoolteachers
secular,were to be trained. Nine of themwere estab- to tolerance,
forbearance,
and brotherly
love,towardtheir
belonging
to an alien religion.24
lishedand placed underclericswho sharedthe Emper- fellowmen
or's pointofview.
The governmenteliminatedfromthe schoolbooks,pasFrom theseseminaries,Josephbelieved,would come sages offensiveto the tolerated religious minorities.
withthe And, it permittednon-Catholicschools wherethe coma new clergy,able to deal moresympathetically
Protestantminoritiesthanin the past. The trainingof munitieswere large enough to supportthem. In disthe studentswas markedby its insistenceon a spiritof trictsof mixed population,however,where one contolerance. The directionscomposedby Rautenstrauch fessionor anothercould not establishits own school,
required that "at every opportunitythe studentsare the existingschool became non-confessional.In such
also to be instructedin Christiantoleranceand to be cases, van Swietenruled,thecustomaryprayerswere to
made accustomedto it." 19 He warned the students be entirelysuppressedand religiousinstruction
was to
for it was contraryto be given outside regular school hours.25 Had these
against religious indifference,
truthand to Christianlove. But, he wenton,
measuresremainedin effect,it would have been easier
The trulytolerantperson,while true to his creed,does to train the studentsin a kind of natural religion.
one as enemiesof Joseph,however,did not intendto give up the connot regardmenwho professa different
or con- fessionalprinciplealtogether,
and virtue;he does nothate,persecute,
God,truth,
even in the mixed school.
demnthem. Ratherhe loves themas his brothers,as In response to a vigorous protest from Cardinal
creaturesof one and thesame God.20
Migazzi, he restoredthe morningand eveningprayers
Studentspreachedon this themeas part of theirtrain- and excused the dissentingchildrenfromthem.26
ing in homiletics.21And theirteachers,such as Pietro
Because the schools were organizedalong religious
Tamburiniat the generalseminaryin Pavia, attempted lines, they mightperpetuatethe ancient hostilitybein theirlecturesto give a religiousjustification
of the tweenProtestantand Catholic. The government,
therenew policy toward non-Catholics. They also encour- fore,concerneditselfwithhow religionwas taught. A
aged in theirstudentsan openmindedattitudetoward fruitof this concernwas the new catechismfor school
Protestantthought. In his textbookof pastoraltheol- use, by the Silesian prelate,Abbot JohannIgnaz von
in 1784, Franz Giftschutz,
ogy, adopted officially
pro- Felbiger, published during Maria Theresa's reign to
fessor at the Universityof Vienna, urged the semi- replace the sixteenth-century
catechism by Peter
nariansto recognizethe outstandingcontributions
made Canisius.27 A revised version of 1777, the Standard
by Protestantsto this branchof theology.22
Catechism,was mass-producedand introducedinto the
Rautenstrauch'stheologicalprogramremainedin use schools the next year. On May 9, 1781, it was preuntilthe middleof the nineteenth
century,but the new scribedfor the entiremonarchy,remainingin official
seminariesdid not surviveJoseph'sdeath. They were
AbbotRautenstrauch
opposedtheEmperor'sprojectin principle,
expensive and, in the opinion of many Josephinists, but had to carryit out,cf. Winter,op. cit.,p. 177.
24 Instruction
superfluous.23The statecould controla cleric'seducafromthe Studienhofcommissionto the Gor2er19 Wiener Kirchenzeitung1784: p. 211.
ische Landeshauptmannschaft,October 20, 1781, AVA,
Un-
terrichtsarchiv,
Fz. 85.
20 Ibid.
25 Decree,August6, 1783,AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
Fz. 85.
21 Some typical
26 Decree,November
sermons,in pamphletform,are in Wien,
3, 1783,ibid.
27 For thehistory
Schottenstift
Bibliothek,
Austriaca,e.g., No. 10.
of thecatechismin Austria,cf. J. Hofinger,
22 A. Posch,Die kirchliche
Aufkliirung
in Graz (Graz, 1937), Geschichte des Katechismus in csterreich (Innsbruck, 1937),
pp. 58,102,169.
and M. Ramsauer,"Die Kirchein denKatechismen,"
Zeitschrift
23 Cf. Zschokke,op. cit., p. 398, for Kaunitz
and Martini. fur Katholische Theologie 73 (1951): pp. 313-335.
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34
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
amongChristians.Rooted
use until 1894. Orthodox in doctrine,it differsfrom closelyakinto anti-Semitism
in its relatively in "superstition,"in the beliefthat the Jewishnation
earliermanuals of religiousinstruction
ireniccharacter. Like Rautenstrauch'stheologicalcur- was still the Chosen People, this overweeninggroup
riculum,the Felbiger catechismshiftedthe student's pride turned easily into hatred of Christians. Since
theycould not express
questions concerning the Jews were a tinyminority,
attentionfrom sixteenth-century
papal authority,indulgences,and Purgatoryto moral their intolerancewith violence,denial of civil rights,
improvementand to new problems,such as unbelief. and other kinds of persecution. They did, however,
believed,by usury
A worthyproductof enlightenedCatholicism,it was exploitChristians,manyJosephinists
calculated to lessen the common man's antipathyto and otherdisreputablebusinesspractices. Intolerance,
whetherJewishor Christian,offendedthe enlightened
non-Catholics.28
as well as his ideal
sentiments
generallyhon- Austrian'shumanitarian
In the classroom,religiousinstruction
ored Felbiger's benign intentionif not his rationale. of social efficiency.Hence, the governmentused the
Some teachers taught catechismfrom a secularistic schools to teach the Jews a kind of tolerance. Joseph
rather than an enlightenedCatholic point of view. himselfaimed at a moderatereform,integratingthe
Hence, during Joseph's reign and for a generation Jews into civil societywhile respectingtheir ancient
thereafter,they neglectedthe orthodox substance of faith and sacred books. Consequently,he had van
the catechism. Preparingtheirlessonswith Protestant Swieten's commissioninstructthe teachers in public
commentaries,they taught the childrena moralistic, schools to excuse JewishchildrenfromChristianinbetweenProt- structionand school prayersand not to disturbtheir
naturalreligionin whichthe differences
estant and Catholic faithvirtuallydisappeared. The religiousconvictions.31He also rejectedproposalsfor
trainingschoolsforteachers,wheretheologicalstudents the suppressionor expurgationof the Talmud.32 In a
asked the chief
also had to take a course in religiouspedagogy,turned similarspirit,theprovincialgovernment
forteachingmeth- rabbi of Prague to inspect the textbooksin use in
to the NorthGermanEnlightenment
ods and absorbedsome of its rationalisticspirit. Wil- Christianschoolsattendedby some Jewishstudents.
Althoughsafeguardingtheirreligion,Josephinsisted
helm Bauer introducedNorth Germantextbooksinto
the central normal school (Hauptnormalschule) in thattheJewsabandontheirculturalghettos. The government'senticementsand reassurances,however,did
Vienna.29
The effectof all this can be seen in the gravamina not easily attractJews to the new educationalsystem,
submittedto Leopold II in 1790, in which several not even in Vienna, Trieste,and Prague. In Trieste,
of fourhundredpersonswas
bishops deplored contemporaryreligious instruction. whose Jewishcommunity
degree of assimilationinto
high
relatively
Accordingto Bishop Kerens,the CourtCommissionon noted for a
Education was responsiblefor the childrenbeing im- the lifeof the cityand forits good Jewishschool,less
bued withnaturalratherthan with Catholicreligion.30 than half of the childrenof school age attendedclass
Cardinal Migazzi complainedthat religiousinstruction in 1786.33 Private tutorsgave the majoritywhatever
in trainingschools for teachersavoided topics contro- educationtheirparentsbelieved they needed. Jewish
vertedbetweenProtestantsand Catholics. Little time aversionto the school arose, not only froman inbred,
was given to teachingabout the sacramentsand other generalizedfearof gentileaggression,but also fromthe
supernaturaltruths. The Cardinal also charged that requirementto use Germanratherthan the "national"
the customaryreligiousexercises in the schools were language. This threatenedJewishreligionas well as
beingomitted. There is littlereason to doubtthatthe culture,since the communallanguageseemednecessary
bishops' assertionswere accurate and that toleration, to preserve the distinctivecorporate identityof the
van Swieten,was firmlyim- Jews as a people set apart by God. The government
as conceivedby Gottfried
of children.
furtherprovokedthemwhen it orderedthat marriage
bedded in the religiousinstruction
It is truethatmostof thiseffortin highereducation licenses not be grantednor the Talmud studied until
were met.34
and in the elementaryschools was directedagainst in- the language requirements
to Jewish excluantipathy
the
Emperor's
Sharing
tolerantattitudesof AustrianCatholics. But the govto respect
inclined
less
was
van
Swieten
siveness,
the
with
ghetto
changing
ernmentconcerneditselfalso
mentalityof the Jews, whose exclusiveness seemed Jewishreligiousbeliefs. His commissionused its inFz.
28 The government
concerneditself chieflywith intolerance 31 Regulation,December,1782,AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
believedthat the 85.
amongCatholics,althoughsome Josephinists
32 See H. Gnau, Die Zensur unterJosephII. (Strassburg,
Cf. below,p.
also neededenlightenment.
Protestantminority
proposalto delete anti-Catholicpas- 1911), p. 133, for the text of an imperialedict,September19,
37, for Rautenstrauch's
the Talmud fromthe censorship.
1789,protecting
sages fromthe Lutheransmallcatechism.
33 Reportby Referentvon Rath, April 8, 1786,AVA Un29 See Migazzi's remonstrance,
April 16, 1790, in Joseph
Fz. 85.
Chmel, "Actenstiuckezur Geschichte des osterreichischenterrichtsarchiv,
34CourtDecree,April13,1786,ibid. In Galicia,consequently,
unterKaiser Leopold II.
Kirchenwesens
romisch-catholischen
Geschichts-Quellenthe majorityof Jews did withoutthe civil marriage,cf. M.
(1790)," Archivfur Kunde 5sterreichischer
Margolis,Historyof the JewishPeople (New York, 1960),
4 (1850): pp.85,89.
30 Ibid.,p. 105.
p. 625.
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EDUCATION AND CENSORSHIP
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
35
II
fluencein the electionof teachersand the preparation
of textbooksto propagatea philosophyof life inspired
During Joseph'sreign,the censorshipas well as the
more by Voltaire than by the prophets. An in- schools,contributed
to the"National Enlightenment."
38
structionof October20, 1781, for example,laid down The censors'specificserviceto tolerancewas to restrain
principlesto guide Jewswritingtextbooksof religion.35 the expression of religious animosity,to permit enThey were to avoid anything"offensive"(anstossig), lightenedauthorsto justifythe reforms,and to defend
such as prejudice,superstition,
or Talmudic casuistry. their writing,if need be, from conservativeattack.
They were to give instruction
in good conductaccord- How the censorshipfunctioneddepended,of course,
ing to "moral philosophy,that is, for men in general largelyupon the Emperor. He appointedits personnel
withoutrespectto the different
religions."
and determinedthe conditionsof its operation. In
This kindof enlightenment
encounteredstrongoppo- principle,the Emperorregardedthe censorship,not as
sitionwhen applied in Galicia, whereJews were about a watchdogof orthodoxyor internalsecurity,but as a
ten per cent of the populationand more attachedto means of raisingthe standardsof public moralityand
theirtraditionsthan in Prague or Trieste. The gov- literarytaste. This led Joseph to insist on a strict
ernmentappointedHerz Hombergas superintendent
of supervisionof the theaterand certaintypesof political
the Jewishschools, an independentsystemparallel to and religious literature. Otherwise he consideredit
the Christian. Imbued with the spiritwhichanimated usefulto give freedomto enlightened
authors: theynot
his chief,van Swieten, he worked vigorouslyto put only supplementedthe schools in educatingthe people
thereformsintoeffect.However,he antagonizedmany but also helped disciplinegovernmentofficialsand the
people by tryingto preventthe study of the Talmud clergyby exposing dishonesty,incompetence,
and disuntil the studentshad masteredGerman, by casting obedience. Moreover, he believed in lighteningthe
doubt on the authenticityof the Bible, and by his formalitiesof censorship,as an aid to the publishing
worldlymannerof life.
industryin the monarchy.39And he agreed with adThe conflictcame to a head when leaders of the visers like van Swieten that learningand scholarship
Jewishcommunity
in Galicia protestedto the Emperor requireda largermeasureof freedomthanhis mother's
against Homberg's "free behavior,"as contraryto re- regimehad permitted.
ligious custom and to the Talmud.36 They requested
The Josephinist
censorshipwas the culminationof a
that the teachersof religionbe exemptedfromHoti- long seriesof reformsthatbroughttheinstitution
under
berg's authority,
to save the people frombeingled into state controland secularizedits function. At the bedisbeliefand immorality.They asked also thatattend- ginningof Maria Theresa's reign,the censorshipwas
ance at school be voluntaryfor girls and the required still an autonomousecclesiasticalinstitutionadminisperiod of educationbe reduced for boys. If granted, teredby Jesuitsat the universityand devotedto prethis petitionwould have largely vitiatedthe govern- servingCatholicorthodoxy. In 1752 a Court Censorment'seffortsto enlightenthe Jews. The commission, ship Commissionwas established,replacingthe unitherefore,stood behind Homberg, adopting his view versity censors. Under the presidencyof Gerhard
that the protestwas simplyan attemptto push aside van Swieten,the commissionbecame exclusivelyan intheGermanschools.
strumentof the state.40 This meant merelya shiftin
Neither the Emperor nor van Swieten appreciated authority,
not a relaxationof the rules. Van Swieten,
the orthodoxJew's convictionthathis religion,more a a devout Catholic, was a severe critic of irreligious
way of lifethana bodyof doctrine,was inseparablycon- writings. His successor,Count Leopold von Clary, a
nected to his "national" language. Germanization man of conservativeviews,continuedhis strictpolicies.
threatenedto disintegratethe Jewishcommunity,
and
In 1781 Josephmade sweepingchanges in the adJews once thrownloose were likelyto be absorbedby ministration,
regulations,and spiritof the censorship.
Christiansociety.37 For the state's greaterefficiency,Clary was replaced
by the Josephinist,Count Johann
however,the governmenthad committeditselfto inte- Rudolf Chotek; more liberal instructions
were given
gratingthis people with the rest of society. This was to the commission; and all provincial
commissions
impossibleunless the Jews masteredthe officiallanguage, purifiedtheirreligiousinstruction
of fanaticism, 38 Oskar Sashegyi,Zensur und Geistesfreiheit
unterJoseph
and gave up certain customs,such as not educating II. (Budapest,1958), is themostrecentand authoritative
monogirls. These reformsdid not, in the Emperor's own graph on the censorshipunder JosephII. For the phrase
nationaleBildung,cf. van Swieten'sVortrag,April 28, 1784,
view, affectthe essentialsof the Jewishreligion.
in Gnau,op. cit.,p. 233.
39Ibid.,pp. 98-99. His policyof economicautarchyled him
36 For the protestsof the Galician Jews,see the reportof
to allow local publishersto reprintforeignbooks withoutthe
the Studienund Zensur Hofcommission,
January27, 1791,in original publisher'spermission. Van Swieten and other
AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
Fz. 85.
Aufklirervigorouslycondemned
thisencouragement
of literary
37 For the apprehension
feltby Moses Mendelssohnconcern- piracy,but theywon protectiononly for the work of local
ing Joseph'semancipation
of the Jews,cf. his Jerusalem,
cited authors.
by Simon Dubnow, Die Geschichtedes jiidischenVolkes in
4 See WilibaldMuller,Gerhardvan Szwieten(Wien, 1883),
derNeuzeit(Berlin,1928),p. 375.
for the eldervan Swietenas censor.
35Hofkammerarchiv,
Litorale,Fz. 26.
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36
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
were suppressedin favorof the Court Commissionin ernmentapproval, the placetum regium,before they
centralizedthe adminis- could be publishedin Austria.44 The Emperor exerVienna. The Emperorfurther
trationin April, 1782, attachingthe censorshipcom- cised this rightto the benefitof the Enlightenment
by
missionto the Commissionon Education. This reform not recognizingpapal condemnationsof the masonic
stressedthe censor's primarydutyto fosterenlighten- orderand of certaintreatisesdefendingtoleration. The
mentamongthepeople.
governmentjealously guarded the placetumn,even exlike a pellingthe papal nuncio,Cardinal Zondadari,in 1785,
The censorshipcarriedout this responsibility
reasonableman."41 The commissionrevised fromthe Austrian Netherlandsfor attemptingto cir"friendly,
books,reducingtheTheresian cumventit.
thecatalogueofforbidden
list of 5,000 titlesto a new list of only900. Books inTowards conservativeAustrian clerics,the governtended for the educated reader were treated more ment was equally strict. It carefullyregulatedtheir
thanthoseforthegeneralpublic. The censors principalweapon, the sermon. In 1781 the Emperor
leniently
forinstance,the Frencheditionof Voltaire's prohibitedpolemicalsermons,a type of preachingdepermitted,
completeworks but not the Germantranslation. The veloped duringthe Counter-Reformation,
that focused
clergyand police were not to search privatepremises on the issues controvertedbetween Protestantsand
forforbiddenbooks. And customsofficialswere to in- Catholics. In the absence of a strongCatholic press,
spect commercialshipmentsof books but not private such sermons in printed versions carried Catholic
libraries.
polemicto a large public. To enlightenedAustrians,
This indulgence, especially towards enlightened this type of instructionseemed ill-suitedto improve
writers,was amplifiedby the Emperor'spolicyof cut- thepeople: fewpreacherswerecapableofgood theologiting the expenses of the censorship. He so severely cal argument,and ordinarycongregationswere unable
reducedits personneland restrictedits jurisdictionthat to appreciateit. Too often,it seemed,the polemical
even importantregulationscould not be effectively sermoncateredto base humaninstinctsand thusnotably
enforced. Van Swieten,moreover,connivedfrequently loweredthe tone of the community'sreligiouslife. It
Joseph usually consistedof a vigorousdenunciationof Protat violationsof the law. Under his protection,
Wucherer,a Vienna publisher,did a good business estantprinciples,spiced withinvectiveand vulgarjests
printinguncensoredor forbiddenbooks.49 It was also at the reformers,
of the
affirmation
and a triumphant
due to van Swietenthatseveralbooks in themanuscript Catholicbeliefsand practiceschallengedby theenemVy.45
copy of the new cataloguewere omittedfromthe pub- In Joseph'seyes,any sermonthat stimulatedreligious
lished edition. Ultimately,in April, 1787, he brought antagonismwent againsthis policyof unitinghis subabout the abolitionof prior censorship. This lax ad- jects in a commoncitizenship.46Hence, he extended
the theprohibition
made it virtuallyimpossibleto prevelnt
ministration
to all polemicsermons,the good as well
anti- as the bad. Abbot Rautenstrauch,Bishop Hay, Witdistribution
of forbidden
books. Even notoriously
ische tola,and otherenlightened
Christianpublications,Johann Pezzl's Jlarokkan
Catholicswelcomedthe Emforexample, peror'sreform,hopingthatit would end the distorting
Briefeand Franz Huber's Briefeaus Rorni,
were printedand sold openlyin Vienna. Enlightelned of Catholicfaithby polemic. It seemed to themthat
of a disputatiouspreacher,stressingthose truthsrejected
writersthus felt little restrainton their freedonm
expression.
by Protestants,oftenneglectedothersmore important
that even in dealing to Christianity.
It is not surprising,therefore,
with irreligiousliteraturethe censorshipwas rather
This ban was enforcedmore effectively
than most
booksincluded censorshipregulations,
liberal. The new catalogueofprohibited
received
because thegovernment
such valuable unofficialassistance. In Vienna, in 1782, a
onlythemostradicalworksof the Enlightenment,
as the collectedwritingsof d'Holbach and Hume and group of enlightenedwriters,led by Leopold A. Hoffindividualtitles by Freret, Helv&tius,Mirabaud, and mann,began to publishcriticismsof sermons. Despite
Lessing.43 Some of these,like Hume's NaturalHistory angryprotestsfromthe bishops,especiallyMigazzi, the
of Religion, were later admittedfor scholarlyuse. governmentencouraged the "sermon critics." For
Joseph did not tolerate atheistic literaturebut van several years they ridiculedinstancesof the clergy's
Swieten, althoughnot an atheist himself,applied the superstition,
silliness,and disobedienceto government
the educatedAustrilaws leniently,therebyfacilitating
rationaleforreligious 44Decree, March 26, 1781,in ibid.,p. 32.
an's contactwithan indifferentist
45 For a notorious example, see Simplizian Haan's sermon at
toleration.
In contrast,the conservativeclergy,the chiefthreat Miihlheim near Cologne, in J. Pezzl, Faustin (s.l., 1784), pp.
to religious peace, were dealt with more strictly. 190 fF. Haan called Luther and Calvin, "apostles of Satan," and
said, "Protestants are certain to be damned."
Austrianlaw requiredthatpapal documentshave gov46 The sermons by A. Merz in the cathedral at Augsburg,
41 Sashegyi,op. cit.,p. 103,quotingTobias von Gebler,1781, despite their evil reputation among the Aufkliirer, typify the
more reasonable sort. For a lengthy list of Merz' sermons,
in theStateCouncil.
42 Ibid.,pp. 123-124.
cf. A. de Backer, Bibliotheque des ecrivains de la Compagnie
de Jesus (3 v., Paris, 1869-1876)2: pp. 411-420.
43Ibid., pp. 115-116.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
EDUCATION
AND CENSORSHIP
37
regulations.47By denouncingillegal religiouscontro- estant worship. In 1787, although Abbot Rautenversy,theyundoubtedlyhelpedinducea spiritof toler- strauch,supportedby the State Council, proposed to
ance intothetoneand contentof thepeople'sinstruction "purify"the Lutheransmall catechismand the hymnal,
JosephlettheProtestantconsistories
fromthepulpit.48
edit,withoutinterNational Enlightenmentlikewise required the cen- ference,theirliturgicalbooks.52 In the followingyear,
of a Saxon hymnal
sorshipto pay close attentionto devotionalbooks that however,he bannedthe importation
of
its
because
objectionable
about
thedominant
passages
fosteredtraditionalCatholic attitudestoward religious
religion.53
for
forbade
several
pamphlets
The
censors
dissenters.
The Emperorlikewiseoccasionallyimposedrestraint
violatingthe ban on religiouscontroversy.J. Christian
Pannich's book, Luthers Katechismus zu allen Ver- on Protestantcriticismof his educationalpolicies. He
was suppressedbecause it slandered Protes- permittedthe Calvinistsin Hungary to mounta lively
ffihrteni,
tants.49 The censors pursued intolerance,not only to propagandain 1788 against the danger of assimilation
its root,"fanaticism,"but also to its seedbed,"super- in the mixed schools. But when a pastor condemned
stition." Hence, they discouraged devotion to the governmentcontrol of Protestant schools, Joseph
Sacred Heart and othertypicalformsof baroque piety. banned him fromthe pulpit. An Austrian Protestant
Instead of the familiarlives of the saints, the public pastor, Georg Michael Eisenbach, had to leave the
was encouragedto read the New Testament's"gospel countryin 1788 for incitinghis parish to disobeythe
on pos- school regulations,and his pamphletcontinuingthe
of love." 50 Josephliftedpreviousprohibitions
sessing or reading vernacular editions of the Bible. attackwas prohibited.54Repressionof this sort,howDuring his reign,the New Testamentbecame readily ever, was rare. Generallypleased with Joseph's reavailable in all the nmajorlanguagesof the monarchy.5' ligious reforms,local Protestantscomposed numerous
forsimple, sermonsand pamphletsin favorof toleranceand other
Typifiedby the Emperor'sown preference
causes.
reasonable,and "evangelical" devotion,the generally enlightened
stance of the AustrianEnlightenment The governmentdesired that the Vienna stage, like
philo-Protestant
inclinedthe censorshipto adopt a benign attitudein the pulpitand the press,contributeto the nationalenapplyingthe Edict of Tolerationto Protestantbooks. lightenment.But since Josephinistaestheticjudgment
pointof view, Protestantsneeded disliked religiousthemes,the Emperor preventedthe
From the Josephinist
withintolerance.
but not as badly as other Christians. stage fromoccupyingitselfspecifically
enlightenment
Under Maria Theresa, Protestantliteraturehad been In the 1760's, Sonnenfelsestablishedin Vienna the
absolutely forbiddenin the Catholic provinces and neoclassicalcanons of taste popularizedin North Gerseverelyrestrictedeven in Hungary and Transylvania. manyby JohannChristophGottsched. These required
With Joseph's accession, Protestantbooks were ad- the stage to promotevirtue and improvethe literary
mittedfreelyinto all provinces where non-Catholics language,as well as entertainthe public. Sharingthis
were tolerated;and afterthe Edict of Toleration,into view, the Emperor denied to playwrightsthe wide
the entiremonarchy. Joseph'slegislation,however,did licensethathe allowed the press. His keen interestin
not allow Catholicsto have ProtestantBibles or devo- thestageled himto reorganizethecourttheater(Burgtional books, although they might read most of the theater),in 1776, into a Germannationaltheater,and
scholarlywritingof non-Catholics. Nor did he allow at timesto intervenepersonallyto improveits quality.
the publicationsof illegal sects. He prohibitedantiHe understoodthe moralisticpurposeof the stage to
Catholic polemic,but he did nothingabout the more include teachingthe virtuesthat dispose a people to
or less lengthyanti-Catholicparagraphsof the cate- be tolerant,particularlyreasonableness,the practical
chism,hymnals,and otherofficialbooks used in Prot- prudencethat opposes fanaticism. Hence, in September, 1779, he allowed a Germanversion of Voltaire's
47 LeopoldAlois Hoffmann,
Wahrheiten
fiirund Mahomet to be presentedat the Burgtheater.55But
Wochentliche
Hoffmann and
in Wien (Wien,
iiler die Prediger
1782-1784);
Cajetan Tschink, Uber Gottesdienst und Religionslehre der
isterreichischenStaaten (Wien, 1784-1786) ; Tschink, Kritische
Bemerkungen iiber den religiisen Zustand der K. K. Staaten
52 Sashegyi, op. cit.,pp. 201-203.
53Decree of December4, 1783,Hofkammerarchiv,
Litorale,
Fz. 26.
54 In exile in Germany,
his maincharge
Eisenbachreiterated
policyof tolerationaimedat subverting
that the government's
the Protestantchurches. Cf. the summaryof his violent
"Die vom Kaiser JosephII. in seinenStaaten zwar
pamphlet,
50 Cf. decree of August 10, 1781, in Sashegyi, op. cit., p. 178.
gegriindete,von der R6mischen Hierarchie untergrabene
51 For a briefhistoryof this prohibition
in canon law, see Toleranz ein einer Species facti dargestellt,mit mehr als
und dem Kaiser zugeeignetvon
E. Amann,"Versions de la Bible," DTC (Paris, 1946) 15: hundertUrkundenbeleuchtet,
Opferder R6mischenHierarchieund der
pp. 2738-2739. For Joseph'sdecree,August10, 1781,permitting einemnochblutenden
"the commonpeople to have any Catholic Bible" and for politischenKirche,"in A llg. Deut. Bibliothek97 (1791): pp.
in 1781,see C. Wolfsgruber, 513-526.
to thisreform,
Migazzi'sopposition
55 An authoritative
censorship
monographon the Josephinist
Christoph Anton Kardinal Migazzi (Saulgau, 1890), pp. 591of the theateris K. Glossy, "Zur Geschichteder Wiener
593.
(Wien,1786-1788).
48 0.
Sashegyi,Zensur und Geistesfreiheitunter Joseph II.
(Budapest,1958),p. 185.
49 H. Gnau,Die ZensurunterJosephII. (Strassburg,1911),
p. 124.
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38
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
he did not believe that his policy of religiousliberty
was suitable dramaticmaterial. The theatercensor,
Franz Hagelin, reflectedJoseph's personal view, in
statingthat religion is too sublime for the profane,
especiallythe comic theater. Hence, religiouspersons
and objects were not to be representedon the stage.56
the Christianreligion
Nor were opinionscontradicting
deists,or
to appear in theguise of atheists,freethinkers,
heretics.57Haigelin,moreover,asserted that religious
toleranceshould not constitutethe principalthemeof
a piece:
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Also that summer,Joseph criticizedthe censors for
overlookingseveral radical propositionsdefendedby a
student,Jakob Kofler, at the Universityof Vienna.
The Emperor objected particularlyto the student's
argumentsjustifyingthe right of resistanceto despotism:
These propositions
constitute
a dangeroustheoryfor the
statein the present,almostuniversalfrenzyfor freedom
and independence.The censorsshould be much more
cautiousin thefuture.59
The welfareof the state was Joseph's touchstoneof
No subjectshouldbe presentedwhose chiefthemewas policy. When libertyof expressionseemedto endanger
as to the public security,he graduallytightenedthe censorship.
eitherChristiantoleranceor . . . indifference
are scandalouson the
formsof cult; suchmatters
different
Joseph's growing concern about this "frenzy for
profanestage.58
freedom"broughtinto the open, in 1789, the latent
For this reason the censorshipapparentlyexcluded conflictbetween his religious conceptionsand van
Paul Weidmann'sStephanFidinger fromthetwo Vien- Swieten's. As the Emperor came to believe that the
of the schools and the censorshiphad
nese theaterspresentingseriousdrama,the Kartnertor- administration
contributedto nationalfermentas well as to national
theaterand theBurgtheater.
van Swietenfellfromfavor. His highUnder the troubledcircumstancesof the last two enlightenment,
years of Joseph's reign,the censorshipgraduallyde- handed manner had already made many enemies in
voted itselfless to upliftingthe people than to protect- the upper bureaucracy. For he often decided indeing the foundationsof the state. It is true that the pendentlyin matterswhichshouldhave been submitted
policy of fosteringtolerancecontinued. The govern- to other officialsfor discussion. In November,1789,
mentmaintainedthe laws againstreligiouscontroversy his prestigewas seriouslyhurt as Wucherer,his proand stressedthe importanceof generalChristianmoral tege,was finallyarrestedand banishedfor illegal pubimprovement.Since the Lutheransand Calvinistsin lishing. This incidentresulted in manuscriptsagain
the westernprovinceswere small,unobtrusiveminori- beingcensoredbeforegoingto theprinter. Soon afterties, their newly granted rights were generally re- wards, van Swieten almost completelylost influence
spected. The censorship'sshiftrathermeantthat the over educationalpolicy. In February,1790,shortlybegovernmentadopted stricterviews of the limits of fore his death, Joseph complainedthat "religion and
permissible dissent. Increasingly solicitous of the morality,essentialpointsin the educationand forming
60
He showed
authorityof the establishedchurch, the censorship ofyouth,werebeingtreatedfrivolously."
showeditselfless and less willingto allow enlightened whom he believedwas at faultwhen he explicitlyexwritersto harass the conservativeclergy. Moreover,it cludedvan Swietenand Sonnenfelsfromthecommission
permittedthe church to revive a moderate kind of created to prepare a comprehensivereformof the
polemicpreachingin defenseof the Catholic claim to schools. Leopold II, in April,1790,appointedKarl von
Martini,a strongopponentof van Swieten,to complete
be theone truechurch.
Dangerous fermentin the monarchy,coupled with the reform,and in December, 1791, suppressedvan
to the ideals
the outbreakof revolutionin France, led Josephto a Swieten'scommission. While sympathetic
moreconscientiousapplicationof the censorshipagainst of toleranceand secular education,Martini attempted
radical ideas. As early as 1784, a new categoryof to restorethe moral authorityof the churchover the
prohibitedbooks, typumnon meritur,had been intro- people. With Francis II, the schools and the censorunderthe controlof clergyand police,
duced to eliminatethe trashamongthe pamphlets. In ship,thenceforth
July, 1789, a stamp tax was imposed on all printed weredevotedto preservingthestatusquo.
matter,and censorshippriorto publicationwas restored.
CATHOLICS
V. ENLIGHTENED
Theaterzensur," Jahrbuch der Grillparzer Gesellschaft 7
(1897): pp. 238-340. For Mahomet, cf. ibid., p. 303.
A typical application of this rule was to
56 Ibid., p. 309.
change priests and Protestant ministers into schoolmasters.
57 Cf. K. Glossy, Zur Geschichte der Theater Wiens 18011820 (Wien, 1915) 1: pp. xxxiv, 131-135, 188-189, 252, 308,
for the censor's repeated refusal to permit Lessing's Nathan
der Weise. First staged in Berlin, in 1783, the play was
excluded from Vienna until 1819, and then mercilesslymangled
to suit the police and the archbishop. Also, E. Schmidt,Lessing
(2nd. rev. ed., Berlin, 1899) 2: pp. 413 ff.
58 Glossy, "Wiener Theaterzensur," Jahrb. d. Grillparzer
Gesell. 7 (1897) : p. 309.
I
Before the eclipse of van Swieten's power, enlightened authors took advantage of the unusual freedom
allowed to the press, to create in a few years, from
1781 to 1789, a large literatureexplainingand justifycontribution
ing Joseph'sEdict. The most significant
59 G. Wolf, Das Unterrichtswesenin o5sterreichunter Kaiser
JosephII. (Wien, 1880), p. 61.
60 A. Posch,Die kirchlicheAufkliiring in Grag (Graz, 1937),
p. 59.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
ENLIGHTENED
CATHOLICS
39
Many North German critics challenged this concame froma rathersmall group of writerschieflyin
Vienna. Their propaganda is a spectrumof enlight- ception of Enlightenment.4Deists argued that man
ened Austrianopinion,rangingfromCatholicto secular should live only accordingto reason and the law of
humanist. Enlightened Catholics took a prominent nature,otherwisehe was not enlightened.Enlightened
of otherJosephinist Protestantsaccepted only as much of the Bible as
part in this,as in the justification
reforms,giving rise to controversythen and now as reason could confirm. The CatholicAufklirer,on the
to theirorthodoxy.
otherhand, held that it was reasonableboth to accept
Many contemporary
writersdenied the compatibility revelationfromGod and to live accordingto faithas
of Enlightenment
and Catholicism. FriedrichNicolai's interpretedby the church.5 Reason and faith could
Allgemneine
Deutsche Bibliothek,speakingformost en- not contradictone another,since they came fromthe
lightenedNorth Germans,assertedthatJoseph'sEdict same source.
of Toleration was not consistentwith the outlook of
Enlightenment
among Catholics was led by clerics
the Roman Catholic church.' Nicolai acknowledged concernedchieflywith ecclesiasticalreform. Many of
that some Catholicswere enlightenedbut impliedthey themworkedunder governmentpatronageas censors,
were Catholicin nameonly. His opinionwas plausible, librarians,or universityprofessors. During Joseph's
since the hierarchyas a body and mostorthodoxCath- reigntheycontrolledthe general seminaries,especially
olics likewise regardedthe fundamentaltendenciesof Pavia. Convincedthatonly the statecould reformthe
the Enlightenment
as antipatheticto Catholicism.2
churchin Austria,theyadoptedan Erastian conception
Despite the critics,some Catholicsbelievedthattheir of the ruler'sauthorityin religion.
churchcould and should come to termswith the deIn the late eighteenthcentury,Catholicsof enlightmandsof theirage. Aware thatecclesiasticalauthority ened outlook grouped themselvesinto two schools.
generallydid not share their conviction,they distin- Concernedchieflywith the churchas a juridical instiguished Catholicismas such, which could reconcileit- tution,the Febronianswished to increasethe bishop's
self with Enlightenment,
fromthe Roman Curia, the authorityat the expense of the Roman Curia and the
monasticorders, and the scholastictheologians,who religious orders. They regarded this reformas a
could not. In a similar way, enlightenedCatholics preparatory
step to a unionof thethreemajor religions
distinguishedthe ideals of their age, which seemed oftheEmpireintoa unitedGermanchurch,autonomous
naturallygood, fromthe deists and atheistswho held like the Gallican church. Althoughreceptiveto literthem.
ature fromProtestantGermany,especiallyin law and
Enlightenment,
to its Catholic partisans,stood for in history,the Febronians were usually orthodox in
a general improvement
of human intelligenceand an dogma, acknowledgingthe Pope's supreme authority
increasingappreciationof human worth. It meant in in strictlydoctrinalquestions.
the firstplace a secular reform,and in the second a
Jansenists,on the otherhand,were almostas fearful
reformof thechurch. To improveman's temporalcon- of episcopal as
papal power. In any case, stressing
dition,enlightenedCatholicssupportedscientificacad- moral strictnessand
individualpiety,they treatedreemies, public education,rationalizationof politicalin- formsof ecclesiastical
administration
as secondaryto
of mannersand morals,humane a reformof Catholic
stitutions,refinement
thoughtand practice,inspiredby
reformof the law, and greaterfreedomand equality the Gospel and early
Christiantradition. Inhibitedby
for the individualcitizen. To improveman's spiritual their peculiarly
sectarian Catholicism,Austrian Jancondition,they advocated a more inward, individual senists showed
less interestthan Febronians in con
pietystressingfraternalcharity,and a public worship, temporary
Protestantthoughtand more concernabout
simplifiedand centeredon the basic cult. In neither religious freedom within
the Catholic church than
respect,secular or religious,did enlightenedreforms withinthe
Empire.6
of the
underminebelief in the unity and infallibility
church or any other basic Catholic doctrine.3
definedEnlightenment
as the freedomto thinkfor oneself,but
he assumedthat the individualwould not come into conflict
1 Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek,5. Anhang, 1. Theil
Uber with the churchif both were freed fromprejudice. Cf. A.
(1791): pp. 294-295,in a reviewof B. Werkmeister's
Toleranz. Also, FriedrichNicolai,Beschreibung Posch, "A. J. Caesar und seine Stellung zur Aufklarung,"
die christliche
des Historischen
VereinesfurSteiermark
33 (1939):
einerReise durchDeutschlandund die Schweiz im Jahre1781 Zeitschrift
(Berlin and Stettin,1784-1788)2: appendix,p. lv: "It is true pp.85-91.
Catholicsdemonstrate 4 FriedrichNicolai, Reise durchDeutschland(1785) 5: pp.
thatJosephII and a few clear-thinking
of bothFebronianand Jansenist
true tolerancebut not so, the Catholicclergyas a body,and 151-159,for the shortcomings
enlightened
Catholics. Also pp. 171-176,for Nicolai's criticism
still less . . . the hierarchy."
Catholicconfraternity.
2This conservative
Catholicoutlookis foundin Kritikuiber of an enlightened
Gewisse Kritiker,publishedby the ex-Jesuitsin Augsburg, 5 A. J. Caesar, Die Kleriseyhat vermogeihrerEinsetzung
1787-1796,as well as in the numeroussermonsand tractsby das RechtGesetzezu geben (Wien, 1787).
6 Outsideobservers
Alois Merz.
oftennoticedthisdivisionamongAustrian
3 A representative
enlightenedCatholic was Aquilin Julius Catholics. Cf. F. Nicolai,Reise durchDeutschland(1785) 5:
Caesar, professorat the Universityof Graz, noted for his pp. 151-159. Cf. also A. L. Schl6zer,Staats-Anzeigen
9 (1786)
work in Styrianlocal historyand Austriancanon law. He pp. 113-114.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
40
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
II
olic principlesand would benefitratherthan harm the
During Joseph's reign several German bishops, church. Their impactwas enhancedby the failureof
clergyto mounta concertedopposition.
chieflyFebronian in outlook, supporteda movement theconservative
Rudolf von Edling, Archbishopof
one
prelate,
Only
of reformwithinthe church. Led by the archbishops
the Edict to his clergy;
communicate
refused
to
G6rz,
of 'Mainz,Trier,Cologne,and Salzburg,theyattempted,
Frankenberg,
diocese.'2
his
from
removed
was
and
he
Roman
the
reduce
to
in the Nunciaturecontroversy,
of ViArchbishop
and
Migazzi,
Belgium,
Primate
of
their
the
in
presenting
Empire,
Curia's jurisdiction
But
the
Emperor.
to
written
protests
submitted
enna,
programto the public in the Ems Punctationof 1786.
the
about
clergy
their
informed
simply
bishops
most
They stated other enlightenedobjectives,as well, in
Protestants.'3
the
to
concessions
Emperor's
and
theirindividualpastoralletters. Usually in Latin
addressed to the clergyof a diocese, these documents Leopold Hay of K6niggratz in Bohemia, the first
were sometimestranslated,printedin pamphletform, bishopto defendtheEdict,was a friendof the Emperor
and circulatedwidely. The best known,perhaps, is and close to Sonnenfelsand Johann Birkenstock.'4
togetherwithhis personal
connections,
ArchbishopColloredo'sin Salzburg, 1782, a model of These influential
make an importantconto
Hay
enabled
qualifications,
reenlightenedCatholicismoutlininga comprehensive
in Austria.15
to
Enlightenment
the
tribution
Likewise,
practice.7
devotional
formof worship and
Hay's contactwith the problemof religiousdissent
the archbishopacted to improvetheconditionof hidden
Protestantsin his principality.While maintainingthe dated back to the reignof Maria Theresa. During the
he instructedhis religiousunrestof 1777, she sent him, togetherwith
legislationrepressingProtestantism,
Other Marc Anton Wittola and FerdinandKindermann,ordissenters.8
officialsnot to disturbunobtrusive
with ganizer of the Bohemian school system,on an official
relations
better
encouraged
openly
more
bishops
Protestants. In 1772 theBishop of Speyeradmonished investigationof the situationin Moravia. In his rehis clergy,on religious,humanitarian,and patriotic portsto Vienna, Hay ascribedthe unrestto the negligrounds,to be courteousand friendlytoward Protes- gence and oppressivepracticesof the clergy; he rectants.9 Klemens Wenzeslaus of Trier and Augsburg ommendedbetter religious instructionand a faithful
prohibitedinvectiveagainst Protestantsand supported applicationof the tacittolerationprescribedin Novemthe Austrian Edict.10 Among the Austrian bishops, ber, 1777.16 Carefullyavoiding even the hint of an
JohannLeopold Hay, Karl J. Herberstein,and Joseph inquisition,he let the peasants keep their Protestant
Auerspergwrotepastorallettersto justifythe Emper- books, after correctingthe parts he thoughtwere
or's policy of religioustoleration. They were widely erroneous. His commissionreorganizedtheelementary
read in Germany and often cited in contemporary school system and supplied the districtwith 4,000
religiousbooks in Czech. In explainingCatholicism,
polemic.
The importanceof theseletterslies as muchin their he stressed its basic, evangelical doctrinesand the
content.1" ancientprayersand creedswhichProtestantsgenerally
characteras in theirenlightened
authoritative
mon- accepted. His mission differedfrom those of the
the
throughout
the
government
by
Distributed
not in its goal, the conversion
archy, they helped to dispel anxieties that the new Counter-Reformation,
policyhad caused amongdevoutCatholics. The letters of the non-Catholics,but in its relianceon persuasion.
thatthe Edict was consistentwith Cath- For threeconsecutivesummers,1778-1780,he worked
demonstrated
among the Moravian peasants during his vacation.
7For Colloredo, cf. Joseph Mack, Die Reform- und Aufkldr- Maria Theresa, much impressedby Hay's zeal, chose
ungsbestrebungenim Erzstift Salzburg unter Erzbischof Hierhim to be bishop of Koniggratz,an unrulydiocese in
onymusvon Colloredo(Miinchen,1912). Colloredo'spastoral whichtherewere many"hidden" Protestants.
letterof July15, 1782,is foundin Schlozer,op. cit. 2 (1782)
pp. 56-115.
12 Concerning the Edling case, cf. S. Brunner, Theologische
Kaiser
8 See J. Hofer,"Zur Geschichte
des Toleranz-Patents
48 (1927): p. 525,for Dienerschaft(Wien, 1868), pp. 100 ff.,141 ff.,150 ff.,for a
JosephsII. in Tirol," Histor.Jahrbuch
conservativeaccount. Cf. also J. Kusej, Josef II. und die
Colloredo'spolicytowardProtestants.
9 August Graf von Limburg-Stirum,Hirtenbriefdes Bischofs
von Speyer an seine Geistlichen (Frankfurt a. M., 1772), p. 58.
iiussere Kirchenverfassung Innerosterreichs,Kirchenrechtliche
religi6s-kirchlicheReformbewegung,"Archiv fir die Geschichte
des Hochstiftes Augsburg 1 (1909): p. 539, attributesauthor-
Fiirstabtes Martin Gerbert (Karlsruhe, 1957) 1: No. 16, 25.
49 (Stuttgart,1908): pp. 23-24.
Abhandlungen
13 For the Bishopof Basel's acquiescence,
typicalof thehier10WKZ 1784: pp. 219 ff. A. Gulielminetti,
"Klemens
cf. Wolfgang Muller (ed.), Briefe und Akten des
Wenzelaus, der letzte Fiirstbischofvon Augsburg und die archy,
shipof the pastoralletterof 1783to J. M. Sailer. See p. 580
forthepastoralletter.
pastoralletter,theBohemian11In its reporton Herberstein's
of theGerman
urgedthepublication
AustrianCourtChancellery
translation:"It would be of great service,if the publicwere
instructedin the justice and the necessityof these decrees,
especiallythrougha bishop." Vortrag,May 23, 1782. AVA,
Laibach.
Unterrichtsarchiv,
14 Sonnenfels
a courtcouncillorand censor,
and Birkenstock,
were marriedto Hay's sisters. Cf. Wilibald Muller,Johaiin
Leopold von Hay (Wien, 1892), p. 7.
15For Hay's personality,see E. Winter, Der Josephinismus
(Wien,1943),pp.223-234.
16 See W. Muller, Johann Leopold von Hay, pp. 33 ff.,for
3, 1777. Cf. also F. Bednar,Kampf
Hay's reportof September
der mwhrischenProtestanten (Prag, 1931), p. 517, for Hay's
reportof August14,1777.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
ENLIGHTENED
CATHOLICS
41
Soon afterthe Edict was made public,Hay came to have done, but merelyas "a religiondifferent
from
its supportwitha pastoralletter.17Dealing only with ours," as "people who profess anotherreligion" and
toleration,
it consistsof a two-and-a-half
from us." What traditional
page statement "who think differently
of principles,followedby instructions
for applyingthe theologiansconsider an article of faith,he calls an
new government
and a shortconclusion. It "opinion."
regulations,
circulatedwidely: Schlozer's Staats-Anzeigen,reprint- Moreover,Hay does notevincein thisletteran orthoing the full text in August, 1782, spread the letter dox Catholic'sbeliefin thechurchas a sovereign,visible
throughout
theGerman-speaking
world; it appearedalso community.He holds,it seems,thatthe needs of civic
in Danish, Czech, and Magyar translations.18
life overrideecclesiasticallaw, even that of ecumenical
Hay's pastoral letter scandalized the conservative councils. Ignoring the prohibitionin canon law, he
Catholicclergy,justifyingreligioustolerationas useful opens Catholicburialgroundsto Protestants:
to the state and as groundedin natural law and the
Peace andpublicgoodorder,whichproperly
takethehighChristianreligion. His opponents,to be sure,respected est place amongthe laws
governingecclesiastical
matters,
the freedomof conscienceof a hereticwho kept his seem to requirethat we grantto our Protestantfellow
withwhomwe are boundto livein friendly
opinions strictlyto himself,but they countenanced citizens,
mutual
a place of rest amongus also aftertheir
tolerationof overtheresyonlyas an unavoidableneces- accomodation,
sity. The Christianruler was duty-boundto prevent death.20
thepoisoningof publicwells and thecirculationof coun- This would also suggestto his readersthathe did not
terfeitmoney. How muchmoreseriouswas not his ob- thinkof thechurchas theexclusiveway to heaven. He
ligation,in love as well as in justice,to preventthe dis- displaysa similarspiritofaccommodation
in his instrucseminationofa poisonthatkillsthehumansoul. It was tions concerningthe administration
of the sacraments.
especiallyrepugnantto orthodoxcriticsthatHay repre- When Catholicpastors officiateat the baptisms,marsentedtoleranceas a Christianvirtue.19
riages,and burialsof non-Catholics,
theyare to hold to
To support this thesis, Hay lays heavy stress on the essentialsof the ritualand to omitwhat is "merely
Christianfraternalcharity. This kindof love combines Catholic" and contraryto the non-Catholic'sreligious
concernforour neighbor'ssalvationwithgenuinerespect views.21
forhis person. Hay invokesthe exampleof Christand
These decidedlyErastian passages, along withHay's
the apostleswho, to win the freeassent of men,relied friendship
with Sonnenfelsand otherpersonsat court,
solely on the power of truthand love. Toward the led some Catholiccriticsto describethe pastoralletter
erring,Christwas patientand gentle; he forcedno one as a servileapologyforthestate.22However,it is unfair
to followhim. Furthermore,
Hay implies,Christforced not to considerthe letterin the light of Hay's long
no one to remainin his company. Christianswho would apostolic career. An apology it undoubtedlyis, but
obey Christ'slaw of love may use only the weapons of neitherservile nor primarilypolitical. Essentiallyan
prayerand persuasionto lead othersto truthand virtue. exhortation
to an enlightened
fraternal
charity,theletter
Hay enjoinshis clergyto refrainfrombitter,injurious, is derivedfromsincere,Christianconvictions.
or provocativeexpressions. They are to hold and conIn writingabout the church,it is mostlikelythathe
firmtheirpeoplein thetruth"withall gentleness";they was governedbythepastoraltacthe used in 1777 among
are to show sincerelove and good will towardeveryone, the Moravianpeasants.23The dutyto spreadtheGospel
regardlessof the religionhe professes.
meansmakingthechurchattractiveto thenon-Catholic,
The bishopseemsto deviatefromcontemporary
ortho- on the assumptionthat the heart must be won before
doxy,not onlyin his idea of Christianlove but also in themindcan be convinced:
his conceptionof the church. He gives the impression
A person's firststep towardsacknowledging
his error
of not believingthat the Roman Catholicchurchalone always
demandsovercoming
his self-love.My wholeconteaches divinetruth. He never refersto the tolerated cernis to makethisless difficult.24
confessionsas "false," as an orthodoxCatholicwould
1' Leopoldvon Hay, Hirtenbrief
des Bischofsvon K3niggratz
(Wien, 1781). For thetextin German,cf. W. Muller,Johann
LeopoldvonHay, pp. 59-65.
18 Staats-Anzeigen
1 (1782): pp. 157-167. Allg. Deut. Bibliothek 41 (1782): p. 598, warmlyrecommendsthe pastoral:
"Many Protestantpastorscouldlearntolerationfromit." The
GothaischeGelehrten
Zeitungen2 (1782): p. 869,givesa similar
recommendation
to the Danish translation.
19For a thorough,
contemporary
clericalcriticism,
cf. Katholische Betrachtungen
uiberdas Circularschreiben
des Herrn
von Hay . . . iiber die Toleranz (Frankfurt, 1782). It is
ascribedto PatriciusFast, Dean of St. Stephan'sCathedralin
Vienna. J. C. Binderwrotea rejoinder:Sendschreiben
an . ..
P. Fast (s.l., 1782).
20 W. Muller,JohannLeopold von
Hay, p. 63, point6 of
thepastoralletter.
21Ibid., point5. Auersperg,
Bishop of Gurk,issuedinstructionsidenticalto Hay's for thebaptisms,marriages,and burial
servicesof non-Catholics.
22 Cf. E. Winter,Der Josephinismus
(Wien, 1943), p. 260.
Garampireportedto RomethatBishopHay did not understand
genuineCatholicdoctrineor his pastoral duties and that he
wrote the pastoral to win favor at court. S. Brunner,
TheologischeDienerschaft(Wien, 1868), pp. 324-330,attempts
to supportthenuncio'sopinion.
23 Cf. Winter,
op. cit.,pp. 224-225,forHay's pastoralinclinations.
24 Hay to Maria Theresa, Aug.
14, 1777, Bednar, op. cit.,
p. 517.
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42
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Hence, he carefullyavoided, perhaps to the extentof of ClementXIV, he attemptedto bringabout a reconhis ownbeliefin thechurch,expressions ciliationbetweenUtrechtand Rome. Herbersteinalso
misrepresenting
such as "one and holy" or "only true church" that maintainedclose relationswith Italian Jansenists:in
alienated non-Catholicseven before contact could be 1785, his friend,Scipione Ricci, Bishop of Pistoja,
made. Like Muratori,whose Della caritaicristianahe broughtout an Italian translationof the pastoralletter.
distributedin Czech translation,Hay trustedin the
Herberstein'sJansenistinclinationsdo not noticeably
affecthis treatmentof tolerationin the pastoral. His
of reasonable,humaneevangelism.
efficacy
Hay gave furtherproofthat he was an enlightened thoughton thispointseems to be drawnfromGerman
and
pastor, not a servile court bishop, in his criticismof natural law theory,traditionalStaatskirchentum,
illiberalaspectsof Joseph'spolicy. Late in 1782 he ob- enlightenedCatholicmoral theology.30His purposeis
forCatholics primarilypastoral: to create a tolerant attitude in
jectedto requiringsix weeksof instruction
he goes beyonda simplejustificawho wished to join a toleratedchurch.25 He agreed Catholics. Therefore,
conversions, tionof the Edict to defendthe sincerityof thosedeclarthatit was wise to discourageirresponsible
but this methodled too easily to intimidation.A few ing themselvesLutheranor Calvinist. Tolerancewould
monthslater,he objected to the harsh featuresof the be no morethana legal fictionif the Catholicmajority
government'streatmentof the Bohemian Deists. He regardedsuch personsas "enemiesof God." For the
initially,to persuadethemto adopt one same reason,he omitsfromthe pastoralletterany exhad attempted,
thepeople's
of thetoleratedconfessions.When theyrefused,it was pressionswhichmightarouse or strengthen
to theEmperorthattheybe moved ancientprejudices. Throughout,he presentsthe Cathhe who recommended
fromBohemiato Transylvania. As yet,theywere few olic churchin an ambiguouslight,never callingit the
in number; but if they were permittedto stay, they "onlysaving" (alleinseligmachende)
church. He refers
mightinspirea mass movementamong the peasants. to articles of faith as "opinions," and to Christian
as "parties." His expressed
In Transylvaniatheycould live among Unitarians,in churchesindiscriminately
a provincealreadymostlynon-Catholic. But Hay did views, in sum, are like those of the otherenlightened
not intendthis as a punitivemeasure. He could not bishops.
Herbersteindoes not devotethe pastoralexclusively
agree to deprivingthe peasants of theirpropertyand
theiryoungchildren. He likewiseopposed the beating to toleration. Aftera Febroniananalysis of civil and
prescribedforpeasantswho continuedto professthem- ecclesiasticalauthority,he defendsthe Emperor's reformsof the monasticsystem,matrimonial
law, and the
selvesDeists.6
Thus it is clearthatHay stoodfora genuinetolerance liturgy. Since thebishopaddressesthe Germanversion
based on Christian,as well as on rationalprinciples. to thegeneralpublic,he does notdiscusshow theclergy
religiousfreedomfor is to apply the Edict.31 Instead, he writesin general
But he also believedin restricting
the sake of preservingCatholicismas the statereligion. about religioustoleration. He justifiesthe Edict as in
His missionaryactivity,to which the pastoral letter accord withnaturallaw and the Christianreligionand
reallybelongs,was a practicalapplicationof eighteenth- in thebestinterestof society. The rulershouldnotconcenturyprinciplesof religiousliberty,consistentwith cern himselfwith the truthof a person's beliefs,but
ratherwithwhethertheymakehima good citizen. The
orthodoxdoctrine.
Bishop Herbersteinof Laibach in a pastoralletterof humanconscienceis not subjectto theruler'sauthority:
December 5, 1781, expresses substantiallythe same
. . . becauseeveryone
has theinnaterightto affiliate
himself
ideas about tolerationas Hay.27 The Laibach letter, withthe religiouspartywhichseemsto him,aftera conhowever,acquired special significanceas the occasion scientious
to be thetrueone.32
examination,
for a serious conflictbetweenJosephII and Pius VI.
29 S. Brunner, Theologische Dienerschaft (Wien, 1868), p.
thatthis shouldhave happenedto HerberIt is fitting
steinratherthanto the irenicHay. Energetic,strong- 339.
30 Herberstein's library included works by Pufendorf on
willedand deeplyreligious,the Bishop of Laibach was natural law, by Joseph Pehem, Paul Joseph Riegger, and
of the Enlighten- Joseph Eybel on Austrian ecclesiastical law, and by Muratori
also "the most radical representative
mentin clericalgarb."28 Herbersteinwas a vigorous on moral theology. Cf. Einspieler, op. cit., pp. 42-44.
advocateofJoseph'secclesiasticalreformsand especially 31According to Einspieler, op. cit., pp. 82-84, Herberstein
ardentin claimingepiscopalautonomy. As a "Jansenist wrote a Latin pastoral letter to his clergy, published in the
Directorium, December 5, 1781. Its contents differfrom the
optima forma,"he championedthe orthodoxyof the German edition of 1782, which Herberstein wrote to counteract
schismaticChurchof Utrecht.29During the pontificate Garampi's note to Kaunitz, for which, see below, footnote 39.
Winter,op. cit.,p. 234.
Ibid., pp. 232-234.
27 K. J. Herberstein,Hirtenbriefan die Geistlichkeituinddas
Volk der Laybachischen Diozese . . . (2nd ed., Wien, 1782).
28V. Einspieler, "J. K. Graf von Herberstein" (unpublished
Ph.D. dissertation,U. of Vienna, 1951), p. 14. Herberstein
ruled Laibach, 1772-1787.
25
26
On Herberstein's purpose, see WKZ 1788: pp. 82-85. For the
authorship of this pastoral letter, see Brunner, op. cit., pp.
343-344, who, following two contemporarycritics of Herberstein, alleges it was conceived by a literary hack in Vienna.
Einspieler, op. cit., pp. 83-84, accepts it as Herberstein's own
work, although remarking that, in form, the German edition
differsconsiderablyfrom the Latin original. A French translation appeared in 1783; Ricci's Italian translation,in 1785.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
ENLIGHTENED
CATHOLICS
43
From Rome's pointof view,therewere good reasons
This sentence,Pius VI asserted,is "certainlyheretical."
formakingthisa testcase. Herbersteinwas distinctly
It becamethefocalpointof thelatercontroversy.
The publicgreetedthisletterwitha mixed chorusof a persona non grata, an outspokenopponentof curial
applause and abuse. The bishop's enemiescalled him conceptionsof papal jurisdictionin the Catholicchurch.
in issuinghis pastoralhe had deliberately
"half-Lutheran"and his ideas, "fashionablescholar- Furthermore,
ship."33 The O5sterreichische
Garampi'swrittenprotestagainstthe Ema contradicted
Biedernwnnschronik,
registerof enlightened
Austrians,praised him and held peror's ecclesiasticalpolicies.39 It was also known in
up his pastoralletterto CardinalMigazzi forimitation.34 1785 that Herbersteinsufferedfroma mortalillness;
untilhe reOfficialcircles realized that Herberstein'swritinghad Rome could safelyrefusehis confirmation
verged on repudiatingpapal authority. But while the tractedor died. This was an excellentopportunity
to
Court Chancellerywished that he were more cautious, remindJoseph of the papacy's traditionalview of its
Kaunitzproposedthathe be commendedforhis courage. rightsover the episcopacy.
For two years,the Pope continuedto insistthat the
Joseph expressed his personal satisfactionwith the
pastoral, May 30, 1782, in a resolutionapprovingits bishop's lengthy explanations were unsatisfactory.
publication.35
Joseph,on the otherhand, would not permita public
As soon as the Latin versionwas issued, Garampi retraction
sincehe himselfcorrectedthelettersto Rome
informedthe Pope of its contents. During his visit to and believedthat the bishop's conceptionof toleration
Vienna, March, 1782, beforethe German versionhad was orthodox. Relationscameperilouslyclose to breakbeenpublished,Pius VI warnedJosephneverto propose ing: theEmperorapproveda letter,draftedby Kaunitz,
Herbersteinor Hay for advancementto a higherec- demandingthat the Pope elevate Herberstein,or it
clesiasticaloffice. In 1785 theEmperorfeltit necessary would be done withoutpapal confirmation.This was
to test the Pope's determination.In reorganizingthe sent on October4, 1787, to Rome, but,as Herberstein
diocese of Laibach, Josephhad made it a metropolitan died on October7, thecrisispassed.40
Throughoutthis conflict,Herberstein derived his
see, and in 1785 he nominatedHerbersteinto be the
new archbishop. Rome did notobjectto thereorganiza- mainargumentforreligiousfreedomfromthetraditional
tionbut refusedto confirmHerberstein,on the grounds principleof Catholicmoral theologythat a man must
thathe had taughtscandalousand erroneousprinciples followthe dictatesof an uprightconscienceeven when
in the pastoralletterof 1782. In the message,January it is in error. In an explanationofthecontroverted
pas7, 1786, rejectingthe nomination,Pius describedthe sage, read carefullyby Josephhimselfand sentto Rome
bishop's idea of tolerationas "infectedwith heresy." in May, 1786,Herbersteinmakesit clear thathis phrase
By omittingthephrase,"aftera conscientiousexamina- applies to personsof uprightconscience,to those who
tion," from the key sentence,Pius made the bishop makea "conscientiousstudy"of thechurchtheywishto
appear to teach religiousindifference.36
join. Those who registeras non-Catholics,one must
Josephacknowledgedthe Roman See's rightto judge assume,have made such an examinationand are merely
in questionsof doctrine,but he regardedPius' accusa- materialheretics.41
tion against Herbersteinas merelya pretext.37 The
He mighthave made his argumentmoreacceptableto
Bohemian-Austrian
CourtChancelleryassuredhimthat Rome, had he emphasizedthat the pastoral letterdeHerberstein'sviewswereorthodox;theywere taughtin fendedonly the civil rightto freedomof conscience.
all theuniversities
of themonarchyand in mostof those His controverted
passage is ambiguous: it could mean
abroad.38 The real issue was: Who had the finalword thateveryone'sconscienceis absolutelyautonomous,free
in the appointment
of a bishop,the ruleror the Pope? to acceptor rejectnot onlythe church'sinfalliblejudgJosephcontendedthat papal confirmation
was a mere ments,but even divine revelationand the inspirations
formality:the Pope should automaticallyconfirmthe of the Holy Spirit. This is what Pius alluded to when
man appointedby the government.
he said that Herberstein'sphrase has in it the stain of
heresy.42Or it could mean that everyone'sconscience
32 Herberstein,op. cit., p. 40: " . . . weil
jeder das angeborene is autonomousin the politicalorder,thatthe rulerhas
Recht hat, sich an die Religionspartei zu halten, die ihm nach
seiner Einsicht und gewissenhaftenPriifung die Wahre zu sein
denkt."
33Einspieler, op. cit., p. 95. Cf. Brunner,op. cit., pp. 343-346,
for summaries of two typical conservative tracts against Herberstein.
34Johann Rautenstrauch,OsterreichischeBiedermannschronik
(s.l., 1784), pp. 95 ff.
35HHSA, Staatsrat, Protokolle, 1782, No. 1667.
36 Pius VI to Joseph, January 7, 1786:
"Unicuique jus esse
sectandi religionem,quae ipsi suomet judicio vera esse videtur."
Quoted from Einspieler, op. cit., p. 104.
37Ibid., p. 110.
38Report, May 23, 1782, AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,Laibach.
39WKZ 1788: pp. 82-85. Garampi registered the Curia's
disapproval of Joseph's ecclesiastical reforms in a note to
Kaunitz, December 12, 1781. The Curia expected that the note
would lead the bishops to hinder the reforms or at least not
openly approve them.
40Einspieler, op. cit., p. 127. Cf. WKZ 1788: pp. 82-87, 9198, 254-266, 267-275, 327-337, for a contemporaryaccount. The
editor, Marc Anton Wittola, was a close friend of Herberstein.
41 Einspieler, op. cit.,
p. 110.
42 E. Maass, Der
Josephinismus
(5 v., Wien, 1951-1960) 2:
p. 474. Maass reproduces the full text of Pius' letter of May
16, 1787, to Herberstein: pp. 472-488 concern toleration; pp.
489-512, the bishop's other topics.
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44
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
no responsibility
forit. This is whatHerbersteinmeant
to say. For he held the same conceptionof toleration
as the Emperor and most enlightenedCatholics in
Austria.43
Pius' positionis expressedin two propositionsin his
letterof May 16, 1787, to Herberstein. First,he virtuallydeniesthata hereticcan be in good faith. True,
he acknowledgesthe distinctionbetweena formaland
a materialheretic: the latter'sconscienceis "upright
though mistaken." He holds, however,with a long
traditionthatwhereverthe churchpreachesthe Gospel
an uprightbut mistakenconscienceis impossible:
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
ligions," his pastoral acknowledgesthat they produce
good citizens.47
Pius goes on to assertthatthe rulershoulduse force
against heretics. The Pope makes the customarydistinctionbetweeninfidels,who should not be compelled
"ad fidem,"and baptizedpersons,
suchas hereticsand all apostates:suchpersonsare to be
compelled
evenwithphysicalforceto fulfill
whattheyhad
promised
and to keepwhattheyhad oncereceived.48
Physical violence is not, in his eyes, contraryto the
charitywhichGod commandsus to show towardsour
enemies,and he quotes Augustine:
happen
to suspectit mightsometimes
Nor is one permitted
everyone
who refrains[fromadministering
a beating]
faultthatlightof truth not
thata hereticmightrejectwithout
is a friend;andnoteveryone
whogivesblowsis an enemy.49
offeredto him by the church...............
Christ,afterall, struckSaul fromhis horse on the way
wouldeasilyrecognize to Damascus,to preparehimforconversion. Merelyto
Even personsof limitedintelligence
theirerrorsif theywere only willingto listen [to the
instruct
and to persuade,said Augustine,is oftenineffecintently,
and piously.44
church]patiently,
tive,forevil menare not movedby gentleness.50
Catholics,on theconHerbersteinand otherenlightened
Herberstein,on the other hand, asserts in his
trary,thoughtthat many, if not most non-Catholics, explanation:
were not formalheretics. Preachingmeantmore than
of religionnotto forcebutto persuade;
formallypresentingthe truth,as one mightpromulgate It is theproperty
fortheLorddidnotuse force,he leftthechoiceup to each
a law. It had to convincethe heartand mind,and in will, as when he said, "if anyonewould followme, let
this respect Catholic preachingand polemic failed in him. 51
thechurchneededreformin
manyways. Furthermore,
The bishop concludes, quoting St. Athanasius, that
orderthatits divineauthoritymightstand out clearly.
physicalcoercionin religionis alien to the natureof
Many Catholicpractices,intoleranceabove all, turned
the church. Accordingto Herberstein,it is likewise
the non-Catholicaway fromthe church.
opposedto naturallaw. The social contractentrusting
The secondpapal propositioncondemnsthe tolerated the rulerwithauthority,
requireshimto fosterreligion
confessionsand approves the use of coercion against but not judge in mattersof faith.52He has power to
them. Pius reprobatesProtestantchurchesin toto:
suppress heterodoxopinions only in so far as they
Has anv Catholiceverdeniedthatany sectwhichdissents endangerthecommongood.
fromtheCatholicChurchis opposedto God? 45
Pius agrees with Herbersteinthat the ruler should
not set himselfup as judge over religiousdoctrine:
EnlightenedCatholics,in contrast,were inclinedto find
some goodnessin Protestantism.46Herbersteinexem- It is truethatin mattersof faithand religiona monarch
ofjudge.53
plifiesthis characteristic. Referringto the tolerated cannotassumetheauthority
churchessimplyas "otherreligions,"not as "false re- Yet it is one of his chiefduties as an obedientson of
43For a modern Catholic statementof this position, cf. J. C.
Murray, "The Governmental Repression of Heresy," Proceedings of the American Catholic Theological Society 1949:
pp. 26-98. Vatican II's Declaration on Religious Freedom, December 7, 1965, likewise defends only a person's civil right to
determinehis religion. Rooted in the dignityof human nature,
this rightdoes not depend on the rectitudeof a man's conscience.
44 Maass, op. cit. 2: p. 477.
The Pope's point of view is
found in the anti-Josephinisttracts of the conservative French
polemicist, Canon Jean Pey. See especially his La Tolerance
chretienneopposeieau Tolerantisme philosophique (Fribourg et
Malines, 1785), p. 52: "Faith teaches us . . . that it is only a
voluntaryblindnessthat keeps the heretics in error." For Pey's
life and works, see J. F. Schulte, Geschichte der Quellen und
Literatutrdes kanonischenRechtes (Stuttgart, 1880) 3: p. 654,
and J. Carreyre,"Pey," DTC 12: pp. 1355-1356.
45 Maass, op. cit. 2: p. 473.
46 Cf. A. Posch, Kirchliche Aufklirung in Graz (Graz, 1937),
pp. 102-103, for Franz Giftschutz,professorof pastoral theology
at the University of Vienna, whose lectures in the 1780's
exemplifythis tendency.
47 K. J. Herberstein,Hirtenbrief... (Wien, 1782), p. 44.
4 Maass, op. cit. 2: p. 479. Pius is drawing upon Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II-II, 10, 11, 12. Cf. Eric D'Arcy,
Conscience and its Right to Freedom (New York, 1961), Part
3, for a modern Thomist analysis of these texts. On p. 157, he
writes: "Bluntly,there are two rights which St. Thomas would
deny: the right of heretics to life, and the right of all unbelievers to practice their own form of worship." Among the
enlightenedpolemicists who attemptedto cope with Aquinas is
Benedikt Werkmeister,O.S.B., preacher at the court of Duke
Karl Eugen in Stuttgart. Werkmeister's tract, Uber die
christlicheToleranz, ein Buch fiir Priester und Moriche (Frankfurt & Leipzig [Erlangen], 1784), condemns scholastic theologians and canonists for ascribing coercive power to the church
and stirringup Catholics against the heretic as well as against
his errors. Cf. pp. 101 ff. for his treatmentof Aquinas.
49Maass, op. cit. 2: p. 483.
50
51
52
53
Ibid.,p. 486.
Ibid.,p. 479.
Herberstein,op. cit.,p. 40.
Maass, op. cit. 2: p. 485.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
ENLIGHTENED
CATHOLICS
45
example in order to "convincethe erringof the truth
of the Catholicreligion." Persons declaringthemselves
Protestantand refusingto returnto the churchshould
But it doesnotat all followthatit is nothis foremost
duty,
be
denouncedto the Consistoriumwhich will declare
as an obedientson of thechurchto carryout withall his
resourcesthedecisionsor judgments
of thechurchin mat- them"trulyheretics." Even these,however,are to be
terspertaining
to faithor religion....54
treated with Christianfraternalcharity. Regarding
their
marriages,baptisms,and burials, he orders the
The Christianprinceis the secular arm of the church.
His full coercivepower,to the degree necessary,is at clergy to observe the prescriptionsof the Council of
Trent until the Emperor draws up other regulations.
thechurch'sdisposal.
In this confrontation
of the Catholic Enlightenment With special emphasisAuerspergencouragesthe clergy
with the Counter-Reformation,
Pius did not formally to visitsick Protestants. And in conclusion,he exhorts
commithis supremeteachingauthority.No disciplinary all to returnto the essentialpracticesof religion.
ShortlyaftertheEmperorissued theEdict of Toleraaction was taken against Herberstein,and he was not
tion,
Auerspergset to work revisinghis Septemberinchargedwith,muchless convictedof,heresy.The papal
struction.53
His new version exhorts the clergy to
letterof May 16, 1787, to the bishop was a private,
cultivate
the
good
will of Protestantpastorsas well as
personal admonition,a part of the tactic of delay.
Kaunitz correctlywondered,if Herbersteinwere really laity. But, theyshouldnot permitthe Catholicfaithful
a heretic,whydid Rome allow himto remaina bishop? to be led astray. Hence preachersmust oftenexplain
Vienna was wrong, however,in treatingthe Pope's the distinctionbetween"theological"and "civil" tolercriticismof Herberstein'spastoralas entirelyirrelevant. ance. Catholicsmayassociate"civilly"withProtestants
From a contemporaryconservativeCatholic point of but withoutever appearing to countenanceheretical
view,manyofthebishop'sexpressionsweredangerously opinions. If Protestantslead a Catholic astray, the
clergyshouldprotest,ifnecessaryto thebishophimself.
misleadingto thefaithful.55
Apparentlysensingthat these instructions
were not
The thirdsignificant
Austrianpastoralletterwas brief
entirely
consistent
with
the
Emperor's
policy
toward
the
and clear, as well as unquestionablyorthodox. Hence
it justifiedJoseph's policy withouttherebyincurring toleratedchurches,Auerspergbrokeoffwritingand subpapal wrath. It was writtenby one of the Emperor's mittedto the governmenthis unfinishedrevision,toecclesiasticaladvisers, Joseph von Auersperg,Bishop getherwiththeSeptemberinstruction.This was a wise
of Gurk,a tinydiocese in Inner Austria,suffraganto precaution. Although the Viennese authoritiesgenSalzburg. An enlightenedprince as well as prelate, erally approved of the bishop's positive,enlightened
Auersperglater ruled the ecclesiasticalprincipalityof toneand mostof his ideas, theythoughtthatcertainof
his regulationswould interfere
with the Emperor'sinPassau.56
tention
of
establishing
full
civil
equality
amonghis subBecause Auerspergworkedcloselywith the governjects.
Hence
the
Court
Chancellery's
report recommentin preparingthispastoralletter,his publishedvermended
prohibiting
the
clergy
from
visiting
sick Protession is a semi-official
statement
on
religious
Josephinist
toleration. This project began, September 6, 1781, tants unless invited.59 The bishop was also told not
when Auersperg issued an instructionto his clergy, to declare "trulyheretic"any personsregisteringin a
informingthem of the Emperor's Ghent Resolution.57 toleratedchurchnor to referto themas "heretics"in
Contraryto his firstimpression,he writes,the govern- his pastoralletter. Such expressionsonly "excite hot
ment'snew policy toward Protestantsshould prove to tempers"; the milderword, "Protestant"would serve
be usefulto thechurchas well as consistentwithChrist's just as well. And finally,he was not to referto the
"entirelyunnecessaryforthecommonman,"
wish that"erringChristiansbe treatedas brothersand distinction,
between
and civil tolerance. Rather, he
theological
led back to the truthby love and gentleness."
should
use
the
phrase,
"Christiantolerance,"whichthe
Auersperggoes on to tell the clergyhow to turnthis
"civiltoleration"to "thebenefitofour belovedreligion." Emperoremployedin theEdict and otherreformlegislacould vervwell
They should exhort the faithfulto prayer and good tion. Otherwisethiskindof distinction
nourishin Catholics a certainantipathyand mistrust
54 Ibid.
towardtheirProtestantneighborsthatmightoftenexert
55 Even Cardinal Herzan, Vienna's loyal representativeto the
a very bad influencein civil affairs. For the same
Vatican, called Herberstein's writing "very obscure" and wished
it were shorter and clearer. V. Einspieler, "J. K. Graf von reason,he should not arouse anxietyamong Catholics
Herberstein" (unpublished Ph.D. diss., U. of Vienna, 1951), p. about thedangersof beingled astray.
114.
These criticismsnotwithstanding,
the Court Chancel56 For Auersperg's activityat Passau, from 1783 to 1795, see
lery thoroughly
agreed with the bishop'sconceptionof
Martha Schmidt, "Die Aufklarung im FiurstbisthumPassau,"
des HistorischenVereinsvon undfur den Kreis religioustoleration. In approvingthe report,January
Verhandlungen
Niederbayern
67 (1934): pp. 1-146; 68 (1935): pp. 147-239. 29, 1782, Joseph added his personal appreciationof
thechurchto supportits judgmentsconcerningfaithand
religionwithall his physicalpower:
57 "Instruction iiber die allerh6chsten Orts bewilligte Civil
Toleranz der Protestanten," in AVA, Kultusarchiv, 66 Inner6sterreich.
58
59
Incomplete,undated manuscript,ibid.
Vortrag,January 18, 1782, ibid.
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46
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Auersperg's "essentiallyso well-foundedand correct "heretics,"64 the Samaritansratherthan the Pharisees
instruction
of the clergy." The Emperorconcludedby of the New Testament. To attractthemback into the
warmlyrequestingthe bishop to make the necessary churchCatholicsmustreformabuses in the cult of the
corrections
as soon as possibleand publish"thispastoral saintsand relics,indulgences,and the liturgy.
letterthat serves as model for other bishops."
A consequenceof the balanced,practicalcharacterof
By February20, 1782, Auerspergproducedthe cor- thisletterwas thatPius VI did not includeAuersperg
rectedversionof his pastoral letter,incorporating
the on his black list and consentedto his translationin
substanceof his two earlierinstructions.60
Touched by 1783 fromGurk to Passau. This gives some idea of
theideas of Muratoriand Febronius,thebishopjustifies the kind of compromisebetweentraditionand enlighttheEdict as Christianin spiritand usefulto theCatholic enmentthatRome was willingto permit.
church. The Emperor'sgenerositymightinduce ProtIII
testantrulers to grant greater freedomto Catholics,
t . . . and all the more rapidlyenterinto the desired
clerics
In contrastto thesebishops,severalJosephinist
with
tracts
conthe
Edict
offices
defended
in
academic
general reunion."61 Auerspergencouragesthe clergy
to showkindnessand esteemto non-Catholicsand their veyinga distinctlyheterodoxview of religiousliberty.
pastorsand to instillin the people "true devotion"and Encouraged and protectedby van Swieten, they atseparating
Christian brotherlylove. This enlightenedcharity temptedto lessen the doctrinaldifferences
church's
doubt
on
the
Catholic
by
casting
Christians,
would attractnon-Catholicsaway from their errors.
Teachers of religionmay occasionallycriticizeProtes- claim to be the sole way of salvation. Typical of the
thattheyproducedis the Treatiseon Freedom
tantdoctrinesbutwithoutbitterness;polemicalsermons literature
and Politico-TheologicalToleration,by
of
Conscience
are to cease. If Catholicpriestsofficiateat baptisms,
Bartholotti.65This lengthy,loosely
Nepomuk
Johann
marriages,or burial servicesfor Protestants,theyare
attempts
book
is
one
of thefewcontemporary
organized
to omit specificallyCatholicceremonies.
In comparisonwithHay and Herberstein,Auersperg at a systematicanalysis of religious toleration. Its
maintains a more even balance between traditional author,a priestand a memberof the Order of St. Paul,
Catholicismand theEnlightenment.62
On theone hand, taughtin the theologicalfacultyof the Universityof
he
he presentsa clearlyorthodoxconceptionof thechurch. Vienna. As a censor of theologicalliterature,66
devotional
in
popular
against
superstition
campaigned
He twice applies the expression"only saving" (alleinseligm>achende)to the Catholic church.63 And he books. Josephpraised his "entirelycorrect,well-comstresseswinningnon-Catholics,
whomhe refersto as in posed" criticismof a pamphlet of baroque piety.
error,to the Catholic religion. There is not a trace Bartholottisuccessfullydefendedthe tract,Fir Toleranz, by Watteroth,fromthe archbishop'saccusation
ofreligiousindifference
in theletter.
attackedthe Christianreligion.67
On the otherhand,he deals withreligiousdissenters that it systematically
accordingto reasonable and humane principles. He He was, in sum, an enlightenedcleric who made a
in Vienna.68
to the Enlightenment
firmlyrepudiatescoercion:it producesonlyhypocrites. positivecontribution
Treatise
on Freedom
the
Bartholotti
hastily
composed
The clergyshouldrelyinsteadon "true devotion,"that
from
juristic
writing
heavily
the
drawing
of
Conscience,
is, prayer,active brotherlylove, and enlightenedreligious instruction.He regardsnon-Catholicsas sin- of JustusB6hmer,a North GermanProtestant,Pierre
cere: they are "these erring brethren" and never de Marca, a Gallican, and Paul Joseph Riegger and
JosephEybel. Directedto a clericalreadingpublic,the
60 Joseph von Auersperg, Hirtenbrief iiber die den augsworkwas well received:it had two editionsand a long
burgischen und helvetischen Religionsverwandeten,dann den and generallyfavorablereview in the Realzeitung.69
nichtuniertenGriechen gestattete christlicheToleranz (Klagenis the
significance
Anothermeasureof its contemporary
furt,1782).
it earnedfor its authoramong
considerableresentment
61 Ibid.,p. 7.
62A
very similar enlightenedCatholic pastoral letter is the orthodoxclergy. It is stillvaluableforthe insight
Hirtlicher Unterrichtdes Bischoffeszu Lavant . . . , (Klagen-
64 Ibid., p. 9.
furt,1782), by the Bishopof Lavantin InnerAustria,Vincent
65 J. N. Bartholotti, Exercitatio politico-theologica, in qua
Joseph,Count von Schrattenbach.In justifyingthe Edict,
Schrattenbachpoints out that the Emperor'sconcessionof de libertateconscientiaeet de receptarumin Imp. Rom. Teuton.
private worship to Lutheransand Calvinists simplifiesthe religionum tolerantia, cum theologica tum politica, nec non de
apostolicwork of the clergy: "the erringwill now identify Dis-unitorum statu Graecorum disputatur (Wien, 1782). All
themselves;the wolves will show themselves."Detectingthe references are to the German translation, Politisch-Theologische
"erring,"if not the "wolves,"was in fact among the Em- Abhandlung (Wien, 1783).
"Geheimprotestantismus,66 Leaving the censorship in April, 1782, he served as uniperor'sobjectives.Cf. A. Wandruszka,
fur versity librarian in Prague and continued as examiner at the
Zeitschrift
in Osterreich,"
und Volksliturgie
Josephinismus
68 (1967): p. 99. For anothermoderate University of Vienna.
Kirchengeschichte
(Strassburg, 1911),
67 H. Gnau, Die Zensur unter Joseph II.
Josephinistexhortationto tolerance, cf. Sonn- und Festtagliche
Evanzgelien (Wien, 1782), pp. 13-19,by JosephGall, super- pp. 115-116.
68J. Rautenstrauch,csterreichische Biedermannschronik(s.l.,
intendent
of schoolsin Lower Austria (1780-1787)and Bishop
of Linz (1788-1807).
63
Auersperg,op. cit.,pp. 5, 28.
1784), p. 16, lists Bartholotti among the Aufkliirer.
G9 RZ 1782: pp. 269-271, 273-278.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 19691
ENLIGHTENED CATHOLICS
47
of the Faith is a freegiftfromGod and it cannot be forced
it gives intothe mindof a radical representative
on anyone. It requires a willing dispositionin the
Febronianminority
in theclergy.70
Bartholotti'sconceptionof tolerationis an incon- recipient.76
In contrastto his unequivocaldefenseof freedomof
sistentmixtureof the principlesof naturalreason and
enlightenedCatholicpietyand the practiceof contem- conscience,Bartholottitailors his analysis of freedom
practicethan to natural
absolutism. Freedomof conscience, of religionmore to Josephinist
poraryenlightened
he writes,is an absolutenaturallaw: "no one can think, law or Christianlove. He holds that the ruler must
judge,believe,and acknowledgeor seek God foranother respectthe basic moralprinciplesof a toleratedreligion
on eatingpork. On the
person."71 A person has a rightto follow his own such as the Jewishprohibition
otherhand,Bartholottimakes the rulerresponsiblenot
conscienceeven if it seems erroneousto others.72
The enlightened
clergycommonlyderivedrespectfor only for regulatingnonessentialreligiouspracticesbut
betweenwhat is essentialand
conscience,not only fromnatural law but also from also for distinguishing
the New Testament. As the only trulyChristianway nonessential.
of dealingwithone's non-Catholicneighbor,Bartholotti Non-Catholics,otherthanthe tolerated,have a right
cites the parable of the good Samaritan,the parable of to libertyof consciencebut not to the practiceof their
the tares leftto grow in the fieldwith the wheat,and religion. As a favor,the ruler mightgrant Socinians
the examplegiven by Christat Jacob's well in dealing or Deists and othersectsa limitedfreedom.77Common
gentlywiththe Samaritanwoman,a hereticand a sin- humanity("do unto others. . . ") counselsthis,if the
ner in Jewish eyes. This New Testament imagery sects are not harmfulto the churchand are usefulto
writingearly in 1782, does not
typifiesthe ireniccharacterof enlightenedCatholicism, the state. Bartholotti,
which usually likened dissident Christians to the referto Joseph's persecutionof the sects. Well inSamaritansor publicanswithwhom Christwas gentle. formedabout religiousconditionsin Bohemia,however,
The conservatives
oftencomparedthemto the Pharisees he mighthave anticipatedthe government'squandary
whom Christ called a brood of vipers and whitened in dealing with the Deists. The Treatise seems implicitlyto argue for toleratingthem for they were
sepulchers.
Even ifdissidentsare in bad faith,Bartholottiasserts, peaceful,industrious,and usefulto the state.
Toward atheists,however,theauthoris less generous.
the state should not coerce them. How can the wheat
be distinguished
fromthe tares; the innocentfromthe FollowingJohnLocke and NorthGermanjurists,parwritesthatatheism
is to usurp the judg- ticularlyChristianWolff,Bartholotti
guilty? To persecute,therefore,
mentseat of God.73 BartholotticriticizesMuratori,in -shouldbe suppressed because it destroysa people's
otherrespectsa leader of enlightenedCatholicopinion, fearof God and theirrespectfor the contractbetween
forteachingthatobduratehereticsshould be forcedto themselvesand the ruler. This rather conventional
attendto the truth.74God struckSaul to the ground argumentdid not go unchallenged. In attackingthis
factors
to preparehim for conversion,Bartholottiadmits,but passage,theRealzeitungstressesthenonreligious
he has prescribedgentlermethodsto his disciples. Be- in characterdevelopmentand assertsthatthe statecan
sides, the "conversions"of persons forcedto listento safelyignorethe atheist's"special" opinionsif in other
person.78 Bartholottiand
sermons are most often attemptsto escape further respectshe is a trustworthy
annoyance. Intolerance,he writes, debases religion. other enlightenedclerics, in like manner,overlooked
"special" principlesof Lutheransand Calvinists,such
It producesan externalconformity
as the rightof private judgmentin religionand the
by whichmencan easilybe misledto believethatall outwarddivineworshipis an emptything,dependent
onlyon denial of the value of good works,whichconservatives
the approvalof the prince,. . . a mereinvention
and a considereddangerousto thestate.79 It is also indicative
bridlewhichrulersuse to make subjectsdocile to their of Bartholotti'ssecular,Erastian cast of mind that he
whenexternalpoweris lackingor insufficient.75
commands,
attacksatheismas subversiveratherthanblasphemous.80
If Bartholottiis moderatelyenlightened,
it is not so
70Similartractsby Josephinist
clergyin defenseof toleration
clear
that
he
is
fully
Catholic
or
that
he
conceives
includeB. Werkmeister,
Uberdie christliche
Toleranz (Frankfurt a. M., 1784), and Jakob Danzer, Josephsdes Grossen tolerationfroman orthodoxpoint of view. It seems
Toleranz (s.l., 1784). Danzer, a Benedictinemonk,was pro- thathe regardsRoman Catholicismnot as the onlytrue
fessor of moral and pastoral theologyat the Universityof religionbut as one of several more or less adequate
Salzburg, 1784-1792. His book is representative
of the enlightenedclergy'spreoccupation
withthe practicalimplications 76 Ibid.,p. 182.
77For this justification
of doctrine.
of toleratingsectarians,Bartholotti
71 Bartholotti,
op. cit.,p. 63.
relieson Pufendorf,ChristianThomasius,and JustusBohmer.
72 Ibid., p. 66. However,in purelycivil matters,
78RZ 1782: p. 277.
men are
underthe ruler'sundivided,
irresponsible
authority.Bartholotti 79J. Pey,La Tolerancechretienne
(Fribourg,1785), pp. 189deniesthatan appeal to consciencecan justifycivildisobedience 243.
80 Cf. Ernst Wangermann,
or tyrannicide.
Ibid.,p. 94.
From JosephII to the Jacobin
73Ibid.,p. 98.
Trials (London,1959), pp. 145-147,for the government's
sup74Ibid., p. 185.
pressionof atheismin Viennain 1794. Few thoughtheywere,
75Ibid.,p. 81.
theatheistscausedtheauthorities
to feartheriseof Jacobinism.
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O'BRIEN:
48
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
formsof Christianity.He never uses the phrase "the norance and superstitiondivided Christians,to show
only savingchurch"whichorthodoxwritersinvariably sympatheticinterestin Christianreunion,one of the
attributedto the Catholicchurch. And in distinguish- benefitshe expects fromthe Emperor's legislationon
ing Christianity
frompagan and otherfalse religions, toleration. But, Bartholotti'sidea of Christianunity
he puts the major Christianchurchesindiscriminatelyis as ambiguousas his conceptionof the clhurch. At
on the same level. Moreover,he does not acknowledge times,likean orthodoxCatholic,he holds thatChristian
the infallibility
of the Catholicchurchin the interpreta- unitycan be restoredonlyby the returnof the heretics
tion of Scripture. When there is doubt about the to communionwith the See of Rome. He writes,for
meaningof the Bible,he statesthatteachersfromevery example,that the ruler should gentlylead the erring
Christianreligionare to be consulted,to preservethe back to theway of truth,and thatCatholicsshouldwin
over the erringwithgood exampleand the activepracunityof Christiandoctrine.
of charity.85And, in one place, he argues for
tice
Nowheredoes he acknowledgethatthereare essential
differences
betweenCatholicismand thetwo chiefProt- tolerationbecause it admits non-Catholicsinto society
testantconfessions. At most, he states, Protestants with Catholics where they can be more easily condifferfromCatholicsin the mannerof worshipand in verted.6 These statementsimply that schismatic
a few articlesof faiththatare not necessaryfor salva- Greeksas well as Protestantsmustreturnto unitywith
tion.81 The Lutheransand Calviniststeach holy doc- theRomanchurch.
deviatesfromorthoMore often,however,Bartholotti
trines,he writes, and the Reformationdid a great
serviceto Catholicsas well as to Protestantsby saving doxy. He seems to believe that the major Christian
fromsuperstitionand ignorance.82Since churches are separated merely by the inventionsof
Christianity
he equatesholinesswiththekindof naturalmoralrecti- theologicalreasoning. Reunion can be achieved by
tude that he observed in Protestants,he rejects the compromise,each churchgivingup nonessentials. He
of the doc- impliesthatProtestantsneed not repudiatetheirfundastrict,contemporary
Catholicinterpretation
trine that "outside the churchthere is no salvation." mentalbeliefsnor theircorporateheritage. The CathIt is not onlyfalse,he argues,but also a major source olic church,on the otherhand,mustreformherselfand
amongthe faithful.87Restricting
eliminatesuperstition
ofintolerance.83
in
ecclesiasticaldiscipline and in
prerogatives
papal
Bartholotti'sconceptionof religiousdissentexemplifies this non-sectarianChristianity. He discards the doctrinalteaching,she mustreturnto the principlesof
traditionalCatholicdefinition
of a hereticas a Christian the early Christianchurch.88Bartholottiis typicalof
Catholicsin regardingreformof the church
who willfullydeceivesothersconcerningrevealeddoc- enlightened
a
step to restoringChristianunitv.89
as
necessary
trine. With Salvianus,a representative
of Christianity's
This treatisewas, of course, unacceptableto most
Golden Age, Bartholottiassumes a good intentionin
Catholics. They were scandalizedby its
the hearts of those who err. He, therefore,
uses the contemporary
of the churchto the
subordination
word, "heterodox," rather than "heretic." In his typicallyJosephinist
treatise,"heterodox"has two meanings. In a theologi- state,by its conclusionthat the Catholicrulerdid not
cal sense, Christiansare heterodoxwho do not believe have a paternal duty to use his full power against
an essentialarticle of faith,that is, one found in all heretics. On the other hand, to the secularistic
the book was onlyquestionablyenlightened.
traditionalChristiancreeds. They are heterodoxin Aufkldrer,
a juridicalsense if theyrefuseto accept the confession Stressingreligiousreunionand drawingsupportfrom
of faithof theirparticularstate: a Protestantis hetero- the Bible, it seemeda sweetened,modernized,but still
dox in a Catholicstateand vice versa.4 The first sectarianattemptto bringthe Protestantsback to Cathdefinitionbetrays Bartholotti'stendencyto place all olic unity.90 The truthis that Bartholotti'streatise
major Christianchurcheson the same level. The sec- representsan unstablesynthesisof naturallaw philosond, or legalisticdefinitionis typicalof Josephinism's ophy, Christianprinciples,and reason of state: more
rationalisticthan Joseph'spolicy toward religiousdistendencyto politicizereligion.
It is naturalfor Bartholotti,believingthat only ig- senters,moreCatholicthanvan Swieten's.
81 J. N. Bartholotti,Politisch-theologischeAbhanidlung(Wien,
1783), p. 202.
82Ibid., p. 252. Many enlightenedCatholics shared Bartholotti's opinion: e.g., Matthias Dannenmayer,professorof ecclesiastical history at Freiburg i. B. and at Vienna, whose Institutiones historiae ecclesiasticae Novi Testainenti (2 v., Wien,
1788), became a required textbook,in 1788, for all the universities of the monarchy. In 2: p. 196, he refers to Luther as "a
man, praised for his doctrine, erudition, and patient labor."
See also Kaspar Royko, of the University of Prague, whose
historyof the Council of Constance is an apology for John Hus.
83 Bartholotti,op. cit.,p. 102.
84
Ibid.,pp.23,28.
35Ibid.,pp. 207-208.
Ibid.,pp. 194-195.
87 Ibid.,p. 254.
88 Ibid., pp. 408-411. Bartholotticites the seventeenth-century
Gallican theologian,Pierre de Marca, against the curialist theory
of papal authority.
89Gerbert,abbot of St. Blasien, and Alois Merz, the polemical
preacher of Augsburg, advocated reform of certain abuses in
popular devotion,but never as a prerequisiteto reunion. They
could not risk casting doubt on the inerrancyand holiness of
the church. Cf. Wolfgang Muller (ed.), Briefe und 4kten des
Fiirstabtes Martin Gerbert (Karlsruhe, 1957) 2: p. 484.
90Allg. Deut. Bibliothek61 (1785) : pp. 250-251.
86
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ENLIGHTENED CATHOLICS
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
49
IV
endorsedenlightened,
he was keenly
absolutemonarchy,
officials.Y5
Enlightenment
among Catholicswas mainly,but not sensitiveto theabuse ofpowerby government
Among
the
reforms
which
he
defends
abolition
are
the
exclusively,propoundedby clerics. The Vienneseplaywright,Paul Weidmann,attemptedto adopt the ideal of torture,a more natural and humane educationof
of religiouslibertywhile maintainingmany traditional children,civil equalityamong citizens,and the dedicaCatholicattitudes. He shared the commonconviction tionof the country'sresourcesto peacefuldevelopment
of Josephinists
thatreligiouspersecutionand its princi- ratherthanwar.96
In his religiousoutlookWeidmannwas a strictCathple source, religiousfanaticism,are evil. But, unlike
"Catholicism,"
he writes,"is theonlyreligion
Bartholottiand otherradicals,he did not give up the olic.97
whichcultivatesin us a pious,humane,and noblespirit,
traditionalCatholicantipathyto Protestantism.
During Joseph's reign,Weidmann was one of the proofthatit is theworkof God, not man."98 His two
more importantplaywrights
contributing
to the Vienna plays treatingthe clergy,Der Pfarrerkriegand Die
are inoffensive
comedies. All his seristage.9' A versatileauthor,he wrotecomedies,histori- Nonnenschlacht,
cal dramas, political satires,and a version of Faust. ous plays rest on a foundationof Catholicfaith. But
Amonghis comedies,Der Bettelstudent,
1776,a popular in religion,also, Weidmann shows a humaneand enfavorite,was shownfrequently
throughoutthe German lightenedoutlook. He frequentlydraws the figureof
world. Joseph II appreciatedWeidmann's talentand an enlightenedChristian,in contrastto harsh,violent
and consistently
condemnsthe use
took personalinterestin his librettoforDie Bergknap- fanaticsand bigots,99
pen, 1778,thefirstoperettawrittenforthe Burgtheater. of forceagainsthereticsor pagans. He repudiatesthe
Weidmannwas a retiring,
bookishperson. Although Reformationas muchfor its fanaticismas for its false
of Christianity.
from a poor family,he received a good, humanistic interpretation
In theintroduction
to theepic poem,Karlssieg,1774,
educationat theJesuitgymnasiumin Vienna. He later
studiedpoliticalsciencefora shorttimeunder Sonnen- whichdepictsCharles V in conflictwith the Lutheran
fels. Well read in classic and modern authors, he princes,Weidmanndescribesthe churchon the eve of
shows in his earliestplays a strongliterarydependence the Reformationas peaceful and united under the
on Voltaire.92 Weidmann's closest associate was his Roman pontiff. Luther, acting out of passion rather
brother,Joseph,an able actor as well as playwrightat than religiousconviction,bringson an era of religious
the Burgtheater. Otherwise,Weidmann worked out- warfare:
side contemporary
Viennese literarycircles. He was The churchis peacefulandunited. The pontiff
rulespeacenot a mason,and he did not frequentliterarysalons or fullyhis docileflock. Suddenlyan unknownmonkis incoffee houses.93 At the Bohemian-AustrianCourt sulted. He decidesuponrevenge.... 100
Chancellery,where he had a minorpost, he came into Luther is clever ratherthan sincerein his
preaching,
contact with Sonnenfels, Johann Alxinger, Joseph and he gives
plausibilityto his novel opinionsby conRatschky,and Tobias Gebler. But this did not lead to stantlytalkingabout
theprimitive
churchand the Bible:
closer acquaintance.
Withinthe limitsimposedby the censors,Weidmann He knowshow to give his cause a brillianttouch,in that
to the timeof the
demonstrateda strong commitmentto enlightened he promisesto referback everything
ideals. He admiredJosephII and in severalplays ad94E.g. Fernando,Pizarro'sbrother,
in Pizarro; Schwerthau,
vertisedhis reforms. Like the Emperor, Weidmann thetutorin Die Erziehung(1775) ; thenobleman,St. Omer,in
is St. Omer'sdeacceptedclass differences
but stressedthe moral quali- Die schoneWienerin(1776). Characteristic
scriptionof himself(V, 8): "You see here a natural man
ties and practicalachievementsof a personratherthan without
much ceremony,
who can assure you that the world
his birth. His heroes,whatevertheirsocial class, are loses nothingwhen it casts away prejudicesand begins
for
industriousand conscientiousabout their duties, and once to reflectthat the gentlebond of natureunitesall men,
freefrombigotryand superstition.94While Weidmann thatthegreatdisparityof theclassesdoes notmakeus happier,
and that... theleast of the rabbleis a man and our brother."
91Rudolf Payer von Thurn,"Paul Weidmann,der Wiener
95 See especially,Der Missbrauchder Gewalt (1778). This
Faustdichterdes XVIII. Jahrhunderts,"
Jahrbuchder Grill- play was suppressedafterthe firstperformance.
parzer Gesellschaft13 (1903): pp. 1-74,is the chiefauthority 98 Die Folter oder der menschliche
Richter(1773) condemns
on Weidmann. JosephNadler remarks,"This man is of un- theuse of torture;Die Erziehung(1775) advocatesenlightened
usual importancefor Viennese literaturefrom the Baroque methodsof education;Der Landphilosophoder die natiirliche
theaterto Grillparzer,"in Literaturgeschichte
des deutschen Weltweisheit
(1778) stressesthe naturalequalityof men; Der
Volkes (4th ed.,Berlin,1938) 2: p. 470. LenoreSchramgrants Eulenspiegel(1781) ridiculeswar.
that Weidmannwas not a great poet but pointsout that he
97 J. W. Nagl, Deutsch-osterreichische
Literaturgeschichte
embodiedin his workeverything
thatcharacterized
theViennese (Wien,1914) 2: p. 340.
98 Prologueto Karlssieg. Quoted fromSchram,op. cit.,p.
stageat thattime: "thetraditional
heritageand the new ideas."
From"Das Biihnenwerk
Paul Weidmanns"(unpublished
Ph.D. 133.
diss.,U. of Vienna,1943),p. 5.
99The tutor, Schwerthau,in Die Erziehung,successfully
92 Weidmann patternedMostadhem oder der Fanatismus counteracts
the influenceof the children'sbigottedaunt. Cf.
(1772), afterVoltaire'sMahometou le Fanatisme,and Pizarro also Charles V in Karlssieg,and StephanFadinger fromthe
oderdie Amerikaner(1772), afterAlzire ou les Ame'ricains.
playof thesamename.
93 PayervonThurn,op. cit.,p. 19.
100Payer von Thurn, op. cit.,p. 46.
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50
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER.
PHIL.
SOC.
in his the Austrianpeasant revoltof 1626, Faidingerbecomes
Apostlesandalwayshas thewordsofHoly Scripture
a tragichero, patternedremotelyafterGoethe's Gotz
Weidmanndescribesin equally dark colors the course von Berlichingen,who reluctantlyleads the peasants
againstan Imperialarmyand dies in the siege of Linz.
oftheReformation:
This is the best of Weidmann's serious plays. Both
theworldwithdrunken
Heresyrushesthrough
enthusiasm; movingand timely,it was well receivedin Vienna and
. . . a frenziedmob led by follyruns afterhim. They deand Prague.106
teardownthealtars,theybreakpictures
troythetemple,
slaughterthe priests.'02 The play is representativeof Weidmann's mature
statues,plunderthe monasteries,
thinkingabout the Enlightenment. In contrast to
Harshly as he judges Luther and the Reformation, Goethe,Weidmannexpressesstrongcompassionforthe
he just as firmlybelieves that religiouspersecutionis
peasants. And, while condemningthe rebellion,he
foolishand wrong. Once implantedin men's minds, does not spare the nobilitywhose oppressionprovoked
heresycannotbe tornout by forceand mustbe toler- it. Weidmannalso differsfromGoethe in placingreated. In Karlssieg,Weidmannhas the Emperor,after ligious freedomprominently
among the themesof the
defeatingtheProtestantsin the SchmalkaldicWar, seek drama. In Gotz von Berlichingen,
the peasantslist no
to reconcilethevanquished. Charlesproclaimsan edict religiousgrievancesand cannot be identifiedas secoftoleration:
tarians. Gotz himselfshows no interestin religion;he
only by his idea of honorand
is motivatedthroughout
attend
of
the
freest
citizen,
Go in peace,enjoythe rights
to doctrinein peaceableassemblies;do nottear apartthe his desire for personalliberty. In Stephan Fiidinger,
tied. Brothers, on the otherhand,the peasantsare clearlyProtestants
bondswhichwisenaturehas so excellently
love one another,do not persecuteone anotherover difGod according fightingfor religiousliberty. While dying,Fadinger
ferencesof opinion. Honor the Almighty
to your customs; go back to peaceful cities. . . . Oh, how reiteratesthatreligiouslibertyis a necessarycondition
happyI wouldbe, if I couldreunitemy Germany.103 formakingpeace withthe Emperor.
In this play Weidmann's sympathyembraces the
Here, as elsewherein the poem,Weidmannalludes to
peasants but not theirerrors. He condemns,without
JosephII.104 CharlesV is the modelof a futuregreat
qualification,any revolt against legitimateauthority;
monarchwho would unite separatedbrothers.
the oppressedhave no recoursebut to appeal to the
In 1781 the Emperor'sconcessionsto non-Catholics
Emperoror to God. Nor does he presentProtestantism
promptedWeidmann to turn again to the theme of
Pastor Dollinger,
in a good light. Its representative,
religious liberty,in the historical drama, Stephan
is a hypocrite,a coward, and an intriguer. And
Fadinger oder der Bauernkrieg.105In this accountof
Fadinger, on his death bed, gives unmistakablesigns
ofdoubtingtheProtestantreligion:
101 Ibid.
mouth.'0'
102 Nagl, op. cit. 2: p. 338. Amongthe enlightened
Catholics In religion,do not believeeveryfanatic,theystrainat a
is Michael gnatand swallowa camel. Our forefathers
who sharedWeidmann'soutlookon the Reformation
werehonorable
Ignaz Schmidt,Director of the Haus- und Staatsarchivin men and perhapsbetterChristians.Now, new teachers
Vienna. Cf. his Geschichteder Teutschen (Ulm, 1783) 6, which
rise up amongyou,who witha book in their
continually
theirdefiance handwantto rulethe world. Bewareof thesedangerous
talentsbutcondemns
thereformers'
acknowledges
of ecclesiasticalauthorityand the subsequentschism. 0.
Sashegyi, Zensur und GeistesfreiheitunterJoseph II. (Budapest,
people.107
1958), p. 39, erroneouslyidentifiesSchmidtas a Protestant. The CatholicismthatWeidmannrepresentsas morally
histori- superiorto Protestantism
In fact, he was a Catholic priest. For Josephinist
is not the Catholicismof the
ography,cf. Eugen Sager, Die Vertretungder Kirchengeschichte
The
in Freiburg(Freiburgi. B.); A. Berney,"Mich. Ign. Schmidt: seventeenthbut of the late eighteenthcentury.
a
from
position
liberty,
religious
who
grants
emperor
im
Historiographie
deutschen
der
zur
Geschichte
Ein Beitrag
of strengthand as a matterof principle,is JosephII,
not FerdinandII who would have ratherseen his lands
der Aufklirung (Tiibingen, 1921),
Kirchengeschichtsschreibung
a desert than populated by Protestants. In sum,
pp. 61-78.
103 Nagl, op. cit., p. 340. In thisepic,Weidmann
is indebted Stephan Fadinger, like the pastoral letters,supports
In the pointof view of Hay, Herberstein,and Auersperg
and
Klopstock.
Milton,
well
as
to
Virgil,
as
to Voltaire,
particular,Karlssieg resemblesVoltaire's Henriade in the that Catholicismcan take on historicalformsthat are
how- compatiblewith religiousliberty.
"politique"basis of the religiouspeace. The differences,
Zeitalter der Aufklarung," Historisches Jahrbuch der Gor-
resgesellschaft44 (1924): pp. 211-239; Karl V6lker, Die
ever, are illustrativeof Weidmann'sChristian,of Voltaire's
secularisticpointof view; Charles V, unlikeHenry IV, is a
Catholicmonarch. Moreover,
genuinelyreligious,enlightened
in Karlssiegonly Lutherand some of the Protestantsappear
of
fanatic;in the Henriade,Voltairecondemnsthe intolerance
Catholicsas well as Calvinists. Finally,thereis nothingin
Karlssieg'sedictof toleration.
Voltaire'sepic resembling
104 Ibid., p. 338.
105 Cf. Schram,op. cit., pp. 134-136; Payer von Thurn,op.
cit.,pp. 44-46. For the literaryhistoryof Fadinger,fromthe
cf.RudolfKohl, "Stephen
century,
to thetwentieth
seventeenth
Ph.D. diss.,
Fadingerin der deutschenLiteratur"(unpublished
U. of Vienna,1913); and FriedrichHolzinger,"Der oberosterreichischeBauernkriegin der Dichtung,"(unpublishedPh.D.
diss.,U. ofVienna,1933).
106 Perhapsbecauseof its religioustheme,it was not staged
at the Burgtheater.Cf. Hadamowsky,Die WienerHoftheater
(Wien, 1967). In printedversions,however,the play had a
widecirculation.
StephenFddingeroder der Bauernkrieg
107Paul Weidmann,
(Wien, 1781), Act V, Scene 10.
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51
JANSENISTS
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
VI. JANSENISTS
this inward purityespeciallywhen dealing with "sectariansseparatedfromthe true church." The prince's
I
reasons for grantingcivil rightsare immaterial;it is
At firstglance, it may be surprisingto findseveral sufficientthat individual Catholics cultivatethe disJansenistsamong the enlightenedCatholics justifying positionsthat the circumstancesrequire, that is, "to
religioustolerationin Austria. The ascetic and doc- avoid that indifference,
incompatiblewith true piety,
trinalrigorismcharacteristic
of Jansenismwould seem that. . . extinguishes
the sentiments
of compassion,zeal
to inclinea person to condemnratherthan bear with and charityforthosewalkingin theway of damnation."
the erring. Indeed, in the seventeenth
centuryJansenWith thisreasoningthe Jansenistperiodicalreceived
ism had been generallyintolerantof Christiansoutside favorablyEmperor Joseph's Edict of Toleration, as
the Catholic church. Althoughpersecutedthemselves well as mostof the enlightened
Catholicliteraturejustiby Louis XIV, Jansenistsrecognizedhis right as a fyingit3; but it rejectedBishop Hay's pastoral letter.
Catholic prince to punish hereticsand schismatics,if Apparently consideringhim an ambitious, secularnot withdeath,at least withexile,confiscation
of prop- mindedprelate,the editorswronglyunderstoodhim to
erty,and otherseverepenalties. Hence the theologians, advocate religious indifference
instead of "Christian
AntoineArnauldand PierreNicole,and theplaywright, tolerance."4
Jean Racine, had approvedLouis XIV's Revocationof
In contrastto theFrench,theJansenistsin theHapsthe Edict of Nantes and his harsh treatmentof the burg lands were less anxious about doctrineand more
Huguenots.' This intolerantattitudegrew partlyout receptiveto secular,humanitarianpointsof view. By
of the peculiar Janseniststress on the unity of the the late eighteenthcenturythey were not easily dischurchand the horrorof schismand partlyout of the tinguishedfromother enlightenedCatholics. On
the
general Catholic fear that tolerancewould fosterre- one hand, since doctrinalissues no
longeragitatedthe
ligiousindifference.
public,the distinctive
Jansenistpropositionsconcerning
The Enlightenment,however, gradually led many grace, salvation,and the sacramentswere discussed
Janseniststo adopt a morehumaneattitude. Although infrequently.A Jansenistmight occasionally reveal
denouncing"the pretendedreformedreligion"and ap- his theologicalpoint of view in attackingthe early
proving the French government'sseverity towards eighteenth-century
bull, Unigenitus,the ultimatepapal
Huguenotpreachers,the Nouvelles Ecclesiastiques,the condemnation
ofJansenism. He wouldvigorouslydeny
quasi-officialvoice of eighteenth-century
French Jan- that any Jansenisthad ever professedthe condemned
senism, acknowledgedthat religious dissent is com- propositions. The heresy had never existed: it was
patible with political unity and order: the Catholic
prince,therefore,
could grantciviltolerationto innocent, 3See NE August 14, 1781, approvingJoseph'sChristian
peacefulheretics. Moreover,it is fitting
thatthe Gospel tolerancein Hungary; May 29, 1782, reportingthe Edict of
January16, 1784,excusingJoseph'spersecution
of
be spreadby theforceof truthand charityinsteadof by Toleration;
the Deists: "Les deistes sont tous des mecreants . . . " (p. 3).
physicalcoercion.2 The editorssupportthis "Christian For literaturejustifyingthe Emperor'spolicy,see NE May
tolerance"with argumentsfromScripture,contrasting 15, 1782,and June30, 1783,for Wittola'spamphlets;June 5,
the New Law of love withthe Old Law of constraint: 1782, for ArchbishopFrankenberg'spastoralletter; June 30,
1783,fortheLatineditionof Bartholotti's
treatiseon toleration;
It is no longerGod's will thatnationslost in errorand April 3 & 10, 1783,fortheFrenchtranslation
of Herberstein's
impietybe condemned
and punishedby the sword. We pastoralletter;January9, February 13 & August 27, 1784,
shoulddo onlygoodto othersso that,bringing
themto the for the Latin editionof Tamburini'streatise.
4 NE August 7, 1782, p. 126: "Bishop Hay of K6niggratz
truereligion,we can win themforGod.
They also draw upon the teachingand example of the
Fathers of the Church,upon commonsense, and upon
the opinions of Arnauld; but they do not mention
naturallaw or reasonsof utility. Such insistenceupon
a specifically
Christianrationaleis due to the traditional
Jansenistbeliefthat all humanactions,to be trulyreligious,requirea strictlysupernaturalmotivation.The
good Catholic, asserts the periodical,should practice
1 E. Preclin,Les Luttespolitiqueset doctrinales
aux XVII:e
et XVIII:e siecles (Paris, 1956), p. 131.
2NE January2, 1783: pp. 1-4. This issue is devotedentirelyto explaining
themeaningof "Christian
tolerance."A contemporary
Vienneseobservorwrites: "It has pleased everyone
[in theenlightened
circlesof Vienna] verymuch. His Majesty
foundit veryjudicious." De Terme to Dupac de Bellegarde,
January9, 1784, in Utrecht,Rijksarchief,Collection: Port
Royal et Unigenitus,B. de Terme,2544, Packet no. 4.
in Bohemiahas issued a pastoralletteron tolerancethat has
caused a generalscandal. This prelatehas obviouslytriedto
court the Emperorby makingexcessive concessionsto the
hereticsand even to heresy. But he has badly failed. His
ImperialMajesty,rightlyoffended
by such criminaladulation,
has stronglydisapprovedthe pastoralletter,reprimanded
the
prelate,and orderedall the bishopsto warn their clergyto
apply themselveswith diligentcharityto bring back the
erring. .
. ."
This account of the Emperor's reaction is false.
If the NE was misinformed,
it was not by Wittola, the
periodical'sprincipalViennacorrespondent.In writingto Dupac de Bellegarde,Wittola consistently
expressesesteemfor
BishopHay. Afterreadingtheabove report,Wittolainformed
Dupac that the NE was entirelywrong in saying that the
Emperorreprimanded
Hay for his pastoralletter;and Wittola
asked, in vain, that the NE issue a retraction.Wittola to
Dupac, February5, 1783,in Utrecht,Rijksarchief,
Collection:
Port Royal et Unigenitus,
Wittola,no. 2583,packetno. 5. It
is not clear fromwhat sourcethe NE's misinformation
came:
it is not mentioned
by Abbe de Terme,Dupac's otherVienna
correspondent.
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52
O'BRIEN: IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
fabricatedby the Jesuitsto discreditthe opponentsof piciousof NorthGermanProtestantjuristsand historithe worksof van Espen, de Marca,
ans, theypreferred
curialismand casuistryin the church.5
On the otherhand,as the Jansenistfurortheologicus Opstraet,Fleury,and otherwritersof theirown tradisubsided,the Jansenistasceticideal, a spontaneous,in- tion. Jansenistskept a firmerhold on traditional
of the
ward, evangelicalpiety,was increasinglyappreciated Christiandoctrinesconcerningthe infallibility
Catholics reacting against churchand the fallennature of man and hence more
by many reform-minded
church. decidedlyrejectedfreethinkingthan did most enlightrigid formalismin the Counter-Reformation
Moreover,like other enlightenedCatholics,Jansenists ened Catholics. Finally, they concerned themselves
in the Hapsburgmonarchywere enthusiasticErastians, principallywith the problem of dissent within the
to bringing
to themonarchbecause they churchand devotedthemselvesparticularly
inclinedto resorthopefully
could not achievetheiraims at the centerof ecclesiasti- the schismaticJansenistChurchof Utrechtinto comcal authorityor among the people.6 Not only the munionwith the Roman Catholic church.8 Although
hierarchyas a body,but the majorityof the laity and they did not share the Febronian preoccupationwith
lower clergy remained attached to traditionalCath- religiousunityin Germany,many Jansenistsrealized
thattheirargumentsjustifiedthe tolerationof Protesolicism.
This agreement among enlightenedCatholics on tantsas well as Dutch Jansenists. A prominentexcepasceticand politicalprincipleshas lead manyhistorians tionwas CountJosephPhilip von Spaur, an outspoken
to applythe term,"Jansenist,"too looselyto rigoristic, protagonistof the Churchof Utrecht,who as Bishop of
anti-Jesuit,Catholic reformerslike Muratoriwho in- Brixen issued a remonstranceagainst the Edict of
deed often associated themselveswith the Jansenist Toleration.9
In Vienna, althoughnever numerous,the Jansenists
pointof view." There were,however,severalways in
occupiedkeypostsin thechurch,
which Jansenistsset themselvesapart fromother en- and theirsympathizers
and censorship.10During Maria
they schooladministration,
lightenedCatholics. More than otherreformers,
stressedthe primitivechurchas a model for reformin Theresa's reign,theywere also prominentat the court.
worship,pious practices,and churchgovernment.Sus- Through Gerhard van Swieten, physicianto the imperial family,severalof the Empress' childrenreceived
5 See Marc AntonWittola'sarticleon theChurchof Utrecht, moralguidancefromconfessorsfriendly
to Jansenism."
in NeuesteBeitrdgeMay, 1790: 2. Heft,forthistypicalargu- From 1767 to her death, Maria Theresa's confessor,
theheresyofJansenism.
mentdenying
Ignaz Muller, Provost of St. Dorothea,likewiseexer6 Cf. A. C. Jemolo,II giansenismoin Italia prima della
his great influencein favor of Jansenism. The
cised
Rivoluzione(Bari, 1926), p. 92, who argues that these exa Sunday evening circle at his home attractedmany
were the main reason why Jansenism,
trinsiccircumstances
adopted
movement,
sincerelyreligiousbut narrowlydoctrinaire
an "unnatural"Erastian outlook in the eighteenthcentury. 8 Most Jansenistsremainedwithin the church; only the
in theHapsburg small Churchof Utrechthad gone into schismearly in the
allies,Jansenists
Chiefly
to pleasetheirprincely
century.In 1780,it consistedof some 4,000memsocio-politicalreforms, eighteenth
lands and Italy embracedenlightened
publiceducationand moderncare bers undertwo bishopsand an archbishop.Hopes of reunion
such as religioustoleration,
of ClementXIV whenAustrian
for the poor. This analysis is attackedby R. Mazzetti,in rosehighduringthepontificate
italiano(Messina, JansenistsassistedUtrecht'sspecial emissaryto Rome, Count
Pietro Tamburini:la mentedel giansenismo
du
that mutualinterestsbroughtabout a Dupac de Bellegarde. See F. Kenninck,"Correspondance
1948). Acknowledging
and princes,Mazzettiassertsthat this co- Dr. Wittola avec le Comte Dupac de Bellegarde,"Revue
unionof Jansenists
de Theologie1898: pp. 323 if. for the attempts
operationwas not "unnatural"or compromising.Jemolofails Internationale
thatthe essenceof Jansenismconsists,not in a of Bishop Spaur of Seckau, in 1772,to uniteall the bishops
to understand
that suffraganto Salzburg in supportof Utrecht. Accordingto
theologicalpropositions
anachronistic
set of misanthropic,
it neglectedin the eighteenthcentury,but in its continuing E. Preclin,"L' Influencedu jansenismefrangais'a 1' etranger,"
vision of "a more intimate,simple,and severe Catholicism" Revue Historique182 (1938): p. 40, Josephdid not like the
and did nothingto helptheChurchof Utrecht. But
to hold that Jansenists
(p. 41). It was, in fact,"natural"for Jansenists
the churchshould surrenderits politicalprerogativesto the C. A. Vianello, "L'opinione personale de Giuseppe II in
ArchivioStoricoLombardo61 (1935):
princeand becomean almost exclusivelyspiritualinstitution. materiade giansenismo,"
It was also "natural,"from the Janseniststress on active pp. 671-673,showsthatJosephwas pleasedwiththe Jansenists
towardtheir
understanding
charity,to supportreligioustolerationand otherhumanitarian at Pavia and showedsympathetic
on behalfof Utrecht.
reforms. Mazzetti directsthis argumentwith even greater efforts
9 As Bishopof Seckau,in 1773,Spaur persecuted
Protestants
Janforceagainstthoseauthorswho reduceeighteenth-century
Aufklirungin Graz
cf. pp. 98-99,for E. in Styria. Cf. A. Posch, Die kirchliche
senismto a purelypoliticalphenomenon:
February2,
(Graz, 1937), p. 37. For Spaur's remonstrance,
Rota, "P. Tamburini di Brescia . . . ," in Boll. della Soc.
Pavese di St. Patria 1912: p. 346, who discoversin Italian 1782, see J. Hofer, "Zur Geschichtedes Toleranz-Patents
psychologyof the Kaiser JosephsII. in Tirol," Hist. Jahrb.(1927) 48: pp. 507conspiratorial
Janseniststhe machiavellian,
Carbonari; and pp. 189-190,for M. Rigatti, Un illuminista 508. Cf. also Wittolato Bellegarde,February5, 1783,Kentrentinodel seculo XVIII. Carlo AntonioPilati (Florence, ninck,loc. cit.1898: p. 595.
10 For Jansenism
countries,see W.
in the German-speaking
1923), p. 216, who treatsthemas merelyservilepublicistsfor
in deutschenLanden (Miinchen,
Deinhardt,Der Jansenismus
JosephII and the masonicorder.
7 See Jemolo,
op. cit.,pp. 170-171,185,forMuratori. Cf. E. 1929).
(Wien, 1943), p. 48. Maxi(Wien, 1943), p. 111: eighteenth- 11E. Winter,Der Josephinismus
Winter,Der Josephinismus
centuryJansenismis scarcelymore than "a radical reform milian'sconfessorwas Franz Ruschitzka,Marie Antoinette's,
Abbe Jeande Terme,Caroline's,Abbe Guertler.
Catholicism."
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
JANSENISTS
53
clerics,writers,and governmentofficialsactive in re- Utrecht.16In HapsburgMilan and Florence,of course,
ligious reforms.12Muller's Jansenistfriend,Bishop the treatisewas favorablyreceived. But in Rome the
Simon Stock,theDirectorof theTheologicalFacultyof curial-mindedGiornaledi Roma heaped abuse upon it;
Vienna, from1759 to 1772, and Abbot Rautenstrauch, Cardinal Mamachi, Master of the Sacred Palace, orhis successor,reformedtheologicaleducationaccording dered it confiscated
in the Papal States.'
to Jansenistideals.
Tamburini,the chiefapologistof Italian Jansenism,
During Joseph'sreign,Jansenistscontinuedto exert was at the peak of his influenceduring the 1780's.18
significant
influencein the churchand schools because The Emperorread De tolerantiaand discussedit with
theEmperorconsideredthemwillingand loyalservants. him in 1783 duringa visit to Pavia. AlthoughJoseph
But none of themwas as close to him as Gerhardvan took no steps to assist the Utrechtchurch,he demonSwieten and Ignaz Muller had been to his mother. stratedhis approvalof Tamburini'spointof view. DurJoseph surroundedhimselfwith more secular-minded ing the visit,and on several othertripsto Lombardy,
personslike Gerhard'sson, Gottfried.Outside Vienna, JosephpubliclyhonoredTamburiniand his colleagues
Jansenistswere notablyactive in AustrianLombardy, in the Facultyof Theology,referring
to themas "truly
wheretheytookpart in a renaissanceof Italian culture. talentedmen."19 In appreciationof Tamburini'sjuridiTheir intellectualcenterwas the Universityof Pavia, cal writingand his part in the reformsof ecclesiastical
extensivelyimprovedby Maria Theresa and JosephII. education at Pavia, the Emperor promotedthe JanIts facultyof theologyplayed an importantpart in the senist,in 1786, to the chair of naturaland public law.
Emperor'sradicalreformof clericaleducation. In 1783
Tamburini'sidea of religioustolerationoriginatedin
he made it responsiblefor educatingthe monarchy's the view of the Christianlifethathe expressedat least
futurehierarchyat the new generalseminaryto which elevenyearsbeforewritingDe tolerantia. In his major
he transferred
all the Austrianstudentsat the German earlyworkDe summacatholicaede gratia ChristidocCollege in Rome.
trinae,1771, he definesreligionas essentiallythe free
movement
of the heart,under the irresistibleinfluence
II
of grace, in an active, loving communionwith God.
That same year,Pietro Tamburini,professorof the- What is distinctiveabout Tamburiniis
not this prinology at Pavia, publishedDe tolerantiaecclesiasticaet ciple,commonto the Pauline-Augustinian
tradition,but
civili, under the name of one of his students,Count thecentralimportanceit assumesin his
theology.20He
Thaddeus Trautmannsdorf.13 An authoritativeJan- virtuallyidentifiesthe grace of Christ,which distinsenistdefenseof toleration,a polemicyet scholarlyplea guishesChristianity
fromanyotherreligion,withcharity
for the Church of Utrecht,this book aroused wide- thatmoves the Christiannot onlyto love God but
also
spread interestamong contemporaries.It appeared in his neighbor. Grace works in the church,the comtwo Latin editions,1783 and 1784, an Italian editionin munityof thefaithful,
in thesame spontaneousway that
1785, and a French editionin 1796.14 In Vienna the it worksin theindividualChristian. Drawing
fromthis
JansenistWiener Kirchenzeitungpublicized its main principlea democraticconceptionof authorityin the
argumentsin a long, favorablesummary." The trea- church,he elaboratesa synodalformof churchgoverntise'spublicationprovokeda chainof controversy
among ment,a paternalratherthan a monarchicalmodel of
studentsat the Universitiesof Vienna and Pavia con- leadership,and a policyof consultingthe laity. Because
cerning the Catholic orthodoxy of the Church of its bondis charity,
thechurchis unlikeanyothersociety:
it cannotarbitrarilyimpose its way of life upon men,
12 Ibid.,p. 47. Among
thedistinguished
visitorswas Friedrich
Nicolai. See Reise durchDeutschland(5 v., Berlin,1784-1788) ratherit mustseek to win theirallegiance.
3: pp. 359-361,for his favorableimpression
of Muller and his
circle.
13T. Trautmannsdorf
[P. Tamburini],De tolerantiaecclesiasticaet civili (Ticini, 1783). My references
are to the French
De la toleranceecclesiastique
translation,
et civile (Paris, 1796).
In January1795, Pius VI withheldconfirmation
of Trautmannsdorf'snominationas Hay's successor at Koniggratz
untilhe assuredthe Pope thathe had done no morethanpay
the cost of publication. Trautmannsdorf
completeda distinguishedecclesiasticalcareeras CardinalArchbishopof 01mutz. Cf. S. Brunner,TheologischeDien,erschaft(Wien,
1868), pp. 273-276,277-278; G. Melzi, Dizionario di opere
anonimee pseudonimedi scrittoriitaliani (Milano, 1859) 3:
p. 167; and C. Wurzbach,Biographisches
Lexikon des KaiserthumsCsterreich(Wien, 1859-1891)67: pp. 84-85.
14A handwritten
synopsisin German,dated 1790,amongthe
papersof CountKarl Zinzendorf,
in HHSA, Nachlass Zinzendorf,146a: pp. 212-235,indicatesthatthe treatisewas read attentivelyin the highestofficialcircles.
15 WKZ
1784:pp. 89-92,98-100,153-154,391-392.
16 For a
protagonist
of the treatise,MaximilianKollweg,at
the Universityof Vienna, July and August, 1784, see NE
October 15,and November26, 1784. Cf. Nicolai,Reise durch
Deuitschland
5: pp. 158-159. For Rottenstaeder's
similarstand
at Pavia, July,1786,see P. C. Cannarozzi,"L'adesio dei giansenisti italiani all'chiesa scismatica di Utrecht," Archivio
StoricoItaliano2 (1942) : p. 44.
17 WKZ 1784: pp. 153-154.
18 On
Tamburini,see R. Mazzetti, Pietro Tamburini: la
menitedel giansenismoitaliano (Messina, 1948), a generally
convincingintellectualportraitthat,like Jemolo,op. cit., pp.
268-332,considersTamburini'sJansenist
religiouspointof view
to be theprimarysourceof his idea of tolerationand otherenlightenedreforms.For the view that Tamburini'sJansenism
was but a mask coveringa machiavellian
Italian patriot,cf. E.
Rota,op. cit.,p. 346.
19Jemolo,op. cit.,p. 281, and Vianello,op. cit.,p. 672.
20 Cf. the
introduction
to the treatise,quotedin Mazzetti,op.
cit.,p. 116.
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54
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
Compulsionis utterlyalien to thisview of Christianity. Several years afterhis tract on tolerance,Tamburini condemned the perverse mentalityinspiring
religiouspersecution:
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
thatdiversityof beliefoughtto be allowed in secondary
doctrinesand unitymaintainedonlyin the fundamental
truths. What God reveals,Tamburiniargues, cannot
be classifiedinto fundamentaland secondary,deniable
and undeniable; it must all be accepted at least imbut
Truthis not propagatedby the fear of punishment,
by gentlepersuasion. Hence, to use exile, prisons,and plicitly. Their errororiginatesin a false conceptionof
of sects without
of goods to defendthe truthis no less inept the churchas a kind of confederation
confiscation
withblowsor blowswithsyllo- central authorityor a common law. This view, he
thanto opposesyllogisms
gisms. It is fanatical,in the name of truth,to pervert argues, is contraryto the spirit and constitutionof
the naturalorderand to violateeveryright.
Christ'schurchwhich must have one soul, one heart,
not
In the Middle Ages, Tamburinicontinues,this fanati- and one spirit. The earlychurchexcommunicated
tribunal, only those, like Arius, who denied major truths,but
cism producedthe Inquisition:"that frightful
fullof threatsand carnage,thatwas introduced also those,like Novatian,who deniedthe so-calledsecduringbarbarictimes by proud,despoticmen." But, ondarytruths. In any case, it is impossibleforProteshe concludes,in recenttimes,rulershave providentially tants to agree upon what is fundamentaland what is
secondary.
fromthisevil.21
freedChristendom
Tamburiniworked out these logical implicationsof
Althoughit insistson the integrity
of Christiandochis theologyof grace,partlythroughan internaldialec- trine,Tamburiniargues,thechurch'spolicyis forebeartical process, partly throughpersonal experience of ing towards those who err. Even when a dogma is
persecution.While teachingin the seminaryin Brescia questioned,thechurch'sinvariablepracticeis to tolerate
at the beginningof his career,he was harassedby con- its erringmembersuntila generalcouncilof the church
servativescholastictheologiansforexpressingJansenist rendersa unanimousdecision. Tamburinidraws this
opinions.Suppressinghis treatiseon grace,the Roman conciliarist
principlefromthemysticalbasis ofhis demoCuria drovehim fromhis academicpost. Nonetheless, craticconceptionof the church. The Holy Spirit,the
in 1772, encouragedby the anti-JesuitCardinal Mare- source of the love bindingChristianstogether,speaks
foschi,Tamburinimovedto Rome and becameRectorof onlywiththeircollectivevoice. Especiallyin the early
the Irish College. In the relativelyliberalatmosphere centuries,he writes,the churchoftenrefrainedfrom
the Jansenisttheologian pronouncing
of ClementXIV's pontificate,
a definitive
sentencein controversies.The
could apply his democraticconceptionof the churchto churchassumes that the erringmembersare in good
of the seminary.Adoptingthe rule faithand is willingto wait in the hope thatnew light
thesmallcommunity
of St. Augustine,"libertyin doubtfulmatters" (in may come out of the discussion. The church also
dubiis libertas), he introducedfreedomof discussion realizes that, since error arouses human passions, a
and a "reasonableobedience"amongthe students.22In precipitatecondemnationmightlead to schism. This
thesame spirithe began in Rome to defendthe Utrecht shouldbe avoidedat all costs. The issue shouldbe put
church.22 In 1778, at Maria Theresa's invitation,he offuntiltemperscool and the noveltyof the errordismovedto Pavia wherehe was teachingmoraltheology appears. Then thechurch,unitedin a spiritof concord,
can safelyjudge the disputedquestions.
whenJosephissued the Edict of Toleration.
offeredby the Edict
Tamburinitook the opportunity
Tamburini draws this lesson from a lengthyconto argue,not so muchforthe Emperor'scivil toleration siderationof classic disputes,such as the Great Schism
as forfreedomwithinthechurch,especiallyfortheright oftheWest in thelate fourteenth
century. Even though
of dissentersto receivethe sacramentsuntilthe whole the opposing parties,at Rome and Avignon,excomchurch,ratherthan merelya faction,excludes them.24 municatedeach other, they remainedin fact united,
With a doctrinalfirmness
oppositeto Bartholotti'stacit becausetheunanimousjudgmentoftheuniversalchurch
Tamburinifirstrefutesseveralfalse ideas was lacking,whichalone can separatea memberfrom
indifference,
he the body. Tamburiniassertsthatthis is also the case
of ecclesiasticaltoleration. Against indifferentists,
argues that it is logicallyabsurd and blasphemousto in Rome's quarrelwith the Churchof Utrecht,and he
assertthatall religionsare equallypleasingto God and implicitlyconcludesthat the Churchof Utrechtis not
salutaryfor man. He likewisecondemnsthe opinion trulyschismatic.25
Grotius,Jurieu,and Turretin, If schismoccurs,writesTamburini,whetherthe septaughtbytheProtestants,
arationbe forcedor voluntary,the erringpersonsmust
21P. Tamburini,Praelectionesquas habuit in Accademia be treatedaccordingto the law of charity. To avoid
tractatumde locis the contagionof error,the faithfulmay be kept
Ticinensiantequamexplicareaggrederetur
from
theologicis(Pavia, 1787), p. 89, quoted in Mazzetti,op. cit.,
contactwith them,but only to the extentallowed by
p. 190.
22 A. C. Jemolo,
in Italia primadella Rivoluzi- civilityand Christianlove. Tamburinicontraststhe
II giansenismo
one (Bari, 1926),p. 227.
solicitude,the conciliatoryspiritof the churchin her
23 Ibid.,p. 278.
"golden age," with the harsh, self-interested
policy of
24 P.
Tamburini,De la tole'ranceecclesiastiqueet civile
(Paris, 1796),p. 5.
25
Ibid., pp. 81 ff.
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VOL. S9, PT. 7, 1969]
JANSENISTS
55
theRoman See towardtheChurchof Utrecht,which,he noncoercivespirit,Tamburiniargues,is based on prinsays,is persecutednoton an issue of faithbut of church ciple,not on expediency. He refutesthe claim thatthe
churchalways possessedthe rightto use constraintbut
government.26
Up to thispoint,the treatisehas dealt withproblems could not exerciseit untilthe conversionof the Roman
of specialinterestto Jansenists. It nextraisesthe ques- Emperor. This theory,he explains,obscuresthe divine
tion, relevant to Protestants as well: should civil originof thechurchand contradictsa mosttellingargupenalitiesbe inflictedupon hereticsand other enemies mentoftenused by the Fathers,thatthechurchmustbe
of the faith? Tamburinibelieves that the churchhas divinebecause it is establishedby charity,patience,and
the rightto impose only spiritualpunishment,
at most persuasion,and not by forceor wealth. Furthermore,
excommunication,
on its members;and it cannotcom- it leads to the absurd notionthatChristmeanthis dismand the rulerto inflictany punishmenton its behalf. ciples to turnthe othercheekuntiltheyhad the power
He argues fromthe natureof religionthat the act of to strikeback.81
Althoughthetestimony
of the Fathersgenerallysupfaithis meaninglessunless it is the freeacceptanceof a
divinegrace bestowedby God accordingto the designs portsan enlightened
Christianidea oftoleration,
Augusof his providence. The "weapons" at the church'sdis- tine's views sometimesseem unfavorable. For during
with the Donatistsat the beginposal are good example,the preachingof truedoctrine, the bittercontroversy
and the miraclesby which God supportsits authority. ning of the fifthcentury,he abandoned his earlier
CitingGrotiusand Barbeyrac,Tamburiniconcludesthat oppositionto the use of coercionand approvedthe imforce violates the natural freedomof human intellect periallegislationagainstthem. But, Tamburiniargues,
he did not therebyapprove religiouscoercionin prinand will.27
Traditionalisttheologians,Tamburiniadmits,do not ciple. First, Augustine's illiberalstand against these
deny the free nature of faith and of man's rational unrulyhereticsshould not be universalized,for he had
faculties. They argue,nevertheless,
thathereticsshould in mindonlytheirparticularthreatto thechurch. And
be forcedto listento the Gospel. If theystillrejectthe second, the Roman Emperor's coercive policy aimed
lightthatGod offersthem,theyshouldbe punishedas primarilyat curbingtheviolenceof the Donatists; their
contumaciousand be preventedfromscandalizingthe conversionwas a side-effectthat gratifiedAugustine
but did not lead himto approvethe use of forceagainst
faithful.28
This error,accordingto Tamburini,arises fromcon- peacefuldissenters.2 The witnessof the earlychurch,
ceivingchurchand state as one sacred societylike the therefore,
remainsalmostentirelyopposed to religious
Jewishtheocracyof theOld Testamentand themedieval persecution. Unfortunately,
in the followingcenturies
Respublica Christiana.29 In such a case, heresy,or many bishops and popes lost sight of this evangelical
rebellionagainstthe church,is at the same time rebel- principleand "drew the swordagainstheretics." Tamlion against the state. In contrast,Tamburinifollows burinibrieflypasses judgmenton themedievalchurch's
Grotiusand otherErastian naturallaw philosophers,
as intoleranceby condemningthe Inquisition,the culminawell as the innerlogic of his conceptionof Christianity, tionof ecclesiasticalusurpationof coercivepower.
in radicallyseparatingthe temporaland the spiritual
Having demonstrated
thatthe churchmay not resort
orders. He assigns ultimatecontrolover churchprop- to thispower,Tamburinidevotesthe last threechapters
erty and other temporalreligious institutionsto the to provingthat the state may not exercise it against
state, leaving to the churchfull responsibility
for the heretics. It is here thatthe treatiseimplicitlyjustifies
administrationof the sacraments and for doctrine. JosephII's civil toleranceof Calvinists,Lutherans,and
Coercivepower, Tamburiniconcludes,belongsonly to GreekOrthodox. Tamburinireasonsthattheprincehas
civil societyand should be used only in its interest. authorityover religious activityaffectingthe state;
True, the state should support the church indirectly, Christianityhas not substantiallyaltered the natural
assistingits worksthathave social utilityand protecting orderof sociey. In a Christiancountry,it is true,he
its property,ministers,and honor. But heresy and cannotdetermine
doctrineor interfere
in theadministraapostasy are purely religiousactions that should not tion of the sacraments,but he is responsiblefor the
affecta person'scivil status.80
externaldisciplineofthechurch. It does notfollowthat
Scriptureand early Christiantradition,assertsTam- the Christianprincemust use his "sword" to prevent
burini,also teachthisrestricted
view of coercivepower. subjects frombeing led into heresy. Granted,asserts
NeitherChristnor his apostlespersecutedthe persons Tamburini,thata Christianprincemustconcernhimself
who rejectedtheirmessage; nor did the church,during with the religiouswelfareof his subjects. He should
the firstthreecenturies,ever resortto violence. This carry out his responsibility,
however,in the manner
26 Ibid.,p. 80.
chap.10.
28Ibid. Cf. J. Pey,La tolerancechre'tienne
(Fribourg,1785),
p. 14.
29 Tamburini,
op. cit.,chap.10.
3O Ibid.
27 Ibid.,
31Ibid.,p. 96.
32Ibid., p. 113. UnlikeJansenists,
otherenlightened
Catholics
readilyacknowledgedserious errorsin Augustine'steachings.
Cf. J. N. Bartholotti,
Politisch-theologische
Abhandlung(Wien,
1783), pp. 160-180,who condemnsAugustinefor approvingthe
forciblesuppression
of heresy.
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56
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
prescribedby the law of natureand the spiritof Chriswitheducation,reformofecclesiasticaldiscipline,
tianity,
and othermeasuresconsistentwithtrue religion. The
Christianprince should not treat heresy as a crime
againstcivil law, unlessit threatenspublicsecurity,underminesthe social virtues,or injures the rightsof
sovereignmajesty. Atheism,on the other hand, is
contraryto natureand shouldbe suppressed.83
This typicallyJosephiniananalysisof a prince'sreligious dutiesindicatesthe partialextentof Tamburini's
natural-lawphilosto eighteenth-century
accommodation
ophy. Touched by the spiritof his age, he is more
Janhumaneand reasonablethana seventeenth-century
senistand more inclinedto apply a naturalstandardof
justice to dealingwithheretics. Still the treatiserests
on theauthor'sstrongJansenistheritage.
fundamentally
theologians,Tamburiniseeks
In contrastto rationalistic
Christianunityon the basis of apostolicdogma rather
than doctrinalindifference.In contrastto curial theologians,he stressescharityratherthanecclesiasticallaw
as the bond of Christianunity. From this traditional
Jansenistemphasison revealedtruthand on theprimacy
of the moral life,he developsa rationaleof Christian
tolerancethat appealed to Joseph II and many other
enlightenedCatholics.84
III
In Vienna anotherJansenist,Marc Anton Wittola,
ably defendedthe enlightenedcause withseveraltracts
and a periodical,his Wiener Kirchenzeitungand its
successor, Neueste Beitrige zur Religionslehreund
He was the busiest and most
Kirchetigeschichte.35
agent of the enlightenedpartyin Vienna,
enterprising
and his journal was the chief organ of the clerical
reformers."6
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Wittolaaimedprincipally
at bringingabouta reforma87
tion in the church, "a Christian Enlightenment."
His role, he believed, was to enlightenthe general
public; hence he called his Kirchenzeitunga popular
journal. His Neueste Beitrige,writtenfor the clergy,
had a similardidacticpurpose. He enthusiastically
supportedJoseph'sreforms,particularlypublic education,
systematiccare of the poor, simplification
of formsof
devotionand of churchart and architecture,
establishmentof a modernparish system,and improvement
of
clericaltraining.
A widespreadnetworkof influential
people supported
Wittola and the Kirchenzeitun.g.The State Council, for instance, suggested his first pamphlet on
toleration.38As longas Gottfried
van Swietenpresided
over the censorship,he protectedWittola'speriodicals.
And the HungarianCourt Chancelleryprescribedthem
for use in the seminariesin Agram, Pressburg,and
Pest.39 L. A. Hoffmann
and the "sermoncritics"were
also helpful,informinghim about the conservative
clergy'sattemptsto circumventthe prohibitionagainst
polemic.40 Correspondentssent in articles about the
progressof enlightenment
in Pavia, Tuscany,Laibach,
and the general seminaries. Even Wittola's enemies
testify
to his importance. CardinalMigazzi condemned
his periodicalsand triedunsuccessfully
to persuadethe
governmentto suppressthem.41 From Augsburg,the
ex-Jesuitsaccused him of spreadingdisbeliefunderthe
coverofpiety.42
Educated by the Jesuits,he had becomea Jansenist
underthe influenceof Simon Stock,auxiliarybishopof
Vienna. In close contactwiththe movementthroughout westernEurope, Wittolamade his homea clearingarticles
house for Jansenistliterature. He contributed
to the FrenchJansenistperiodical,NouvellesEcclesiastiques,and reprintedsome of its materialin his own
journal. He translatednumerousbooks and pamphlets
33 See Tamburini,
op. cit.,chap.15,par. 3, 6, forTamburini's
views on the subversivecharacterof atheism.
conventional
34Althoughmost of his major works were placed on the
37NB 1 (April30,1790) : Introduction.
to enjoythe favor
RomanIndex in 1790,Tamburinicontinued
38 Wittolato Bellegarde,November15, 1781, F. Kenninck
of Leopold II. In 1792,yieldingto the insistenceof the Holy
du Dr. Wittola avec le Comte Dupac de
See, FrancisII retiredTamburinifromtheuniversity.He con- "Correspondance
returnedto Bellegarde,"Rev. Inter.de Theol. 1898: p. 590.
tinuedto writeand, duringthe Frenchoccupation,
39 See WKZ 1787: p. 436, for Pest and Agram (Zagreb);
for severalmoreyears. He emergedfromthe
the university
p. 454, for Pressburg.
and Napoleonicera with his see Brunner,Mysteriender Aufklhirung,
confusionof the Revolutionary
to the state,Brunner
unscathed.Coveredwith In his zeal to convictWittolaof servility
relatively
and his principles
reputation
ignoresWittola's refusalto accommodatehis writingto the
honors,he died in 1827at the age of ninety.
reactionin Austria,1789 ff. Cf. ibid.,p. 472, and
35 The former
appearedweeklyfrom1784to 1789; thelatter, coniservative
p. 390.
Dienerschaft,
six times a year, from 1790 to 1792. Both were polemical Theologische
40 Wittola to Bellegarde,February5, 1783, Kenninck,loc.
book reviewsand news on religioustopics.
journalscontaining
In the late eighteenthcenturyseveral journals of this type cit. 1898: p. 596. Wittola, in return,assisted the "sermon
were publishedin the main centersof South GermanCatholi- critics"as a kind of theologicaladviser.
41 Cf. 0. Sashegyi,
unterJosephII.
Zensurund Geistesfreiheit
the traditionaloutlookwere the Mainzer
cism. Representing
Religionsjournal(Mainz, 1776-1791), publishedby the ex- (Budapest,1958), pp. 234-235,for Migazzi's attack,May 28,
and theKritikuiberGewisseKritiker(Augs- 1790,on theNB.
JesuitGoldhagen,
burg, 1787-1796), also by ex-Jesuits. On the enlightened 42KritikiiberGewisseKritiker1787: pp. 74-75. Also, ibid.,
absolutetoleraside were the Freymiitige(Freiburg i. B., 1782-1788), by pp. 6, 67,whereWittolais accusedof defending
(Salz- tion,i.e., theologicalas well as civil. The Kritik'simplicating
Literaturzeitung
JohannK. A. Ruef, the Oberdeutsche
belongsto a Jesuittraditionof some
burg, 1788-1808),by Lorenz Hiibner,and the Literaturdes Wittolawithrationalism
KatholischenDeutschlands(Koburg,1775-1798),by the Bene- thirtyyearsin Germany.Cf. W. Deinhardt,Der Jansenismus
Landen(Miinchen,1929),pp. 74-78. T. Wiedemann
indeutschen
of Banz.
dictinesof the Frankishmonastery
der ErzdioceseWien," A6G 50
Biucherzensur
36 S. Brunner, Die Mysterien der Aufklirung in Osterreich "Die kirchliche
1770-1800 (Mainz, 1869), p. 472; Theologische Dienerschaft (Wien, 1873): p. 348, treatingWittola's periodicalsin the
and rationalism.
press,likewiseconfusesJansenism
"irreligious"
(Wien,1868),p. 401.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 19691
JANSENISTS
57
by theTuscan bishopScipioneRicci and otherJansenist pressed an enlightenedconceptionof religious tolercontemporaries.43A sincere priest of irreproachable ation. Wittola wrote four tracts in defense of the
character,imbuedwithzeal forreform,his writingwas Emperor's policy. The first,Schreiben eines osterPfarrers,anticipating
the Edict by a month,
flawed by a remarkablyclosed mind and a tiresome reichischen
denunciatorypolemic against the Curia, the monastic aims at convincingCatholicsthattheycan, and should,
tolerate heretics.54 Like Bishop Hay, Wittola conorders,and the Societyof Jesus.44
wronglyascribed siders Christianlove the only suitablemeans of carryMany conservativecontemporaries
Wittola's anticurialpolemic to rationalistratherthan ing out the church'smission. He absolutelycondemns
Jansenistconvictions. To be sure,fortacticaland per- religiouspersecution,althoughhe allows the state, in
sonal reasons,Wittolawas kindto Austrianrationalists, fillingofficialpositions,to practice discriminationin
manyof whomwere his allies and friends. He praises favor of the Catholic church. Soon after the Edict,
Sonnenfels,for example, "who helped Maria Theresa Wittola wrote anothertract,Text des augsburgischen
bringlightto Austria"45; and he refersto Franz Neu- Intoleranten,criticizingAlois Merz' widely publicized
pauer,a radical professorat the Universityof Graz, as sermonagainsttoleration.55Wittolaobjectsprincipally
"a friendof truth."46 On the otherhand, he consist- to the preacherlikeninghereticsto thievesand murentlyadopteda hostileattitudetowardthe philosophes derers. Wittola ironicallycommentsthat this is the
and Germanrationalists. "Voltairianism,"in his opin- way to open up theirhearts. He accuses the ex-Jesuit
ion, is a "wild, rampantplague."4 His review of a of incitingthe people againsttheirnon-Catholicneighagainstthe Edict.
Germantranslationof Decline and Fall of the Roman bors and, specifically,
bias.48
By March, 1782, Wittola found himselfdeeply inEmpire stronglyattacksGibbon'santi-Christian
Wittola,of course,approvesAbbotRautenstrauch'sban volved in controversy.A well-knownViennese poet,
on rationalisticProtestantliteraturein the Austrian the ex-JesuitKarl Mastalier,had attemptedto refute
seminaries,49 and he condemnsthose Catholic clergy Wittola's firsttractin a shortpamphlet,Antwortauf
who, "in recentyears have taken so much pleasure in das Schreiben.56 Mastalier objected to regarding
the writingsof anti-ChristianProtestants."50 Com- hereticsas "neighbors"deservingkind treatmentand
mentingon FrederickII, Wittola criticizesthe great echoed Merz' remarksabout thieves and murderers.
Mastalieralso attemptedto disproveWittola's absolute
monarch'sirreligion:
condemnationof religiouspersecutionby pushingit to
The wholeworldknowsthatthe late king FrederickII
. . .listenedtoomuchto theenemiesofthefaith,Voltaire, the apparentlyabsurd conclusionthat one must also
La Mettrie,
andothers,
andthereby. . . acquired tolerateatheists. Wittola replied in the short tract,
d'Argens,
theunfortunate
habitof satirizing
all Revelation.The ex- Zweites Schreiben eines 8sterreichischen
Pfarrers,57
ample of the King has spread much godlessness,first that atheistsindeed must also be tolerated; the only
throughthe BerlinAcademyamongthe learned,eventhe legitimatemeans of coping with error are persuasion
andthenthrough
thesoldiersamongthepeople.51
clergy,
and patience.
But Wittola warmlyapproved FrederickWilliam II's
Late in 1782 Wittola wrote his fourthtract,Des
of rationalism.52In sum,Wittola's bekannten3sterreichischen
publiccondemnation
PfarrersdrittesSchreiben,a
orthodox.53
theologicalpositionwas fundamentally
lengthycollectionof notesand commentson thepolemic
Althoughconservativeon Christiandoctrine,he ex- of theprecedingyear.58 He countersthe typicallyconservativeobjectionsthatBishop Spaur of Brixen raised
43 Wittolato Bellegarde,October22, 1767,Kenninck,
loc. cit. against the Edict. Then, shiftinghis tack, Wittola
1898: p. 309. See NB 2 (1792): pp. 706-731,for Ricci's
Erastian pastoralletterof February6, 1784,on the dutiesof criticizescertain erroneous,radical ideas about toleration, in particular,Bartholotti'scondemnationof the
a subjectto his prince.
conductofAugustinein thepersecutionoftheDonatists.
44 For an objectiveestimateof Wittola,cf. A. Posch, Die
kirchliche
in Graz (Graz, 1937), p. 21.
Aufkldrung
Like Tamburini,Wittola regardsthe great bishop,the
45 WKZ 1786: p. 8.
Jansenists'principaltheologian,as entirelyon the side
46Ibid. 1787: pp. 770 ff. See Posch,op. cit.,pp. 109-119,for
of tolerance. Wittola likewise defends the doctrine,
Neupauer'sheterodoxpolemicin the 1780's.
47 WKZ 1788: pp.99-101. Cf. also ibid.1789: p. 576.
48NB
1792: pp.787-789.
49 WKZ 1785: p. 583.
50Ibid. 1788: pp. 836-837. Cf. also NB 1792: pp. 203-204,
deploringthe penetrationof neo-Arianisminto Austria and
the Vienna bookdealers'lack of interestin good Catholic
literaturefromLombardyand Tuscany.
51 WKZ 1788: pp. 816-817. Cf. pp. 850-851,for another
of FrederickII underwhom"theEstateof the Clergy
criticism
has beenunbelievably
lowered."
52 Ibid.,pp.916-923,
829-839.
53For a North German rationalist'switness to Wittola's
Catholicorthodoxy,
cf. Allg. Deut. Bibliothek51 (1782): pp.
593-597;82 (1788): pp.374-381.
54M. A. Wittola,Schreiben eines osterreichischenPfarrers
iiber die Toleranz nach den Grundsdtzender katholischenKirche
(Wien, 1781).
55 M. A. Wittola,Text des augsburgischen Intoleranten mit
den Noten eines tolerantenOsterreichers (Wien, 1782).
56 P.
Martial [Karl Mastalier],Antwort auf das Schreiben
eines osterreichischenPfarrers (Wien, 1781).
57 M. A. Wittola,Zweites Schreiben eines osterreichischen
Pfarrers iiber die Toleranz nach den Grunds-atzender katholischen Kirche (Wien, 1782).
58
M. A. Wittola,Des bekannten osterreichischenPfarrers
drittes Schreiben uiberdie Toleranz nach den Grundsatzen der
katholischenKirche (Wien, 1782).
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58
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL. SOC.
"outsidethechurchthereis no salvation,"fromBartho- bitternessof the Greek Orthodox toward the Latin
Wittolabelieves,but it could
lotti'schargethatit inspiresintolerancein Catholics.59 churchis understandable,
It is true,Wittolaadmits,thatmanypersonsmovedby be lessenedby CatholicspracticingChristiantolerance.
Wittolahimselfwas oftenreproachedforintolerance
false devotionapply this doctrinefanatically. Rightly
understood,however,it does not authorizethe use of and not onlyby his enemies.66In fact,Wittolaadmits
force or any other means contraryto the Gospel. to much"warm zeal" and to manysharp words,67and,
Rather,it inspiresa true,gentlezeal among Catholics he argues,thatto edifyordinaryreaders,he mustsimplifymoral judgments. He would apologize and even
for the salvationof theirneighbors.
Wittolacontinuedthis resignas editor,if intolerancecould be proved against
In the WienerKirchenzeitung,
Wittola's atpropagandafor a moderate,Christiantolerance. Like him. These disclaimersnotwithstanding,
ample limits
the
even
exceeds
"curialists"
Bishop Hay and other Austrian Febronians,Wittola tack upon
hoped that,if the churchadopted rationaland humane allowed to contemporarypolemic.68 Moreover, his
pastoral methodsinstead of the Inquisition,polemical polemic seems inspiredby animosityas much as by
thiswouldinduce "warm zeal" or moral indignation.69Convincedthat
sermons,and aggressiveproselytizing,
Protestantsto considerreunion.60A modelof irenicism the Roman Curia and the religiousorderswere largely
thepietyof Catholics
himself,Wittola is carefulnot to offendthe sensibility resposiblenot onlyforcorrupting
of Protestants. He refersto themas heterodoxrather but also for keepingmany persons fromthe church,
thanas heretics. Althoughhighlycriticalof Protestant "outside of which there was no salvation," Wittola
Karl FriedrichBahrdt,Wittola and otherJansenistssometimesabandonedthe method
particularly
rationalists,
seldom brings up issues disputed between Catholics ofkind,patientpersuasion.
This personalfailurein practicingtolerationperhaps
and believingProtestants. He treatsLuther with reprinciplesin the Janof Christian reflectsa tensionof fundamental
spect,puttingtheblameforthe destruction
unityon the Roman Curia. Strictlyspeaking,Wittola senists' attitude toward religious dissent. In their
betweenCatholicismand Enargues, Luther cannot be called schismatic.61If the tractsthe confrontation
authenticthan among other
more
he
seems
century,
in
lightenment
eighteenth
great reformerhad lived the
would have helpedthe Emperortear down the wall of articulateAustrians. For conservativeCatholics,toleration of religiousdissenterswas a necessaryevil; they
separationbetween Catholics and Protestants.62
Wittola tries to reconcilethe schismaticsas well as did not doubt that the church had the right to use
the Protestants. His review of Tamburini'sbook re- coercion. For enlightenedCatholics,other than the
produces particularlythose passages concerningthe Jansenists,Catholic traditionand doctrinewere often
Dutch Jansenists.63His sympathiesextendfurtherto not a vital, pressingconcern. They could sometimes
theGreekOrthodox,who have thesame priesthood,the overlook,or, as Bartholottidoes, even deny such dogsame sacraments,and the same doctrinesas Catholics. mas as "outsidethechurchthereis no salvation." They
They remainin schism,Wittolaasserts,chieflybecause were inclinedto treat religiousdissentas a practical,
claimsto jurisdictionover secular problem. The Jansenists,on the otherhand,
the popes make unjustifiable
the entirechurchand do not recognizethe rightsof attemptedto maintainintactthe Catholic'sbeliefin one
otherbishopsand metropolitans.4The Curia, Wittola faithand one church,while strivingtowarda modern
claims, does all in its power to aggravatethe breach ideal of religiousliberty. At the level of principle,they
with the Greeks. It bestows,for instance,titles to discoveredthe solutionin an evangelismby persuasion
episcopalsees and patriarchatesof the East upon "in- supportedby divine grace, a solutionthat conformed
people." One of the servantsof the Pope to the words and example of Christwhile it respected
significant
duringthe tripto Vienna, in 1782, a certainMarcucci, thedignityofman.
carriedthe titleof Patriarchof Constantinople.65The
VII. SECULAR HUMANISTS
59Cf. NB 1791: pp. 225-226,for his defenseof the phrase,
"onlysavingreligion"(alleinseligmachende).
60 WKZ 1785: p. 136.
61NB 1792: p. 14.
62 WKZ 1787: p. 407: "an dessenv6lligeNiederreissung
der
deutscheLuther,wenner jetzt aufstande,gewissbeide Hande
Abbot
anlegenwiurde." Remarksof this sorttendto confirm
opinionthat,in theology,Wittolawas "either
Rautenstrauch's
a strangeror an enthusiast."Quoted fromE. Winter,Der
(Wien, 1943),p. 177.
Josephinismus
63 WKZ 1784: pp. 98-100,392-394. For Wittola's version
of the originof the schismand the effortsto end it, see his
longarticlein NB 1790: 2. Heft.
64 WKZ 1785: p. 302: cf. P. Tamburini,
De la tolerance
ecclesiastiqueet civile (Paris, 1796), chap. 8, par. 22. for a
similarviewof schism.
65 WKZ 1789: pp. 590-591.
I
Literarylife in Vienna at this time was dominated
by a dozen men,Die Wiener Freunde,who helped to
in perfurthertolerationwitha polemicquite different
spectivefromthat of the Jansenistsand otherenlighttheseradical
ened Catholics. Skepticalof Christianity,
66 RZ 1781: p. 812.
67NB
1792: p. 272.
82 (1788): pp.
68 F. G. Liidke,in the Allg. Deut. Bibliothek
of a
380-383,criticizesWittola's unreasonablecondemnation
pastoralletterby the Bishop of Linz.
conservative
69 For this streakof fanaticism
in Wittola,see Winter,op.
cit.,p. 82.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
SECULAR HUMANISTS
59
as well as its
authorsand journalistsbelievedthat tolerationshould ceptionof the ChristianCommonwealth,
be based on secular humanisticprinciples. They gen- stress on the fallen nature of man. In particular,
of men
erallyfoundthe Emperor'sEdict not generousenough, masonry'sinsistenceon the naturalbrotherhood
among themvigorouslycriti- worked as a solventupon the rigid intoleranceof reand the more forthright
measures.
ligious dissentinculcatedby traditionalCatholicapolocized his subsequentrestrictive
The Vienna circlehad grownup in the long period getic. Many enlightenedCatholics,such as Wittola,
committed
to fundamental
Christiandoctrinebut
of peace after the Seven Years' War. As the city firmly
of culture disenchantedwiththe Counter-Reformation's
became large and prosperous,a refinement
pietyand
and social life took place, abettingthe growthof in- theology,feltat home in the order.3 Since the lodges
credulityin the educated classes. In common with largelyconfinedtheir activityto the practicalaspects
other secularized Austrians, the "Vienna Friends" of reform,theycould bringtogetherenlightenedindiusually did not openlydeny Christianity.They were viduals of quite divergentreligiousconvictions.
A notableexceptionto Austrianfreemasonry's
relatypicalof a tendencyin the aristocracyand the prowith tive indifference
to ideologywas the lodge,Zur wahren
fessionalclasses to maintainexternalconformity
the Catholic church togetherwith internaldisbelief. Eintracht. The militantsecular humanismthat charNominal Catholicismwas the necessaryminimumfor acterizedits meetingsand publicationsprovideda conalienatedfromthechurch.
an officialposition under Joseph as under Maria genialsettingforintellectuals
Theresa. Secularists in the clergy,such as Kaspar The lodge was chieflythe creationof one of the leading
the scienRoyko in Prague, under the surveillanceof conserva- personalitiesof the AustrianEnlightenment,
tive,if not always zealous, bishops,had to professout- tist Ignaz von Born. A native of Transylvania,Born
wardlythe Catholicfaithwhile whittlingaway most of belongedfor a time to the Society of Jesus. Afterits meaning. Literarymen,withless reason to be con- wards devotinghimselfto the naturalsciences,he accernedabout social conventionsand ecclesiasticalauth- quired a European reputationas a mineralogist. He
ority,were inclinedto much greaterfreedomof ex- abandonedCatholicorthodoxyto become an indefatigpression. Some, like thepoet,Michael Denis, remained able partisanof unfetteredrationalinquiry. In 1781
pious Catholics. A few,like Alois Blumauer,became he organized Zur wahren Eintrachtinto virtuallyan
academyof sciencesas a vehicleforhis ideas. For five
cynics,while othersturnedto Deism.
Freemasonrycontributedmuch to this erosion of years,its growth,likethatof theorderitselfin Austria,
traditional Catholicism among educated Austrians.' was very rapid, from 16 membersin 1781 to 197 in
The "Vienna Friends" were all membersof the order, 1785.4 The membershipincluded the pious Michael
and mostbelongedto the same lodge,Zur wahrenEin- Denis, but its secularistictone was set by Born himself
tracht. In 1780 the masonicorderwas near the height and by Sonnenfels,Johann Baptist Alxinger, and
of its influence. Almost everyoneof importancein Blumauer.5 In these five years, serious writingin
Vienna belongedto it,exceptEmperorJoseph,who dis- Vienna emanated almost entirelyfrom Born's lodge
liked its "silly ritual" and saw latent danger to the and frommasonic associates such as Lorenz Haschka
statein its secrecy. Much of the activityin the lodges and JohannPezzl. Membersof the lodge issued three
was merelysocial, particularlyamong the aristocratic periodicals: the Wiener Musenalmanach,a journal of
members.2 Some masons,however,took seriouslythe poetry; the Journal fiir Freimaurer,an uncensored
and toler- house publication;and the Realzeitung,the monarchy's
enlightenment
order'sobjectiveof furthering
ance, especiallyin the schools,the censorship,and the bestliteraryjournal.
During thisshortperiodof activity,the radicalspropress. The masonic reading societies, which made
dozens of French and Germanperiodicalsavailable to duced a distinctive
literaturejustifying
religiousliberty.
members,helped break down Austria's intellectualiso- Born and his friendsregardedas futilethe attemptof
Bartholottiand otherenlightenedCatholicsto reconcile
lation.
and the Enlightenment,
These enterprisesdid not necessarilylead Austrian Christianity
and they did not
masons into rationalism,but they weakened the hold share the Jansenistpassion for reformof the church.
of the post-Tridentinechurch on the Austrian mind.
3 In an Innsbruck
lodge,in the 1770's,BishopLeopold Spaur
Althoughostensiblycompatiblewith any of the major
of
Brixenwas Masterof Ceremonies.In Vienna,Wittolaand
religions, the order's vague, humanitarianreligious
anotherJansenist,Melchior Blarer, were companionswith
principles,contradictedtraditionalCatholicism'scon- Pezzl, Eybel,and WolfgangAmadeus
Mozartin thelodge,Zur
Wohltdtigkeit.
ThaddeusTrautmannsdorf
belongedto a lodge
unterJosefII.," Die in Graz. Abafi,op. cit.,pp. 333,369. Cf. F. Wehrl,"Der 'Neue
Freimaurerei
der Geistesrichtungen
des Klerus in
Ungarns (Wien, 1897), pp. 78-123. Geist': Eine Untersuchung
FreimaurereidsterreichMitt.des osterr.Staatsarchivs
20 (1967)
The author,a conservativeCatholic, exaggeratesthe anti- Wienvon 1750-1790,"
Austrianfreemasonry. pp. 56-79.
Christiancharacterof eighteenth-century
in Osterreich-Ungarn 4 Abafi,op. cit.,pp.287-288.
2 L. Abafi,Geschichte
der Freimaurerei
5 For a criticalview of Blumauer'sinfluence,
cf. Alxingerto
(5 v., Budapest,1890-1899)4: pp. 304-305. A favoritegathering place was the Cafe Stierb6ckin the Leopoldstadtwhere,in Reinhold,November20, 1786, in R. Keil, Wiener Freunde
1784-1808(Wien,1883),p. 46.
1785,the lodgesheld a receptionfor Lafayette.
September,
1 Viktorvon Fuchs, "Die
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60
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
Their rationalisticoutlook inclinedthem to seek ex- the same as Scharf's. Both men enhancedthe periodia critical
clusivelythe temporalwelfareof humanity. And their cal's reputationforobjectivityby maintaining
led themto oppose sec- attitudetoward the writingsof the enlightenedparty.
ideal of universalbrotherhood
tarian projects for reunificationof the Christian They reprimandedWittola for loose reasoning,7chalchurches. Whereas enlightenedCatholics saw in re- lengedBartholotti'streatiseon severalpoints,and critiand declamatory
ligious tolerationa way to prompt non-Catholicsto cized HeinrichWatteroth'stendentious
considerreunionwithRome, the radicalsbelievedthat style.8
Although the Realzeitung could not be as free a
freeingthe individual'sconsciencewas an end in itself.
Deists themselves,theydesiredreligiouslibertyfor all forumas an anonymouspamphlet,it enjoyed greater
daily
who professedsome kind of natural religion. Their libertythan the Wiener Zeitung,a semi-official
case for religiouslibertyrested on the law of reason newspaper,and far more than the stage. The Press
attacksuponlthechurch
and humanityor upon social utilityand ignoredthe Law ofJune8, 1781,forbidding
Christiansources used by enlightenedCatholics and or religion,did not seriouslyembarrasseitherScharf
Jansenists. Indeed,the radicalssometimesagreedwith or Reinholdin theircriticismof the Society of Jesus,
apologiststhattheBible and the Fathers the monasticorders,and the Papacy.9 And while they
ultra-orthodox
of the Church taught intolerance. As the target of refrainedfrom repudiatingChristianity,they looked
philosophiesof
theirpolemic,the radicals attackednot only the com- elsewhere,especiallyto contemporary
monks,ex-Jesuits, natural law, for theirworld view. Both were active
mon enemiesof the Enlightenment,
curialists,and the Inquisition,but went a step further, membersof the lodge Zur wahrenEintracht,and conintoleranceto clericsin general.
scientiouslytreatedreligiouslibertyaccordingto secuattributing
lar
humanisticprinciples. Like most freemasonsin
II
Austria, the Realzeitung was nonconfessionalrather
This point of view, moderatelyexpressed,pervades thananticonfessional,
and occasionallyit vaguelyidentithe commentaryand reviews in the Realzeitung. fieditselfas Christian. Scharfeven assertedthat the
and traditionalexpression,extra ecclesia nulla saluts,was
Founded in 1770 to give commercialinformation
to popularize economicliterature,it had become, by not necessarilya source of intoleranceas Bartholotti
journal. had claimed.10 Scharf's religious ideal was a pure,
1781,almostexclusivelya literaryand scientific
Under severalcapable editors,includingFranz X. von practicalChristianity,
that is, a nondogmaticreligion
Wasserberg,ChristianG. Klem, JohannRautenstrauch, which formedgood men and honest citizens.1" He
JosephSonnenfels,Ignaz de Luca, and FriedrichJustus approveda definition
of Christianvirtueso generalthat
Riedel, it had maintaineda relativelyhigh level of it could also be applied to a Jew.12
quality and was appreciated abroad as well as in
The Realzeitungappliedthissecularhumanisticideal
Austria.
in stressingthe dissenter'snatural rightto his good
From August,1781,to November,1783,thetwo and reputation. In December, 1781, Scharf treatedKarl
a halfyearswhen thebulk of the literatureprecipitated Mastalier's attemptto refuteWittola's firstpamphlet
by Joseph's Edict of Toleration was published,the on the Edict. The ex-Jesuit'sanalogy of hereticsto
Realzeitungcarried on a lively polemic for religious thievesand murderersto whom tolerationshould not
liberty. Anton von Scharf (August, 1781-October, be extendedgave Scharfan opportunity
to argue that
with
1782), gave much space to Wittola's controversy
orthodoxpolemicviolated a naturalrightin implying
the ex-Jesuit,Alois Merz, of Augsburg. He also fol- that the hereticerred in bad faith. Scharf affirmed
lowed closelya briefpamphletwar at the time of the the rightof all men to theirgood reputation,arguing
edict of tolerationfor the Jews in Bohemia. Finally, that the sincerityof a man's beliefs should not be
he reviewedseveralof themoreimportantjustifications doubteduntilproofto the contrarywas given. And he
of Joseph's policy toward Protestants,the pastoral criticizedMastalierfor insultingProtestants:theyare
lettersof Hay and Herberstein,Bartholotti'streatise, not "evil-doers"but simplymen in error,who have a
and Watteroth'spamphlet. On several of these occa- rightto ourgood opinion.'3
his own, secularisticobservasions, Scharfcontributed
This concernfor naturaljustice figured,thoughnot
tionsin favorof religiousliberty.
in the Realzeitung's support for the
so prominently,
When Scharftooka teachingpost in Linz, Blumauer emancipationof the Jews. Prior to Joseph's reign
for the Realzeitung (October,
assumed responsibility
7RZ 1781: p. 271.
1782-November,1783). He placed the theologicaland
8 Ibid. 1782: p. 104.
Karl
Leonard
ecclesiasticalsection in the hands of
9 Franc, op. cit., p. 260. Scharf was also the author of an
Reinhold,a young, highlyregardedprofessorin the antimonasticpamphlet,Der Klostergeist.
Barnabiteseminaryin Vienna.6 Stronglyattractedto
1ORZ 1782: p. 271.
11 Ibid., p. 261.
the ideal of free rationalinquiry,Reinhold's point of
dissenters
was
essentially 12 Ibid. 1781: p. 744, in a review of A. Luby's Theologia
view on therightsof religious
Ph.D.
WienerRealzeitung"(unpublished
of Vienna,1952), pp. 160,176.
University
dissertation,
6 Lucia Franc,"Die
Moralis (Graz, 1781): "Habitus ad exactam observantiammandatorum Dei inclinans."
13Ibid., p. 818.
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VOL. S9, PT. 7, 1969]
SECULAR
HUMANISTS
Jews were regarded as unassimilablealiens and exor entering
cludedfromowningproperty,
holdingoffice,
most trades and professions. Even after Joseph's
patents of tolerationhad granted citizenshipto the
Jews, the people clung to traditional anti-Semitic
prejudices. EnlightenedCatholics did little to alter
thisattitude. Either theyseldomreferredto the problem, or they disapprovedof attemptingto integrate
Jews into what they regarded as a Christiancommunity. It was secular-mindedpublicistswho set to
work to turnpublicopinionin favorof the new policy.
The radicals, to be sure, resembledtheir orthodox
contemporariesin oftenregardingthe social customs
and the religionof the Jewswithunconcealedaversion.
But theywere optimisticabout progressand welcomed
signsof enlightenment
such as theJewishnormalschool
in Prague 14 and thewritingsof Herz Homberg.15The
Realzeitunghelped this cause by summarizinga tract,
Uber die Juden und deren Duldung, by Leopold A.
Hoffmann.'6 A residentof Prague, where he became
acquaintedwiththeproblemsof its large Jewishminority,the youngmasonicAufkUlrer
was well qualifiedto
present the Realzeitung's point of view on Jewish
emancipation.Later,whenReinholdleftVienna,Hoffmann assumed responsibilityfor the periodical's religious section. The pamphlet was written before
Josephhad yet promulgatedthe reformsfor the Jews
in Bohemia, but Hoffmannalmost certainlyexpected
them.
Occasioned by an anti-Semiticincidenton the city
understandstreets,his pamphletexpressessympathetic
ing of the Jews. Their faults,he asserts,are attributable to historyand repressivelegislationor are those
commonto all men. He also refutesseveraltraditional
accusations, for instance, that Jews have taken by
trickeryall commerceinto theirhands. Hoffmannbelieves that theirbusiness moralityhardlydiffersfrom
the Christians',but it is easier to excuse the shortcomingsof theJewsin view of the restrictions
imposed
upon themand the miseryin whichtheyare forcedto
live.
The pamphletis remarkablein lacking the social
utilitarianismthat usually appeared prominentlyin
Josephinist
thought.Hoffmann'sprinciplesare humanitarian; he seems outragedthat Christiansthinkit just
to punish Jews for their "infidelity." God has not
given anyone a rightto punish the Jews, he argues;
ratherit is His will thatwe should love all men. The
Jewish race, Hoffmannpoints out, has produced the
Patriarchsof the Old Testamentand many good and
noble men in moderntimes. Such men deserve our
respect,and the commonsort deserveat least our sympathy. While reprimandingChristiansas a group,
61
Hoffmanndoes not pointout any specifically
Christian
sourcesofanti-Semitism.
Although relatively reasonable and irenic, this
pamphletevoked many anti-Semiticreplies. Typical
of theseis the pamphlet,Uber die Unnutzund Schadlichkeitder Judenim KanigreichB8hmen,publishedin
Prague, in 1782. It displays strongantipathyto the
Jews and attemptsto discourageemancipation. The
anonymousauthor regards thenm
as useless for most
militaryand civilian service and injurious to society
because of theirusuryand the prejudicestheyacquire
fromthe Talmud. However,Jewsmightbe improved,
the pamphletconcedes,if farmingand manufacturing
are openedto them.
While acknowledging
the author'sgood literarystyle
and wit, the Realzeitungreproveshis errors and his
hatredof the Jews. The reviewerargues thateven if
all the accusationswere true, they would prove only
what the Jewsare now, not what theyare going to be.
At the end of a lengthysummaryof a numberof such
theeditorconcludes:
pamphlets,
up to now the Jews have not been preciselythe most
usefulcitizensofthestate,becausetheireducationhas been
neglected,
. . . theirmeansof livelihood
has beenrestricted,
and they have been handledby the laws with pitiless
harshness;. . . however,
theycan becomeusefulif Joseph's
measuresare put intoeffect.17
These utilitariansentimentscharacterizethe common
Josephinistattitude,a ratheraristocraticdistaste for
theJewishmassesin theirpresentcondition,mixedwith
an optimismaboutthe effectiveness
of Joseph'sreforms.
Hoffmann'stract, however, indicates that the Realzeitung was motivatedto espouse emancipation,not
only by the benefitsthatit bringsto the state but also
by the dictatesof naturalreligionand philosophy.
Similar humanitarianprinciples inspire the Realzeitung'stoleranceof atheists. As a rule, discussions
about freedomof consciencedid not touch on atheism
since it was not a pressingproblem.18Even the most
Austrianfreethinkers,Alxinger,Pezzl, and
forthright
Blumauer,did not deny the existenceof God. They
shared the officialview, implicitin the government's
prohibitionon the works of Holbach, Helvetius, and
Hume, that, since religionis necessaryto the moral
strengthof a state,atheismis subversive. It is somewhat surprising,therefore,
thatthe Realzeitung,which
had to keep one eye on the censor, twice expressed
relativelyliberalviews.
Ibid.,p. 303.
Nicolai, on the otherhand,insistedthatnowherehad he
encountered
so manyatheistsas in Viennain 1781. Othercontemporary
sources,however,indicatethatgenuineatheismwas
rare. Cf. Wangermann,
From JosephII to theJacobinTrials
(London,1959), pp. 17-19,176-178. It is likelythat Nicolai's
14Ibid. 1785: pp.689-697.
judgmentwas influenced
by his conviction
thatCatholicismde15 Ibid. 1783: p. 456.
moralizesmen,incliningthemto tyrannyor to license. See
16Ibid. 1782: pp. 295 ff. Hoffmann'stract was published, his Reise durchDeutschland(5 v., Berlin,1784-1788)5: pp. 12,
1781,in Prague.
160-161.
17
18
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62
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
The firstoccasion was its reviewin April, 1782, of
Bartholotti'streatiseon toleration. In his paragraph
on atheists,the authorhad repeatedChristianWolff's
opinionthat theycould not be toleratedbecause their
principleswere dangerousto the state. This was challenged by the reviewer (most likely,Reinhold), who
dissociatedan individual'sreligiousopinion fromhis
socialbehavior:
that,"we all come fromOne Father,and returnagain
to One. In the essentialthing,the matterof faith,we
are certainlyone." 24 Religious unity, he believed,
should be constructedon two naturalpillars: the first,
a rationalknowledgeof God; and the second,the moral
principleswhichall major religionsregardas essential.
The outlookofthisrathermoderateorganofAustrian
and
rationalismwas, in sum, moralistic,humanitarian,
nonconfessional.The editorsextendedtheirtolerance
is
Everyhonorableman can be a good citizen. Integrity
and acting, much wider than did the government,encompassing
morea matterof a practicalkindof thinking
ofeducation,
temperament,
socialrank,andcon- even atheists,and showedlivelyinterestin the emancihabituation,
thanof speculative
principles.'9 pation of the Jews. Stronglyinclined,however,to
ditioning
oftheinclinations
RealThis is no more than what Pierre Bayle had asserted, deferto the needs and authorityof the state,the
which
neverexplicitlycriticizedthe restrictions
zeitung
a hundredyears before,in his Pensees sur la Come'te.
put on religiousliberty.
In 1782, however,it was stilluncommonin Austriato the government
argue publiclythat an atheistcould be a good citizen.
III
the Realzeitung had an opporShortly thereafter,
More explicitlythan the Realzeitung,Heinrich J.
tunityto qualifyits opinion. Wittola, in his quarrel
a memberof Born's lodge from 1783 to
Watteroth,
withMastalier,had statedthatfraternalcharityobliged
1784, attackedthe dominantposition of the Catholic
Catholics to practice tolerationtoward atheists.20 In
church. In the summerof 1781 he wrotea tract,Fiur
reviewingthis passage the Realzeitungcommentsthat
der Protestanten
Toleranziiberhauptund Bfirgerrechte
a distinctionmust be drawn between "theoretical"
in katholischenStaaten,25calling for virtuallyfull reatheists and "practical" atheists. While the former
ligious libertyin the monarchy. Educated at the unimust be tolerated,the lattermust not, since theyput
versities of Erfurt and Gdttingen,he had come to
public securityin danger.21 The reviewerdoes not
Vienna in 1777.26 Until 1783 he practicedlaw at the
explainthegroundsfortolerating"theoretical"atheists,
Imperial Aulic Council (Reichshofrat) and studied
but he probablyassumes the principleof natural law
political
science under Sonnenfels. As professorof
thatan individualoughtto enjoy a freedomof expresthe Universityof Vienna, from 1786 to
history
at
sion consistentwith the securityof the state and the
1790,
he
popularized
a potpourriof opinionsfromVolrightsof others. Neitherthe state nor fellowcitizens
French
the
and Adam Smith.27Untaire,
Physiocrats,
are threatenedby a personwho merelyholds atheistic
opinionsbut does not act upon them.
pedantic, a "literarygladiator," Watterothwon the
Some enlightened
Catholicsalso defendedtheserights affectionof his studentsand exertedconsiderableinof man, invariablyrelatingthemto the Gospel as well fluenceoverthem.28
as to natural law, in the hope that tolerancewould
It is especiallyin his universitylecturesthat Watattractatheistsand Jews,as well as Protestants,to the
terothdisplaysthe radical cast of his thought. In deCatholic church. In contrast,the Realzeitung,connouncingthemto theEmperor,CardinalMigazzi ranked
sistentlytaking an unfavorableview of projects for
withSonnenfelsand MatthiasDannenmayer
Watteroth
desiredreligiousunityonly on a
Christianunification,
the
"enemiesof the Christianreligion." Watamong
Renatural plane. In commenting
upon a pamphlet,
ligionund Priester,Karl Reinholdcriticizesthe author teroth,said the Cardinal,calls the Book of Genesis a
while attempting fable and Providencean absurdity,scoffsat miracles,
for overlookingdoctrinaldifferences
to reunitethe churches.22Scharfhad alreadypointed
out that, since the articles of the Catholic faith are
24Ibid. 1785: pp. 490-491.
fixed,and assumingthat the Lutheranand Reformed 25 Theodor Wiedemann,"Die kirchlicheBuicherzensur
der
the onlypossibleresultof Erzdi6zese Wien," A(5G 50 (Wien, 1873): p. 327, errs in
creedsare equallyinflexible,
makinga theologicalcompromisewould be a fourth,a datingit, June3, 1781. Watterothcould not have writtenit
in
beforethe Wertheimincidentof June 17, 1781,mentioned
new religion.23The solutionto religiousdivisionsin thetext. See below,p. 63.
26 During his year at G6ttingen,
Germany,argued a later reviewer,is to be found in
Watterothwas a favorite
the enlightenment
of individuals,not in the integration studentof ProfessorA. L. Schlozer. Cf. Elfriede Eckert,
of ecclesiasticalcorporations.For the wise man knows "HeinrichJosephWatteroth"(unpublishedPh.D. diss.,U. of
neverearneda doctor'sdegree.
Vienna,1950), p. 7. Watteroth
19RZ 1782: p. 277.
20 Wittola, Zweites Schreiben eines osterreichischenPfarrers
ifberdie Toleranz (Wien, 1782), p. 12.
21 RZ 1782: p. 291.
22 Ibid. 1783: pp. 17-21.
23 Ibid. 1782: pp. 134-138.
27
According to Ignaz Beidtel, Geschichteder osterreichischen
1896-1898)2: p. 39, Wat(2 v., Innsbruck,
Staatsverwaltung
in Sonnenterothwas the firstto shakethe public'sconfidence
fel's theorieson populationand strictstate regulationof the
economy.
28 For a good description
of Watteroth'spersonality,cf.
Eckert,op. cit.,pp.84-94.
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
SECULAR HUMANISTS
63
denies the infallibility
of the church,and ridiculesthe
popes,or "califs."29
His tracton tolerationtreatsChristianity
more circumspectly.To conservativeCatholics,however,Watterothseemed but to veil lightlyhis disbelief. He asserts,for example,that the doctrinescontroverted
between Catholics and Protestantsare mere theological
opinions. Hence, the Roman Inquisition, in 1783,
placed the tract on the list of forbiddenbooks, and
Migazzi called it a systematicattack on the Christian
religion.30Nonetheless,Josephapprovedthe reportby
Bartholotti,the state's censor, clearing Watterothof
Migazzi's charge.31 Despite faultsof organizationand
style,the tractwas widelyread and oftenmentionedin
contemporary
periodicals.32
Much of the pamphletis a secularistexplanationof
the place of religionin the state. Watterothdoes not
see the need for a state churchor for uniformity
in
religiousdoctrineand organization. Faith, or revealed
religiousdoctrines,should not influencepublic affairs.
"In thecouncilsof a princepoliticalprudence,not faith,
shouldrule."33 Nor shoulda prince,Watterothwrites,
forcehis subjects to accept his "religiousparty." He
attacks the jus reformtandi,
declaiming,"Prince, you
exist for our sake, not we for yours."34 The state
should treatall citizensalike, as William Penn did in
his colony,and judge a sect by its moral doctrines.
Identifyingreligionwith natural morality,Watteroth
holds thatits purposeis to makegood citizens. Priests,
therefore,
shouldservethe stateby preachingthegospel
of brotherlylove. This view of churchand state, as
well as his Austrian patriotism,moves Watterothto
disparage ProtestantEurope. He findsfaultwith its
submissivenessto "infallible"Luther and Calvin and
to the officialprofessionsof faith. And he assertsthat
the prince has no authorityto act as head and high
priestofthechurch.
Although he uses some stock phrases from the
Counter-Reformation,
by no means does Watteroth
writeas a Catholicapologist. Ridiculingthe fanaticism
of sects,he shows how far
thatproducesa multiplicity
the non-Catholiccountriesare fromthe true faith,not
of Catholicismbut of the Enlightenment. He cites
several examples of Protestantintolerance,especially
the Gordon Riots in London, 1780, and a Protestant
attack upon a pilgrimage,on June 17, 1781, near
Wertheimon the Main River. And he pointsout that,
while Prussia concedes limitedtolerationto Catholics,
it practicesfinancialextortionagainst them,and most
strictlyforbidsconversionto the Catholicreligion.35
Tolerance,Watterothasserts,is the solutionto such
religiousconflicts. But he seems more interestedin
ending the unnaturaldivision of Germanyinto two
camps than in reunitingthe Christianchurch. Catholics and Protestantsshould realize that the hierarchy
and theologyare merelyproductsof history,distinct
fromreligion. Tolerance consistsin regardingdifferences of ecclesiasticalorganizationand theologicalopinions as unimportant.Fear of irreligionshould bring
Christiansclosertogetherin defenseof naturalreligion,
the basis of society. Religious divisions,as such, are
not evil; he thinksthat theymighteven have a good
effect.Applyingphysiocratic
principlesto the religious
order,he argues thatreligionprofitsfromhealthycompetition.36As princesbecome aware of the value of
toleration,Watterothargues, they will rival one anothergrantingit.37 CertainProtestantcountries,Denmark,Sweden, Holland, England,and Prussia, already
offerlimitedtolerationto Catholics. Austria should
encouragethemto furtherliberalityby givingfullcivil
rightsto Protestants.38
29 MIigazzi'spetition
for an investigation,
December15, 1786,
These rights include the freedomto change one's
AVA, Unterrichtsarchiv,
Fz. 8. Cf. Beidtel,op. cit. 2: p. 39.
withouthindranceor favorfromthe
Watteroth'smost irreverent
tractis Die Reise des Dalailamas religiousaffiliation
von Putola nach Peking zum Kaiser von China (Frankfurt state.39 The stolefeeswhichnon-Catholics
have to pay
a.M., 1784), ridiculing
the journeyof Pope Pius VI to Vienna. to the Catholicpriestforbaptismand marriageshould
30 For Migazzi's complaint
againstthe tract,January3, 1782,
see Erzbisch6fliches
Archiv,Konsistorialarchiv,
No. 19,Zensur: be abolished. To providefora strongProtestantclergy,
Watteroth favors establishingchairs of Protestant
Watteroth.
31 According
to Bartholotti,
thepassagescitedby Migazzi "do theologyin Austrian universities. Vigorous competinot systematically
attack,eithertogetheror individually,
the tion, he writes,improvesthe clergyof all churches.40
Catholicor for that matterthe Christianreligion." Quoted
Protestants,furthermore,
should not sufferany disfrom H. Gnau, Die Zensur unter Joseph II. (Strassburg, 1911),
p. 116. Cf. J. Felder,"Der Kirchenbegriff
des Josephinischencriminationin mixed marriages. He lays down as a
Jahrzehnts," Zeitschrift fiur Katholische Theologie 1953: pp.
321,327.
32 WKZ 1784: p. 154, refersto an Italian translation.Cf.
A11g.Deut. Bibliothek49 (1782): p. 593,whose South German
correspondent
reportsthat Watteroth'stract is regardedin
Vienna as one of the best on the topic. Also, cf. ibid. 51
(1782) : pp. 591-593, for Professor Maier's review. The
35Watteroth, op. cit.,p. 105. The Allg. Deut. Bibliothek51
(1782): pp. 591-593,directsits criticismchieflyagainst the
tract's"anti-Prussian"
remarks.
36 That physiocratic
ideas were uppermostin his mind at
thistimeis apparentin his Gelegentliche
Betrachtungen
(Wien,
1781) and his Kosmopolitische
Betrachtungen
uiberdas erste
anonymous Erinnerungen zu Herrn H.J. Watteroth's Schrift Regierungsjahr
JosefsII. (Wien, 1783), concernedwith the
fur Toleranz (Frankfurta.M., 1782), is typicalof the North suppression
of serfdomand otherobstaclesto agricultureand
Germancriticismof Watteroth'spolemicagainst Protestant commerce.
intolerance.
37Watteroth,
Fur Toleranz,p. 97.
33 H. Watteroth, Fur Toleranz iiberhaupt und Biirgerrechte
38 Ibid., p. 106.
der Protestanten in katholischenStaaten (Wien, 1781), p. 57.
34 Ibid., p. 58.
39 Ibid., p. 87.
4O Ibid.
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64
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
general principlethat it is good for the countryto cism. Movingto Vienna in 1784,he was soon received
mix dissentingreligiousgroups with the rest of the in thebestsocial circles. CarolinePichler,whosehome
population. This reduces prejudice and superstition was the city'smajor literarysalon, appreciatedhis wit,
mind.41 A contemporary
and helps people recognizethe common,essentialpart liveliness,and well-informed
of religion. In mixed marriages,he declares,ecclesi- criticin Uber Wiens Autoren,1785,paid tributeto his
astical barriersare overcomeby the unifyingforceof popularity:
oughtto favorthem
mutuallove. The ruler,therefore,
His literaryproductsmake a great stir . . . the people
in every possible way and let parents determinethe devourhis Faustin his Briefeaus dem Noviziatand his
religioustrainingof theirchildren.
Briefe.42
Marokkanische
AlthoughWatterothwould deprivethe state church
he joined the household
of virtuallyall its advantagesover otherchurches,he Throughmasonicconnections,
personalsecretary.43
and
librarian
as
Kaunitz
of
Prince
shouldbe
does notbelievethatecclesiasticalcompetition
post in the Code
a
him
for
secured
later
Kaunitz
uphold
completelyunregulated. Since the state must
Chancellery.
public morality,it mustexaminethe ethicalsystemsof
the rival religions. The two principal Protestant His natural reserve became increasinglyprominent
churches,the Lutheranand the Reformed,presentno after 1785, developinginto an aristocraticdisdain for
sincetheirmoraldoctrine,Watterothbelieves, commonhumanity. The change was firstreflectedin
difficulty
is unimpeachable. But the state cannot toleratesects his book,Abdul Erzerumsneue persischeBriefe,1787,
is notlikely
whichteachimmoralor subversiveprinciples. Nor may whosedominantthemeis thatenlightenment
That
mankind.
of
condition
benighted
the
improve
to
it permitthe disturbanceof civil peace. The censor
a
reflects
Briefe
which
Vertraute
wrote
he
year,
same
oughtto prohibitpolemicalsermonsand accusationsof
concenhe
satire,
abandoning
Thereafter
spirit.
similar
heresy (Verketzerungen),just as the police prohibit
of riotand slander. The stateshouldsuper- tratedon topographicalbooks about Vienna.
incitement
Pezzl is at his best as an observerof the social scene
vise theeducationof theclergyto insurethattheyteach
and
a moralistratherthanas a crusaderor an artist.44
love.
thepeople toleranceand brotherly
All
his books, except Faustin, seem hastily written.
the stressof Watnotwithstanding,
These restrictions
His
main strengthlies in his wit and in his cleveruse
unteroth'stractis on individuallibertyto an extent
of
fundofanecdotes. He deriveshis standardof
a
large
literatureon toleration. In the
usual in theJosephinist
particufromthe FrenchEnlightenment,
largely
values
spiritof JohnLocke, Watterothadvocatesthatthe state
to
aversion
special
and
shows
a
from
Voltaire,
larly
regardthe churchesas purelyvoluntaryassociationsof
is
grounded
he
asserts,
liberty,
Religious
fanaticism.45
citizensof equal standingbeforethe law. Watteroth's
tract implicitlyopposes Joseph's modifiedversion of noton its utilityto thestate,but on therightsof reason
the Catholic confessionalstate with its discrimination and humanity. He definestolerationas the rightto
against religiousminorities. It also opposes the Em- leave the dominant,or state,church. The stateshould
if it
peror'sidea of tolerationdependingon the sovereign's not favor one religionmore than another. But,
the
should
it
recognize
dominant
church,
a
supports
benevolence. Watterothrecognizesreligiousfreedom
and
Jansenists
Unlike
leave.
to
members
of
the
right
as a naturalright.
Catholics,Pezzl adduces no Christianprinenlightened
IV
ciples fortoleration,nor does he concernhimselfabout
Another representativeAustrian radical, Johann its benefitto thechurch. He explicitlycondemnsusing
Pezzl, also thoughtthat the Emperor's Edict should religiouslibertyto bringabout reunionof the Christian
have been more far-reachingand based on natural churches.
right. But Pezzl could be comparativelymore outspokenthan Watterothsince he publishedhis writings 41C. Wurzbach,BiographischesLexikon des Kaiserthutms
abroad,beyondthereachof theAustriancensors. Con- Osterreich(60 v., Wien,1859-1891)22: p. 160.
42QuotedfromG. Gugitz,"JohannPezzl," Jahrb.d. Grillsequently,he did moreto make intolerancelook ridicu- parzer
Gesell.16 (1906): p. 194.
Josephinistauthor. 43 Pezzl associatedwith Born's circle even while belonging
lous than any other contemporary
Born in Bavaria in 1756, he was educated in the to a different
lodge.
44 Wurzbach,op. cit., p. 162, considersPezzl's Faustin and
Lyceumin Freisingand,from1776 to 1780,studiedlaw
to Voltaire's Candideand
at the Universityof Salzburg. In the next fiveyears his MarokkanischeBriefe superior
Montesquieu'sLettrespersanes. Moderncritics,on the other
he publishedhis most controversialbooks, beginning hand,depreciatePezzl's literarytalentsand accuse himof surwiththe Briefeaus dem Noviziat,in 1780, a sharp at- rendering
forthe sake of a governtheidealsof enlightenment
tackon the monasticorders. The firstvolumesearned mentoffice.Cf. Gugitz,op. cit.,pp. 167,171,215.
45 On Pezzl's relationto Voltaire,cf. H. A. Korff,Voltaire
him such notorietythat in 1781 he thoughtit wise to
(HeidelDeutschlanddes XVIII. Jahrhunderts
im
literarischen
move fromSalzburg to ProtestantZurich. There he berg,
1917) 1: pp. 240-244. Pezzl lightlyironizesthe conwrote Faustin, a moralistictale about a young man's temporary,exaggerateddevotionto Voltaire. Cf. also W.
search for a place where tolerancetruly reigns,fol- Krauss,Die franzisischeAufklirungim Spiegel der deutschen
(Berlin,1963), pp. 247-251.
lowed by the MarokkanischeBriefe,a satireon fanati- Literaturdes 18. Jahrhunderts
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
SECULAR HUMANISTS
65
The MarokkanischeBriefe,whichcaused a sensation
in the 1780's, are likewisean entertaining
as well as
radicalattackon the Christianchurches.48In stylethis
work distantlyresemblesMontesquieu's Lettres persanies. Both reflecteighteenth-century
European interest in exotic peoples and employ fictionalnonEuropeans to criticizecontemporaryinstitutionsand
customs. The Frenchmasterpieceis far morecomplex
than Pezzl's book. Besides social criticism,Montesquieu has writteninto the lettersa serious discussion
of the psychologyof love. The MarokkanischeBriefe
attemptno more thanseveralunrelatedpassages about
womenand a proposalfor a Court of Love. Further,
Montesquieuconsistently
keepsup thepretenseof seeing
througha Persian's eyes and presentsa correspondence
betweenseveralpersons. In theMarokkanischeBriefe,
onlyone personis heard from,Sidi, a vistorin Vienna,
who writesto his friend,Hamid. Pezzl oftenabandons
the subterfuge
and forchaptersat a timedoes without
his mouthpiece.
While the same rationalisticspirit inspires both
Faustin and MarokkanischeBriefe,the latteris a more
radical attack on Christianity,
largelyin the name of
religiousliberty. Pezzl's thesisis thatphilosophy,not
religion, improves man's condition: the Bible, the
Church Fathers and Councils, and the Christian
46JohannPezzl, Faustin oder das a'ufgeklkrte
philosophische churches,Protestantas well as Catholic, have been
Jahrhunidert(s.l., 1783). It was enormously popular. Pezzl
republished the book in 1784, 1785, and 1788, and complained eitheruseless or harmfulto man. Among the roots
about the many pirated editions. Faustis also inspired several of Christianintolerance,he singles out Luke 14: 23,
imitations,principally, a continuation of the story, eventually "compelthemto enter,"the mostunfortunate
phrasein
entitledFaustinisReise im philosophischen
Jahrhundert
(s.l., theNew Testament. Christiantradition
has understood
1785), by Peter Anton Winkopp, a radical critic of Austrian
it to mean that everyonecan and must be forcedto
policy toward religious dissent; and Faustins Briefe (Berlin
has
[Salzburg], 1785), by Carl Freiherr von Giinderode. For the enter the one saving church. This interpretation
favorable critical reaction to Faustin, cf. Allg. Deut. Bibliothek caused religiouswars and inquisitionswhose victims,
58 (1784): pp. 134-136.
fromA.D. 251 to theGordonRiots of 1780,numberover
47 According to Winkopp, op. cit., Faustin becomes dis11,000,000.49 "For the love of God and the Christian
illusioned with the Enlightenmentin Vienna; it exists on paper
religion,"
he ironicallyconcludes, "compel them to
but not in deeds. He complains that the rights of non-Catholics
are uncertainand insecure since they rest only on the Emperor's enter."
will. When Joseph persecutes the Bohemian Deists, Faustin
His book condemnsthe ProtestantReformationas
decides to leave the Hapsburg lands. Friendly to Prussia,
anothersource of Christianintolerance. Part of his
Winkopp has Faustin discover the "philosophical century" in
criticismis similar to that found in post-Tridentine
Frederick II's Berlin. It is likely that this critique of Austrian
to Protespolicy toward non-Catholics, if not Winkopp's pro-Prussian Catholicpolemic:forinstance,the references
attitude, expressed also Pezzl's personal opinion at that time. tantism's
tendencyto proliferate
intowarringsects. For
In December, 1784, when Winkopp completed his part of
the mostpart,however,he quarrels,not withorthodox
Faustin, he was apparentlyin close contact with Pezzl. While
Protestants,
but withenlightenedNorthGermans,such
the latter was in Zurich, they had worked with the same pubas
Friedrich
Nicolai. Pezzl wanted to invalidatethe
lisher, Johann Heinrich Heidegger; and from Vienna, until
Faustin representsPezzl's mostseriouseffortin supIt is in thestyleof Candide,a
portof religiousliberty.46
moralisticnovelin whicha student,Faustin (Candide),
discoversin thecourse of an incredibleseries of adventures that his master,Father Boniface (Pangloss), a
wishfulthinker,has erred in believingthat Europe is
livingin the philosophicalcentury(the best of all possible worlds). In Faustin, as in Candide, the author
treats traditionalpracticesof the establishedchurches
and the
withscorn; he representsmiraclesas fraudulent
clergyas hypocritesand deceivers. Althoughinspired
by Candide,Faustin is not a mere copy. Unlike Voltaire, Pezzl draws examples of intoleranceequally
from Catholic and Protestantcountries. He couples
Catholic Spain with ProtestantLondon, calling them
both centersof fanaticism. Faustin's experiencewith
the Holy Inquisitionis not so horridas Candide's. Instead the book's most lurid momentis the Gordon
Riots in London in whichBonifacedies of injuries inflictedby a Protestantmob. Notablyabsentfromthis
indictment
of religiouspersecutionare the religiousdisin
turbances Moravia from1777 to 1780,and theearlier,
similar incidentsin Styria in 1773. The concluding
chapteris an encomiumof JosephII.47
April, 1785, Pezzl supplied Winkopp with anecdotes and news.
It is possible, therefore,that Pezzl informed Winkopp about
the Emperor's failure to recognize the natural rights of the
Deists and other Protestants. Upon entering Kaunitz' service,
Pezzl ended his relationshipwith Winkopp. J. Pezzl to J. H
Heidegger, November 16, 1785, in Zurich, Zentralbibliothek,
Handschriften-Abteilung,
Pezzl-Heidegger Correspondenz,17851789. Later, when Pezzl had firmly established himself in
Vienna, he did not change his view that the Emperor based
his religious toleration on expediency. But Pezzl now recognized that Joseph's reformswere sincere. "Glauben Sie mir. ..,
dass der hiesige Hof gewiss wahre Toleranz will, sollte es
auch nur aus politischenGriinden seyn .
J. Pezzl to J. H.
Heidegger, July21, 1786,ibid.
48Johann Pezzl, Marokkanische Briefe (Frankfurt, Leipzig,
1784). It went through many authorized as well as pirated
editions. For Tiedemann's favorable review, see Allg. Deut.
Bibliothek 62 (1785): pp. 103-106. Cf. Muller (ed.), Mfartin
Gerbert 1: No. 79, p. 93, for the indignation it provoked in
the Catholic prince, Karl Albert I of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg.
Hamid's Meynungen iiber die Marokkanischen Briefe an seinen
Freund Sidi (Leipzig, 1785), is an attempt to refute Pezzl's
attack on Protestantism.
49 See Marokkanische Briefe, pp. 68-79, for Pezzl's compilation, inspired apparently by similar lists in Voltaire's Questionls stur l'Encyclopedie and Dieu et les hommes. For the
latter, see (Euvres completes (Paris, 1885) 28: pp. 232-237.
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66
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
idea that the Reformationwas a step on the way to Germanyis far frombeing enlightenedand tolerant.
liberty. His comments,therefore,focus on the in- Nicolai, writes Pezzl, behaves like a ProtestantTortolerantattitudeof the reformersratherthan on their quemnadain accusing Lavater, Pfenninger,and other
heresy. He accuses them of "obstinacy,impetuosity, Protestantsof being crypto-Catholics.55
Zeal for conharshness,and the spirit of persecution." Calvin is verts,Pezzl continues,exists in Protestantas well as
condemnedfor burningServetus; Zwingli,for his in- Catholiccountries. And he points to ProtestantmistolerancetowardAnabaptists;Luther,"a harsh,violent sionarieswho penetratedintoSalzburg,enticedpeasants
man," for his "domineeringand stormy behavior" away fromthe Catholic church,and thus broughton
towardhis colleague,Karlstadt. The LutheranRefor- Bishop Firmian'sdecreein 1732, banishingProtestants
mationhas led to senselessquarrelsamong pastors,to fromtheprincipality.Catholicproselytism
in thenorth
and to is notat all likelysinceCatholicprinces,includingprince
the despotismof synods and superintendents,
thehorrorsof theThirtyYears' War. It is onlyin the bishops,do not believe in that "miserablebusiness."
centurybymeansof theschool,thepamphlet, In Vienna,thefundforconvertshas recentlybeen supeighteenth
and the press,thatEurope has achievedenlightenmentpressed. Speaking for his colleagues among the raand freedomof conscience.50
tionalists,
he asks:
The satirethatPezzl wrotein theinterestof tolerance
And whatdoes it matterto us SouthGermanCatholicsif
exposed him to the charge of being intoleranthimself. in Saxony,Pomerania,. . . one goes to Mass or not,. . .
The conservativepress oftenpursuedthis line in order believesin thePope,Luther,Calvin,. . . in purgatory
and
criticism transubstantiation
or not; in short,if one professes
thisor
of theEnlightenment's
to expose thehypocrisy
of the monasticordersand otherCatholicinstitutions.51 thatreligion.56
Pezzl devotedChapter19 of the MarokkanischeBriefe Catholics in North Germany,Pezzl reportswith aphimself. He firstjustifieshis satireby the proval, have not produced an emigrationto Catholic
to defending
law ofan eyeforan eye. Since the"zealots" continually lands,or an uprising,or evena singleconvert.57
heap invectiveupon the "philosophers,"it is just to
In comparisonwith Pezzl's previousbooks,the Verhe writes,satiredoes not affect trauteBriefereflecta sharp accentuationin the hostile
retaliate. Furthermore,
theessenceof toleration. A person'srightsare injured feeling between South and North Germany. This
of property,exile, im- change is not surprisingin the lightof contemporary
ratherby calumny,confiscation
and loss of honor,when theseare inflicted politicalevents. In the 1780's,Joseph'saggressiveforprisonment,
merelybecauseofa theologicalopinion. Fanaticism,not eign policy in the Empire, in particular,his renewed
satire,is responsiblefor all the bloodshedof Christian attemptto annex Bavaria led to the formationof the
history.
League of Princes under Prussian leadership. ConseFanaticismin enlightenedquarterspromptedPezzl's quently,thenorthern
Aufkldrer,
who had been favorable
VertrauteBriefe of 1787, a hastilywrittenreply to to Faustin and MarokkanischeBriefe, subjected the
accusationsmade by North Germansagainst the En58
Vertraute Briefe to an "annihilating criticism."
lightenmentin Austria.52 Friedrich Nicolai raised
Pezzl
of
"valet's
a
accused
Nicolai,
peevish
critic,
a
doubtsabout the sinceritybehindthe religiousreforms
of cateringto
in the Hapsburg monarchy.53Far frombeinginspired philosophy"(Kammerdienerphilosophie),
Nicolai adthe
view
of
state.59
point
of
ministers
of
he claimed,tolerationand other
byreasonand humanity,
in
but he
a
mitted
that
some
intolerance
existed
Prussia,
into
lure
Protestants
similarreformsare intendedto
friendlyattitudetoward Catholicismso that theymay thoughtit was justified. His periodical thenceforth
moreeasilybe subjugated. Joseph'spolicies,moreover, treatedPezzl roughly,as partof thegreatCatholicconare relatedto a conspiracyof ex-Jesuitsworkingin the spiracyagainstProtestantism.60
North.54
In thelightof the VertrauteBriefe,it is scarcelyposIn the VertrauteBriefe,Pezzl triesto lay to restthe sible
to agree withGustavGugitz,thatafter1785 Pezzl
of the North.
ghostof a systematicCatholicpenetration
a completelydifferent
presents
point of view on reliThe factsboil down to a Dominican saying Mass in
be
a
conservatism
gion.61
To
sure,
growing
may be deand a fewScandinaviansstudyingin Linz;
Brandenburg
in
his
the
common
references
to
tected
contemptuous
the rest is fantasy. He argues that,grantedCatholic
their
of
men.
This
for
belittles
sort
passage,
instance,
Protestant
of
shows
symptoms fanaticism,
Germanystill
Ibid.,pp.222-223.
51KritikuiberGewisseKritiker1787: p. 168; and 1788: pp.
25-30, 60-64, against Wittola. Cf. Hamid's Meynungen,pp.
113-120,againstPezzl.
52 Johann Pezzl, VertrauteBriefe iiber Katholiken und
(Strassburg,1787).
Protestanten
53 See Nicolai, Reise durch Deutschland(1785) 5: p. 182,
and Allg. Deut. Bibliothek61 (1785) : p. 240.
54 Ibid. 60 (1785) : pp.287-294.
50
55Ibid., p. 61.
56
Ibid.,p. 41.
57 Ibid., p. 32.
58 G. Gugitz,"Johann
Pezzl," Jahrb.d. GrillparzerGesell.16
(1906): p. 199.
59 Allg. Deut. Bibliothek,
5. Anhangzu dem 53-86 Bde, pp.
1587-1593.
60
61
Gugitz, op. cit.,p. 199.
Ibid.,p. 197.
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SECULAR HUMANISTS
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 19691
67
ofjudgment:
independence
Mittwochsclub.64
In Weimar he stayedat the home of
MartinWieland, the "GermanVoltaire,"in
Christoph
The peopleneverthink;preachChristianity
to themtoday,
whose urbane hedonismand cosmopolitanperspective
paganismtomorrow;
theyfollowblindlytheirleader.62
Alxinger recognizeda spirit like his own. A warm
Pezzl, however,had made quite similarobservationsin friendshipgrew up between the two writers. From
the MarokkanischeBriefe about the common man's Wieland's Oberon Alxinger drew inspirationfor his
inabilityto understandthe Bible and to discuss intel- own epic,Doolin von Mainz.
ligentlyreligious questions. Moreover, Pezzl is as
The masonicorder cultivatedin him a nonsectarian
clearlya deist in the VertrauteBriefe as he is in his ideal ofbrotherhood.Very activeamongVienna's freeearlierwritings. He ridiculesmonks,Jesuits,papacy, masons,he became,in 1781, masterof the lodge Zum
Catholicdogma,and otherinstitutions
of revealedreli- heiligenJoseph. Four years later,he joined Ignaz von
gion as stronglyas in Faustin,and he condemnsProtes- Born's lodge,Zur wahrenEintracht,whose intellectual
tantintolerancewiththe same deisticprincipleshe uses interestshe shared.65 The subsequentdeclineof freein the MarokkanischeBriefe. Indeed, what distin- masonryin Austria disenchantedAlxinger. He deguishes all of Pezzl's writingon religiouslibertyis a ploredthegrowthof theRosicruciansand otheresoteric
radicalanti-Christian
consistent,
bias.
sectsand, especially,theintolerancewhichrivalmasonic
systems showed to one another over differencesin
V
ceremoniesand theinterpretation
of traditions.66AbanAmong the Vienna radicals,many thoughtthat the doning the order, he neverthelessretained a strong
Edict did not go far enough. However, only the poet, sympathyforits ideals, and in 1792, he defendedthem
JohannBaptist Alxinger,publiclycriticizedthe short- in thepopulartract,Anti-Hoffmann.67
comingsof thegovernment's
idea of toleration. In 1783
His stronghumanisticconvictionsled Alxingermuch
he contributed
the poem "Die Duldung" to the polemic furtherthan the other"Vienna Friends" in defending
literatureagainst Joseph'spersecutionof the Deists in religious liberty.68In 1783 he attractedwidespread
Bohemia. Treatingreligiouslibertyfroma deisticpoint attentionwith a numberof radical, didacticpoems in
of view,AlxingersharedPezzl's beliefthatChristianity one of Germany'sleading periodicals,the Deutsches
was one of the chiefsourcesof intolerance.
Museum of Leipzig.69 One of these,"Die Duldung,"
He came by this outlookon religionpartlythrough was promptedby Joseph'streatment
of the peasantsin
his education. Born of well-to-doparentsin Vienna, Bohemia whose Deism some authors regarded as an
in 1775, he receivedexcellenttrainingfromthe Jesuits enlightened,
naturalreligion.70
in the Greekand Latin classics.63 At the university
he
The main themeof thispoem is thata princecannot
studied law under Martini and received the doctor's be called tolerantif he rewardsbeliefand punishesdisdegree in the juridical faculty. This course of studies
64 R. M. Werner,
Aus dem JosephinischenWien: Geblers und
broughthim into contactwiththe principlesof natural Nicolais Briefwechsel, 1771-1786
(Berlin, 1888), p. 126.
65 Alxingerto
law philosophy,the basis of his idea of freedom. The
Reinhold,1785,in R. Keil, WienterFreunde
lawyer's craft, however, did not interesthim and, 1784-1808(Wien, 1883),p. 41.
66 Alxinger'sdistressis evidentin "Uber Maurerintoleranz,"
financiallyindependent,he seldom practiced it. He
articlethathe publishedin theJournalfurFreimlaurer1785:
pursued instead a poet's career. From an early age an
Part 4, pp. 29-42, in whichhe likensthis intoleranceto that
he had showna predilectionforliterature,in whichhe of the Catholicchurch:bothhave theirrootsin "fanaticism,"
was encouragedby close associationwithKarl L. Rein- i.e., in passionsthat are not governedby reason. L. Abafi,
hold, his boyhoodfriend. Alxinger became the most Geschichteder Freimaurerei in osterreich-Ungarn (5 v., Budacitesthistitleas "Uber
eruditeof the "Vienna Friends,"respectedby contem- pest,1890-1899)4: p. 294,erroneously
Maurertoleranz."Cf. also Alxinger'sletterto Dr. Stoll, in
porariesforthebreadthand thoroughness
of his reading J.W. Nagl, Deutsch-osterreichischeLiteraturgeschichte
(Wien,
in bothancientand modernliterature.
1914) 2: p. 316, and his lettersto Reinhold,1785 and 1786,in
The humanisticattitudesthatthis educationinstilled Keil, op. cit.
67 Alxingerremained
faithful
to Deism, defending
its princiin Alxingerwere reinforced
by his unusuallylargecircle
against skepticswho undermined
belief in a life after
of literaryacquaintances. While workingas a minor ples
death. In the epic,Bliombris,1791,he represents
David Hume
officialin the Bohemian-Austrian
Court Chancellery,
he in the guise of Maragoss, a slain dragon. Cf. J. Nadler,
associatedwithSonnenfels,Gebler,Ratschky,and Paul Geschichteder deutschenLiteratur (Regensburg, 1961), p. 200.
68 For a favorableimpression
of Alxinger'spersonality,
see
Weidmann. Alxingercorrespondedwith many North especiallyEmil Karl Bliimml (ed.),
CarolinePichler,DenkGermanauthorsand critics,and on a tripto Berlin in wiirdigkeitenaus meinem Leben (2 v., Miinchen, 1914) 1: pp.
1784, he met with Nicolai and othermembersof the 49,84,112,134.
J. Pezzl, VertrauteBriefe uiberKatholiken und Protestanten
(Strassburg, 1787), p. 136.
63 For Alxinger's life and
works, see E. Probst, "Johann
Baptist von Alxinger," Jahrb. d. Grillparzer Gesell. 7 (1897):
pp. 171-202.
62
69"Die Duldung,"Deutsches Museum 1783,2: pp. 322-326;
"Die PriesterGottes,"ibid.,pp. 398-404; "Der C6libat,"ibid.,
pp. 514-519.
70 Cf. Count Mirabeau, Schreiben des Herrn Grafen von
Mirabeau ... uiberdie Deisten in Bohmen und deren Verfolgung
im Jahre 1783 (s.l., 1786). For this pamphlet, cf. Louis de
Lomenie,Les Mirabeau(5 v., Paris, 1889-1891)5: pp. 465,480.
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68
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
belief. Alxingerarguesreallynot fortolerationbut for ofthefanatic:
religious equality. He directs his criticismat two The fanatic,
notmadeto keephisthought
to himself,
speaks
aspectsof the Emperor'sEdict: the predominantposi- his mindoutloud,and thenquietlylikea stoicletshimself
or hung.75
tion of the Catholic churchand the requirementthat be decapitated
to one ofthefourlegal churches. Alxinger has in mind here, it seems, the Bohemian
everyonemustconform
NeitherJosephnor the BohemianDeists are mentioned peasantswho could not be persuadedto practicetheir
by name. But it is clear fromthecontextthatAlxinger religion only in private. The third is that of the
had themin mind when he says that a prince should courtier:
notforcea man,who cannotbelieve,to becomea hypo- To be sure,therecertainly
is no lackof pliantpersons,for
makesa bowof obeisanceand swearsthathe
the poem's Austrianrefer- yourcourtier
crite. Alxingerstrengthens
what your Majesty commands.76
ence by criticizingthe seventeenth-century
Emperors, believesfirmly
Ferdinand II and Ferdinand III, the "pious Ferdi- This is likelya reference
to officials
and journalistswho
nands" who hardenedtheirheartstowardtheirpeople. embraced the establishedreligionfor the sake of a
True to theGermantraditionofnaturallaw, Alxinger career. They are the hypocrites,the only persons to
acknowledgesthe prince'sabsoluterightover the prop- benefitfromthekindof ecclesiasticalsystemmnaintained
ertyand the lives of his people,while denyingthatthe by theEmperor.
peoplehave,or couldhave,givenhimtherightto determine theirconsciences. In the concludingexhortation, "Die Duldung" and his otherpoems in theDeutsches
Alxingerassertsthat religiousbeliefshould not in the Museum made Alxinger immediatelyknown to the
least concernthe prince,so long as the citizensobey German readingpublic and preparedthe way for his
visits to Wieland and to Nicolai. In 1785 Reinhold
thelaw:
gave the poems a favorable review in Wieland's
How a personbelievesshouldnotconcernyou. Look only TeutscherMerkur.77 Officialreactionin Vienna was
to disapproving,thoughpolite. When Alxingerwas preto how he behaves,and neverask questionsif,faithful
dutiesof a citizen,he alwaysacts blamelessly
the smiallest
paringa Vienna editionofhis collectedwritingsin 1785,
beforeyoureyes.71
van Swieten came personallyto him to say that three
To Alxinger,the religiouscustomsand beliefswhich poems, including"Die Duldung," could not be pubdistinguishChristianfromJew, CatholicfromProtes- lished. Alxinger had them printed separately and
tant,are meaningless:
insertedin copies shippedto non-Catholiccountries.78
Long before the government'sprohibition,enlightNeverask, . . . was waterpouredoveryou as a child,or
ened
readers in Vienna had had ample opportunity
to
not? Have you stillthe foreskin?Do you believethat
evil in theworldcamefromapplesor frommoneyboxes? read "Die Duldung,"since the DeutschesMuseum was
Whatdo youthinkaboutthepeddlingof indulgences?Do easily accessible. In 1784 the Biedermiannschronik
reyou believethatthe man in Rome is infallible?Is there printedthe poem,indicatingthatit was makinga connota page missingin yourBible?72
siderableimpacton the public.79 Its impacton governSo, he boldlytellsthe princenot to pryintoa person's ment policy is difficultto determine. Althoughnot
usually sensitiveto public opinion,Joseph was conbeliefs:
cernedabout his reputationas an "enlightened"ruler.
us fromnow on withyour
cease humiliating
Therefore,
Anticipatingthis criticismfromAlxingerand the Auf"Whatdo youbelieve?" 73
despotic,
klirerin Germanymayhave decidedJosephto mitigate
Alxinger is very likely alluding to Joseph's personal his measuresagainstthe Deists.80
interviewwith representativesof the peasants con75Ibid.
cerningtheirbeliefs.
76 Ibid.
Religious persecutionnot only violatesnature,Alx7 E. Probst, "Johann Baptist von Alxinger," Jahrb. d. Grillinger continues,it also fails to attain its objective,as
par,zerGesellschaft7 (1897): p. 180.
shownbythreetypicalreactionsto royalinquisition:
78
thisfarceand knowshow to
The clevermanunderstands
steerclearofit.74
"The cleverman,"Der Weise,is perhapsa personsuch
as Alxingerhimself,or Kaunitz,who conformedexternallyto thepracticesof theestablishedchurchwhilenot
actuallyholdingits beliefs. The secondreactionis that
Dettsches Museum, op. cit.,p. 326.
Ibid.
73 Ibid.
71 Ibid.
71
72
37.
Cf. R. Keil, Wiener Freunde, 1784-1808 (Wien, 1883), p.
79J. Rautenstrauch,OsterreichischeBiedermnannschronik
(s.l.,
1784), pp. 11-12.
80 Chief among the German critics of Joseph's persecution
of the Deists were A. L. Schlozer, Staats-Anzeigen 5 (1783):
pp. 7-11, and 8 (1785): pp. 124-127, and F. Nicolai, A llg. Deut.
Bibliothek 54 (1783): pp. 617-633. See also Johann G. Herder,
Briefe Zu Beforderung der Humanitat, in H. Kurz (ed.),
Herders Werke (4 v., Leipzig, 1885) 4: p. 48; C. W. Dohm,
Denkwiirdigkeitenmeiner Zeit (5 v., Lemgo, 1814-1819) 2: pp.
277-283; and the anonymousBriefe aus Berlin jiber verschiedetne
Paradoxe dieses Zeitalters (Berlin [Breslau], 1783), pp. 395396. P. A. Winkopp's Geschichte der Bohmischen Deisten
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
EPILOGUE
69
Alxinger did not write again on the problem of
religiousliberty,but he remainedcriticalof Joseph's
policies. In 1786, in a letterto Reinhold,whom he
kept informedabout politico-ecclesiastical
conditions
in Austria,he reportsa recentregulationfor Bohemia
permitting
theCatholicclergyonce again to givepolemical sermons.81 This concession, explains Alxinger,
allows prieststo teachfromthe pulpitthatthe Catholic
churchis the "one, savingreligion,and outsideit, there
is no truepriesthoodand no true doctrine." Alxinger
sardonicallyadds:
EPILOGUE
Public discussionof the treatmentof religiousdissentersvirtuallyceased afterJoseph'sdeath. Fear that
the French Revolution might inspire similar upheavals in the monarchycaused the government
to discourage any kind of politicalor religiousdebate. The
censorship,consequently,exercised its functionsmore
strictly.The floodofpamphletswas reducedto a trickle,
and journals of opiniondisappeared. Wittola,for instance,experienceddifficulty
in publishingthe Neueste
Beitrdgeuntil,in 1792,it was closed.
Still, this prerogativeis enjoyedonly by the dominant Officialpolicy after 1790 was more concernedthan
religion(a worthy
pendantto theone,savingchurch).
82
it had beenunderJosephforthe securityof the Catholic
Alxinger was the most deeply committedamong Jo- church. Anti-clericalpropagandawas suppressed,and
sephiniststo the secular humanisticideals of the Aus- schoolteacherswere restrained from criticizingthe
trianEnlightenment."We are all seekers,"he asserts. church. The bishopsrecoveredpartialcontrolover the
Since no personor institution
possesses absolutetruth, educationof the clergyas the generalseminarieswere
tolerance means open-mindedness,
the willingnessto abolished. In 1790 and 1791 severalbishopsattempted
to persuadeLeopold II to abrogatetheEdict along with
learn the truthfromothers.83
This idea of human freedom,representativeof the other Josephinistreforms. The bishops of Linz,
"Vienna Friends," differsin many respectsfromthat Leoben, Leitmeritz,Budweis,and Gradiskacomplained
of the main body of Josephinists. Focusing on the that the existingsystemmade conversiontoo easy for
humanperson,ratherthan on the state or the church, Catholics. Claiming that tolerationwas too widely
the "Vienna Friends" treatreligionmainlyas an indi- extended,Migazzi asked thatCatholicsnot be permitted
vidual's responsibility.Each person,theyhold, should to change religioneven with the six-weekinstruction
be free to change his religiousaffiliation
withoutany course.' It also botheredhimthatJewsand Protestants
political,social, or economicdisadvantageto himself,as werefreeto seekthedoctor'sdegreeand professorships.2
long as he lives according to the rules of natural He did not say explicitlythat Protestantsshould lose
all theirrightsbut that could be inferredfromthe remorality.
Their writingsdifferfromthose of Sonnenfelsand markshe made about the resultsof allowingtoleration.
other cameralistsin not stressingthe expediencyof So widelyextended,he said, it had inclinedthe people
tolerationforthestate,as ifthatwereits principaljusti- towardfalse religionor at least made themindifferent
fication. Religiousliberty,insistthe "Vienna Friends," towardthe trueone.
The bishops' complaintswere seconded by several
restson naturallaw. Neitherthe "one, savingchurch"
nor the Bible nor the state is entitledto dictatearticles provincialestates,chieflyby the Bohemian. Nevertheof beliefto men. The truthcan be discoveredonly by less, the Emperor,who had to yield on many other
the freeexerciseof reason. With this conviction,they points,maintainedJoseph'sEdict in the westernprovvigorouslycondemnChristianintolerance. But, except inces. In Hungary he faced a livelierdispute as the
for Alxinger,theydo not effectively
criticizethe am- hierarchydemandedthe abolitionof the Edict while the
biguous basis of the Emperor's policy of tolerationor Protestantsdemandedits furtherliberalization.Unable
to reach an agreement,the Hungarian Diet asked Leohis persecutionof the Bohemian Deists.
pold to finda solution.He settledthe matterin favor
of the Protestants. In a resolutionof November 7,
nebst freimiithigen
Bemerkungeniiber die Grundsiitzeund
Duldungder Deisten (Leipzig, 1785), is a book-length
defense 1790, they were granted almost complete religious
of the Deists as not merelyharmless,but usefulcitizensof the freedom.3
state. Like mostcritics,WinkoppdeploresJoseph'sfailureto
Francis II, reactionaryin other respects,preserved
base his policyof toleration
explicitly
uponprinciples
of natural Joseph'sconcessionsto non-Catholicssubstantiallyinlaw and to tolerateeverybeliefconsistent
withnaturalreligion.
On the otherhand,he exoneratesthe Emperorfromresponsi- tact. One alterationsatisfieda long-standingProtesbilityfor the harshway in whichthe militarycarriedout the tantdesire: in 1819 Francis approvedthe erectionof a
transportation.
Similarcriticismof the Austriangovernment's Protestanttheologicalschool in Vienna, which opened
policy in Bohemia is found in Franz Rudolf von Grossing, in 1821 and became a universityfacultyin 1850. A
AllgemeinesToleranz- und Religionssystem
fiuralle Staaten
und Volkerin der Welt (Leipzig,n.d.). Grossingwas a Vienna change for the worse concernedmixed marriages. By
writer,expelledfromAustriangovernment
serviceand living
in self-imposed
exile.
1 Cf. F. Maass, Der Josephinismus (5 v., Wien, 1951-1960)
81Alxingerto Reinhold,1785,in Keil, op. cit.,p. 40.
4: p. 148,No. 8.
82 Ibid.
2Ibid., No. 11.
83 Alxinger, "Maurerintoleranz,"
Journal fur Freimaurer 3 I. Beidtel, Geschichte der osterreichischenStaatsverwaltung
1785: Part 4, p. 40.
1740-1848(2 v., Innsbruck,
1896-1898)1: p. 420.
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70
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
a law of 1829,thenon-Catholichusbandhad to promise social philosophies. Spokesmen of the Respublica
in Austria
to raise all his childrenin the Catholicreligion,and ten Christiana,the sacral societyreconstructed
restatedCatholicbelief
years later the canonical promiseswere reestablished. duringtheCounter-Reformation,
changesin thestatusof thetoler- in religiousuniformity.Maria Theresa, Count BlumeTherewereno further
ated churchesuntil 1861 when the Liberals introduced gen, Cardinal Migazzi, and otherconservativesagreed
almostfullreligiousequality.
withthePope and mosttheologiansthata Catholicruler
In the decades after Joseph's death appeared the might grant tolerationonly in case of unavoidable
long-rangeeffectsof his legislationand of the literature necessity. Furthermore,they held to the traditional
textbooksremained principlethat,if the stateis Catholic,heresyshouldbe
whichjustifiedit. The Josephinist
in use or were replacedby books similarin point of a civil as well as an ecclesiasticalcrime,for the ruler
view.4 The bureaucracyalso continuedto apply the mustuse his God-givencoercivepower to maintainthe
limited tolerationof the reformera. Religious ex- true faith. Harshness is justifiedsince dissentersare
rejectingGod's revealedtruth.
tremists,now tainted with political radicalism,were usuallyguiltyofwillfully
persecutedas before. A small group of tailors and With this reasoning Maria Theresa suppressed the
cobblersin Vienna werepunishedin 1794 forattempting Moravian Protestantsin 1777, Count Blumegen obto propagateatheism. Their case was linkedby con- structedprogresstowardtheEdict of Toleration,Cardiservativeofficialsto that of several AustrianJacobins, nal Migazzi submittedfrequentprotestsagainst conand Pius VI condemnedthe
triedthenextyear. CountPergens'policealso harassed cessionsto the Protestants,
themasoniclodgesand,in June,1795,suppressedthem.5 pastorallettersof Bishops Hay and Herberstein.
These conservativeattemptsto preservethe Christian
Protestantsand Jews,however,were not disturbed,for
were doomed to fail. Inspiredby the
theywere regardedby the bureaucracyas on the side Commonwealth
too manyeducatedAustrians,including
Enlightenment,
oforder.
Protestants,in particular,continuedto enjoy a good the Emperor,no longerfullybelievedin it. Although
reputationamong middle- and upper-classAustrians, not readyto abandonentirelytheconfessionalcharacter
desiredto secularizethe
as reasonableand well behaved.6 They benefitedfrom of the state,mostJosephinists
and otherpublicinstitutions
the mythof Joseph,the people's Emperor,whichbegan censorship,theuniversities,
to grow immediatelyafterhis death and exercised a underecclesisticalcontrol. JosephII, Kaunitz,Gebler,
and othermoderatelyenlightened
continuing,if undefinable,force for tolerancein the AbbotRautenstrauch,
theofficialCatholicteaching
rejected
Catholics
influAustrian
the
lands. In the countryside,
German-speaking
thesuppressionofheresy.They
and and practiceconcerning
ence of the schools,the conductof the authorities,
sometimesthe attitudeof the Catholicpastor virtually grantedthat religiousdissent is evil, or at least uneliminatedreligioushatredin provinces,especiallythe desirable in a Catholic state, but not an unmitigated
western,where Protestantswere peaceful and drew disastereitherto the state or to religion. The more
little public attentionto themselves.7 Hard feelings secular-mindedJosephinists,although moved by hucontinuedto exist in Hungary where Protestantsagi- manitarianconcernforthewelfareof individuals,appreciated tolerationchieflyfor its benefitsto the state.
tatedvigorouslyto extendtheirrights.8
The bishops'fearof Catholicsleavingthe churchdid Like Kaunitz,theyhopedit would quietpeasantunrest,
not materialize. The formalitiesinvolvedin changing increase population,and cultivategood relationswith
burdensometo Protestantpowers.
to a toleratedreligionwere sufficiently
under the influence
reformers,
dissuadeall but the mostzealous would-beProtestants. The religious-minded
century,the numberof conver- of Muratori and Febronius,regardedtolerationas a
In the earlynineteenth
sions dwindledto insignificance.And in threeout of formof charity,the heartof true Christiandevotionas
everyfourcases conversionwas to the Catholicchurch. well as thebestmeansof restoringChristianunity. The
officialCatholicismand
Religiousdissentthusceased beinga seriousproblemin keyissue betweencontemporary
enlightenedCatholics,such as Hay and Herberstein,
the eyes of the state and the establishedchurch.
was the use of coercion against religious dissenters.
CONCLUSION
ratherthandocThe latter,stressingmoraluprightness
to resort
tempted
not
strongly
were
correctness,
trinal
how
Austrian
show
to
This study has attempted
Catholicsdealt with the questionraised at the timeof to drasticmeasuresto "save souls," since theybelieved
of a Catholic thatreligiousdissentersseldom,if ever,committedthe
JosephII: How should the government
statetreatreligiousdissenters? There were threegen- sin of heresy. In any case, enlightenedCatholics,even
answersderivedfromas manyopposing the orthodoxPaul Weidmannand the Jansenists,
erallydifferent
Witcoercionas
repudiated
categorically
and
Tamburini,
tola
4Ibid., p. 164.
to theGospel as well as to naturallaw. Some5 E. Wangermann,
From JosephII to the JacobinTrials contrary
(London,1959),p. 171.
as betweenPius
timesthisprincipleled to sharpconflict,
6 Beidtel,op. cit.2: p. 167.
1785 to 1787,
from
Austrian
VI
and
the
government,
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.,p. 168.
over theorthodoxyof Bishop Herberstein'sjustification
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VOL. 59, PT. 7, 19691
CONCLUSION
71
From keypositionsin the schoolsand the censorship,
of the Edict of Toleration. This, however, was a
"familyquarrel"in whichenlightenedCatholicsdid not the secularhumanistsfosteredtheiridea oftolerationby
touch on basic doctrineor question the church as a appointingteachersand school officials,selectingtextdivine institution. The heterodoxtendencies,evident books, and encouragingwritersof their own point of
in Bartholottiand otherradical clerics,were not char- view. From the masonic lodges they poured out a
acteristicof enlightenedCatholicismas a whole. Con- streamof pamphlets,poems,and periodicalsridiculing
servativeCatholics,therefore,
could more easily recon- fanaticismwhile advocatingthe naturalbrotherhoodof
cile themselvesto the Emperor's refusalto place his man. With the exceptionof Alxinger'scondemnation
of the persecutionof the BohemianDeists, the radicals
sword in the serviceof the church.
On this Christianand pragmaticfoundation,the zAa did notcarrytheircampaignas faras directcriticismof
in Austria, the Emperor, the shortcomingsof the government'spolicy. The
media of the Enlightenment
recognizedin theirpropaganda
aided by enlightenedclerics,governmentofficials,and Emperor,nevertheless,
journalists,workedout a sincere,but restricted
program a threatto the dominantreligionof the stateand evenof religioustoleration. On the one hand, the govern- tuallyreducedtheirinfluence.Not, however,beforethe
mentpermittedmost Protestantsto worshipprivately, radicalshad convictedtheCatholicchurchof intolerance
amongeducated
to formreligiousassociations,and to enjoy mostof the and sowed the seeds of a laic mentality
rights of citizenship. Fearful of peasant unrest, it Austrians.
The finalquestionof this studyconcernsthe manner
persecutedthe Deists in Bohemia and other nonconformist sects. In deference to anti-Semitism,the in which Joseph and other moderatereformersdrew
governmentdenied full libertyto the Jews, but it upon Catholicismitself. Their idea of tolerationgrew
relievedthemof manyvexatiousregulations. With all frommany roots in the entireCatholictradition,from
its limitations,this reformlegislationwas effectivelythe Apostles and Fathers of the primitivechurch to
implemented,
permitting
the establishment
of numerous Muratori and other enlightenedtheologians of the
Cathoenlightened
century.In thistradition,
Protestantparishes in the westernprovinces. On the eighteenth
foundthebasic elements
the Jansenists,
otherhand,the Josephinist
programof tolerationcalled lics,particularly
for the continuedpredominanceof the Catholicchurch of theirreligiousphilosophy:firmbeliefin the divine
in public life. The governmentdiscouragedthe defec- authorityof Holy Scriptureand the church,reasonable,
tion of Catholics from the church by increasingthe humaneconceptionsof man's social and moraluniverse,
difficulty
of joining a toleratedconfession. Furtherit zeal forreformof churchand society.
whichrepudiatedthis
attemptedto counteractthe spread of religiousindiffer- Apartfromtheradicalminority
ence by publiclyendorsingthe Catholicfaith.
tradition,Josephinistsvaried in the stress that they
In contrastto this effortof moderateJosephinists
to placed on Christian,as distinctfromsecularprinciples.
reform,rather than overthrow,the traditionalestab- The Jansenists,
morethan the others,resistedthe conlished church,a minorityamong enlightenedAustrians temporarytendencyto overlook doctrinaldifferences
desired the completesecularizationof society. These betweenCatholicsand otherChristians. Both Wittola
radicalsincludedmostof the literatiof Vienna, notably and Tamburiniare typicalof the sect in insistingupon
the "Vienna Friends,"as well as Gottfried
van Swieten theintegrity
of Catholicdoctrineas well as on thevisible
and severalotherhighgovernment
officials.Steeped in unityof the church. Their idea of tolerationis free
pagan literature,classic and modern,and inspiredby fromconnotationsof indifference.This cannotbe said
masonic ideals of brotherhood,Alxinger,Pezzl, Wat- of Bartholottiwhose writingrests on a virtuallytriteroth,and othersecularhumaniststriedto inculcatein confessionalview of Christianity.The main body of
the people a tolerancesynonymous
withreligiousindif- enlightenedCatholics,includingthe Emperor,Bishops
ference. Not onlydid theycondemnreligiousdiscrimi- Hay, Herberstein,and Auersperg,and laymen,such as
nationamongcitizensand depreciatethe idea of a state Paul Weidmann,repudiatedtheprinciplesof canon law
church,but they also argued that dissent from the and moral theologythat called for the persecutionof
doctrinesand practicesof the Catholicchurchis harm- dissenters. But theyacceptedtraditionalCatholicdocless so long as the dissentersadhere to the rules of trinewithoutquestion,stressingthose principleswhich
naturalmorality. Deists by conviction,
the radicalsim- justifyreligiousfreedom. From this traditionall enpliedthat,sincenoneof the Christianconfessionsserves lightened Catholics drew respect for the freedom
a valid politicalor religiouspurpose,the state should requisiteto theact of belief,aversionto theuse of force
encouragethe growthof a civic religionwithouttrans- against conscience,and above all, the example of the
cendentalcreed or code and let individualsdetermine patience and gentlenessof Christ in dealing with the
theirown religiousprinciples.
erring.
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INDEX
Sebastian,5, 56n
Abdul Erzerums neue persischeBriefe, Brunner,
37,38,49,50n
Burgtheater,
byJ. Pezzl, 64
28n
Abrahamites,
Caesar,AquilinJulius,39n
AdvocateoftheChurch,12
Allgemeine Deutsche Bibliothek, by Calvin,John,36n,63,66
Calvinists,8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 23-25,27, 28,
FriedrichNicolai,39
37, 38, 42, 46n,47, 48, 50n,55, 64
Alxinger,JohannBaptist,49, 59, 61, 6715,16,69
Cameralism,
69,71
Candide,byVoltaire,64n,65
8, 9, 66
Anabaptists,
Canisius,Peter,10,11,12n,33
Anti-Hoffmann,
byJ.Alxinger,67
Caroline,JosephII's sister,52n
Aquinas,Thomas,12,44n
Argens, Jean-Baptistede Boyer, Mar- Cassander,George,9, 10
Catechisms,large and small by Canisius,
quis d', 57
lOn
Arius,54
CatharineII, Empressof Russia (1762Arnauld,Antoine,51
1796), 12n
Arnsteinfamily,
30
Charles,ArchdukeofInnerAustria,10
Athanasius,
44
on,47; Erasmuson, CharlesV, Holy RomanEmperor(1519Atheists:Bartholotti
1556),7, 8, 49,50
8; JosephII on,36; Realzeitungon,47,
61, 62; Sonnenfelson, 15n; Tamburini CharlesVI, Holy RomanEmperor(17111740), 12,13,15,19,21n
on, 56; in Vienna,61n, 70; in Vienna
Charles XII, King of Sweden (1697in 1794,47n; Wittolaon,57
1718),11
Auersperg,Josephvon, Bishop of Gurk,
Chotek,JohannRudolf,Count,14n,35
28,40,41n,45,46,50,71
7
humanism,
Christian
Augsburg,56
in Bohemia,24
district
Chrudiner
8, 10
AugsburgConfession,
August, Graf von Limburg-Stirum,ChurchFathers,see Fathersofthe
Church
Bishopof Speyer,40n
42,52n,53,54,58
ChurchofUtrecht,
44,54,55,57
Augustine,
David, 10
Chytraeus,
AustrianLombardy,
14
Clary,Leopoldvon,Count,35
14,22,25,26n,36
AustrianNetherlands,
ClementXIII, 13n
Austrianpeasantrevolt(1626), 50
AustrianProtestants:in Salzkammergut, ClementXIV, 42,52n,54
64
25n; in Styria,19,20; transplantations,Code Chancellery,
33,
CollegiumGermanicum-Ungaricum,
13
53
AustrianSilesia,11,18
CollegiumTheresianumin Vienna, 15n,
18n
58
Bahrdt,Karl Friedrich,
Colloredo, Hieronymus,Archbishopof
55
Barbeyrac,
Salzburg,40
Bartholotti,
JohannNepomuk,46-49,51n,
Gaspare,Cardinal,8
Contarini,
54,55n,57,59,60,62,63,71
48n
Councilof Constance,
Bauer,Wilhelm,32,34
CouncilofTrent,6, 9, 45
Bavaria,26,66
Counter-Reformation,
5, 8, 10-13,16, 17,
Bayle,Pierre,62
36,40,63
August,16n,18
Beck,Christian
14,35,36
CourtCensorship
Commission,
49
byWeidmann,
Die Bergknappen,
CourtChancellery,
43,45
Berlin,67
CourtCommissionfor ReligiousAffairs,
BerlinAcademy,57
14
49
byWeidmann,
Der Bettelstudentt,
Court Commissionon Education,14, 31,
40
Johann,
Birkenstock,
32,34
Blarer,Melchior,59n
Cuiusregioeiusreligio,8, 10
Bliombris,
byJ.Alxinger,67n
Blumauer,Alois,59-61
Matthias,32,48n,62
Blumegen,Heinrich,Count, 14, 19, 21- Dannenmayer,
Danzer,Jakob,47n
23,24n,27,32n,70
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
46,47n
Bohmer,Justus,
by E. Gibbon,57
Bohemia,10-13,16,24,27,28,42,47,69
Bohemian-AustrianCourt Chancellery, Deistsin Bohemia,see BohemianDeists
Denis,Michael,59
14,15,22,40n,43,49,67
BohemianDeists, 28, 42, 47, 51n, 65n, Denmark,63
DeutschesMuseum,67,68
67-69,71
Dobrowsky,
Joseph,17n
Borie,Egydvon,Baron,19
Dollinger,Pastor,50
Born,Ignaz von,59,64n,67
Donatists,55,57
Briefeaus demNozrziat,byJ. Pezzl, 64
DoolinvonMainz,byJ.Alxinger,67
Briefeaus Rom,byF. Huber,36
"Die Duldung,"byJ.Alxinger,67,68
Samuelvon,Count,15
Bruckenthal,
Dupac de Bellegarde,Count,51n,52n
War (1780-1784),22
Dutch-English
Dutch Jansenists,
58. See also Church
ofUtrecht
Edict of Toleration(Oct. 13, 1781): 5,
6, 13, 14, 37, 38, 40, 45; Alxingeron,
68; applicationof, 24, 25; articles,23,
24; bishop's oppositionto, 69; and
Catholicchurch,26-28; and critics,5,
59; Herbersteinon, 42; and Leopold
II, 24n,69; naturalrights,24; Nicolai
on, 39; Nouvelles Ecclesiastiqueson,
51; obstructed
by Blumegen,21-23,70;
Patent in Austrian Netherlands,25;
Patent in Trieste,25; Pezzl on, 64;
politicalsignificance,
6; Spaur's opposition to, 52; Tamburinion, 54, 55;
terminaldate,27, 28; Wittolaon, 57
Edling,Rudolfvon,Archbishopof Gorz,
40
Eisenbach,GeorgMichael,37
Ems Punctation(1786), 40
England,5, 63
Erasmus of Rotterdam,7, 8; and Cassander,9
Ernest,Archdukeof Upper and Lower
Austria,10
Ernest,Duke of Bavaria,lln
Espen,Bernhardvan,17,52
Esterhazy,
Franz,Count,14
Eybel,Joseph,
42n,46
Fadinger,Stephan,10,49n
Fathersof the Church,16, 51, 55, 60, 65,
71
Faustin,byJ. Pezzl, 64-66
Febronians,
17,39,52,58
Febronius,
see Hontheim
Felbiger,JohannIgnaz von, Abbot,33,
34
Ferdinand,
ArchdukeofTyrol,10
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
(1556-1564),7, 9
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
(1619-1637),10, 11, 32, 50, 68
Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
(1637-1657),11,68
Firmian,Bishopof Salzburg,66
Fleury,Claude,52
Florence,53
FrancisII, Holy RomanEmperor(17921835),38,56n,69
Frankenberg,Heinrich, Cardinal-Archbishopof Mechelen,40,51n
Franz Stephan of Lorraine,Holy RomanEmperor(1745-1765),18n
FrederickII, King of Prussia (17401786), 6, 18, 29n,31, 57, 65n
FrederickWilliam II, King of Prussia
(1786-1797),57
see Masonicorder
Freemasonry,
FrenchRevolution,
5, 69
Freret,Nicholas,36
Karl Egon von,Prince,24
Fiirstenberg,
77
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
78
O'BRIEN:
Galicia,12,14,15,28,34n,35
46n
Gall,Joseph,
Garampi,Joseph,papal nuntioin Vienna,
41n,42n,43
Gebler,Tobias von, Baron, 23, 36n, 49,
67,70
33,39,53,56,69
Generalseminaries,
Gerbert,Martin,Abbot of St. Blasien,
48n
GermanCollege in Rome,see Collegium
Germanicum-Ungaricum
GhentResolution(June16,1781),22,45
Gibbon,Edward,57
- 3ienger,
George,9
Franz,33,44n
Giftschutz,
Giornaledi Roma,53
Goethe,JohannWolfgang,50
of,31,62
University
Gottingen,
byGoethe,50
GotzvonBerlichingen,
GordonRiots,63,65
37
JohannChristoph,
Gottsched,
GreatSchismoftheWest,54
Greek Orthodox,11, 12, 15, 16, 19, 23,
25,55,58
Franz Rudolfvon,69n
Grossing,
Grotius,Hugo,54,55
Abbe,52n
Anton,Bernhard,
Guertler,
Gugitz,Gustav,66
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
HungarianDiet (1790), 69
Hungary,11-13, 15, 21, 22, 28, 29, 37,
69,70
Hus, John,48n
Hussites,7, 13,28
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
59
JournalfiurFreimaurer,
Jurieu,Pierre,54
63
Jusreformandi,
Justi,JohannHeinrichvon,15n
38
Kartnertortheater,
Kaniss,Gerardand Otto,lln
Karl AlbertI ofHohenlohe-Waldenburg,
65n
44n
Karl Eugen,Duke of Wiurttemberg,
49,50
Karlssieg,byWeidmann,
Karlstadt,66
Kaunitz,Wenzel, Prince,14, 19, 21, 23,
25, 26, 28, 33n,42n,43, 45, 64, 68, 70
Kerens, Paul, Bishop of Wiener-Neustadt,34
40
Ferdinand,
Kindermann,
Klem,ChristianG.,60
6, 39, 51-53,64, 70, 71
Jansenists,
50n
Klopstock,Friedrich,
Jesuits,11, 12, 31, 32, 35, 49, 52, 56, 59, Kofler,Jakob,38
60,66,67
Kollonitz,Cardinal,21n
71; and educational Kollweg,Maximilian,53n
Jews: anti-Semitism,
30, 31, 34, 35; underFrancis Kressl,F. K., Baron,28
reforms,
II, 70; Galicia, 30; Migazzi on, 69; KritikiiberGewisseKritiker,
56n
Patent of Nov. 2, 1781 for Bohemia,
29; Patent of Jan. 2, 1782 for Lower Lafayette,
59n
Austria,29; expelledfromPrague,13; Land Ordinance(1627), 10
60, 61; in Trieste, Lavater,JohannKaspar,66
and theRealzeitung,
12; and Toleranz-Tax,29; in Vienna, League of Princes,26,66
29n
LeopoldII, Holy RomanEmperor(179036n
Haan, Simplizian,
JosephI, Holy Roman Emperor (17051792),24n,25,33,34,38,56n,69
Hagelin,Franz,38
1711), 11,17
E., 36,38n
Lessing,Gotthold
Haschka,Lorenz,59
Hatzfeld,Karl Friedrichvon, Count,23, JosephII, Holy RomanEmperor(1765- Lettrespersanes,64n,65
1790): 5, 9, 12,14,59, 70,71; abolished Locke,John,47,64
24
traditionalrepressivepractices,22, 23; L6hr,JohannFriedrichvon,Baron,23
Haugwitz,FriedrichWilhelm,Count,14
Hay, Leopoldvon,Bishopof K6niggratz, Advocateof the Church,21; Alxinger Louis II, King of Bohemiaand Hungary
on, 67-69; applicationof Edict of Tol13n,21, 28, 36, 40-43,46, 50, 51, 53n,
(1516-1526),7
45, 46;
eration,24, 25; and Auersperg,
57,58,60,70,71
XIV, King of France (1643-1715),
Louis
and Bartholotti,46; and Bohemian
Heidegger,JohannHeinrich,65n
17,51
15;
Deists,28, 29, 47; and cameralism,
Helvetius,36,61
and Catholic church,26-28; and the Louis XVI, King of France (1774-1792),
Henriade,byVoltaire,50n
14
25,26;
35-38; colonizations,
censorship,
HenryIV, King of France (1589-1610),
Co-regent,13, 19; Edict of Toleration, Louis XVI, King of France (1774-1792),
50n
14
23, 24; educationof, 16n,17, 18; eduKarl J., Bishop of Laibach,
Herberstein,
cational policies, 31-34; and French Loyola,Ignatius,iOn
40,42-46,50,51n,60,70,71
18, 20; Germannatu- de Luca, Ignaz,60
Enlightenment,
on,48; Canisiuson,
Heretics:Bartholotti
29; and Hay, 40, Luther,Martin,7, 8, 10n,36n, 48n, 49,
ral-lawjurisprudence,
10; conservativeson, 70; and the
42; and Herberstein,42-44; on here11; Erasmuson,
Counter-Reformation,
50,58,63,66
tics,21; and Hungary,15; and Jansen- Lutherans,8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 20, 23-25,27,
8; Herbersteinon, 44; Jansenistson,
sists,51n, 52n, 53; and the Jews,29on,
51; and JosephII, 22; Josephinists
28,38,42,46n,47,48,55,64
6, 70; and Landesvater,12; punishment 31, 33-35,61; and Maria Theresa,20, Lutheransmallcatechism,
34n,37
memo21; Moses Mendelssohn,18;
of, 10; Pius VI on, 44; Scharfon, 60;
randum(1765), 18, 19; and Moravian Maass, Ferdinand,
Tamburinion, 55, 56; Weidmannon,
5
Protestants,20-22; Moravian sectari49; Wittola on, 57. See also Protes37
Voltaire,
by
Mahomet,
and
17;
Muratori,
ans (1786), 29;
tants
of the Sacred
Master
Cardinal,
Mamachi,
myth of, 70; Nicolai on, 39n, 66;
Herzan,Cardinal,45n
Palace, 53
Pius
43;
Pezzl
and
VI,
28n,
on,
65;
61
56,
36,
A.,
Leopold
Hoffmann,
policyin the Holy RomanEmpire,66; de Marca,Pierre,46,48n,52
Holbach,Paul, Barond', 36,61
Cardinal,54
againstradicalideas,38; religiousdis- Marefoschi,
Holland,5, 63
toleration
Maria
Theresa:
in
16, 30, 32, 37, 59, 70;
sent
religious
19;
Styria,
Roman
see
Inquisition,
Office,
Holy
31and cameralism,
15; and education,
in Cologne,26; religiousviews,6, 18n,
Holy See, 7, 8, 56n,60,67
33; foreignpolicy,26; and Hay, 40; on
19, 21, 27, 37; sole rulerof the monHomberg,Herz,30,35,61
21; and Hungary,15; and the
heretics,
influence
on, 19;
archy,22; Sonnenfel's
Hontheim,JohannNikolausvon (Febro52; and the Jews,13, 29;
Jansenists,
in the State Council,18; and Tambunius), 5, 17,46,70
and JosephII, 18, 20, 21; and modern
rini,56; and Trieste,19, 20, 25; trips
Huber,Franz,36
state,13-15; and MoravianProtestants,
19; on Univerthroughthe monarchy,
Treatyof (1763), 13
Hubertusberg,
20-22; policy of religiousuniformity,
sityof Pavia, 53; and Watteroth,63,
Huguenots,16,51
5; religious persecution,13; ruler's
64; and Weidmann,49, 50; Winkopp
Hume,David,36,61,67n
religiousduty,21; and Tamburini,54;
on,65n,69n; Wittolaon,56
14,22,56
HungarianCourtChancellery,
ImperialAulic Council,62
of,16
University
Innsbruck,
Inquisition:8, iOn, 54, 55, 58, 60, 65;
Roman,17,63; Sicilian,21n
InterimofAugsburg(1548), 8
Inzaghy,Philip, Count,Bishop of Trieste,20
IrishCollege(Rome), 54
Israelites,28
Italy,17
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
INDEX
VOL. 59, PT. 7, 1969]
on Universityof Pavia, 53; views on
toleration,12, 21; and Warsaw Tract,
15
Marie-Antoinette,Queen of France,
JosephII's sister,52n
Briefe,byPezzl, 36,64-66
Marokkanische
Martial,P., see Karl Mastalier
Martini,Karl Antonvon, 16, 17, 18n,28,
31,33n,38,67
Masonicorder,16,36,49,59,67,70,71
Mastalier,Karl,57,60,62
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
(1564-1576),9, 10
Maximilian, Archbishop of Cologne,
26,52n
JosephII's brother,
Philip,8, 9n,iOn
Melancthon,
Moses,18,30,35n
Mendelssohn,
28
Mennonites,
Merz,Alois,36n,48n,57,60
La Mettrie,57
Migazzi, ChristophAnton,Cardinal: 3234, 36, 37n, 40, 43, 46, 56, 62, 63, 69,
70; critiqueof JosephII, 20n; opposi14n,
tion to Edict, 26; on Sonnenfels,
16n
Milan,53
Milton,John,50n
de,36
Mirabaud,Jean-Baptiste
Paul, 5
Mitrofanov,
67
Mittwochsclub,
65
Montesquieu,
Moravia,12,13,16,20,22,24,40,65
23,40-42,70
MoravianProtestants,
Muller,Ignaz, Provostof St. Dorothea,
52,53
Muratori,Ludovico,6, 17, 42, 46, 47, 52,
70,71
of,53
Pavia, University
Peace ofAugsburg,10
Peace ofWestphalia,11
Pehem,Joseph,42n
Penn,William,63
Pergen,JohannAnton,Count,31,70
Pey,Jean,Canon,44n
36,59,61,64-67,71
Pezzl,Johann,
49
byWeidmann,
Der Pfarrerkrieg,
JohannKonrad,66
Pfenninger,
62,63
Physiocrats,
Pichler,Caroline,64
Pius V, 9
Pius VI, 27,42-44,46,53n,63n,70
Placetumregium,36
Poland,25
Pomerania,66
Poniatowski,Stanislaus,King of Poland
(1764-1795),12n,15
Prague,13,30,34,35,50
Press Law ofJune8, 1781,60
Protestant Estates (Corpus Evangelicorum)of theImperialDiet at Regensburg,13,26
Protestants:6, 7, 9, 11,12; underFrancis
II, 70; Migazzi on,69; in Moravia,65;
in Styria,52n, 65. See also Heretics
Prussia,5, 13,16,25,26,31n,65n,66
Samuel,18,42n,47n
Pufendorf,
79
Schl6zer,A. L., 32n,41
Schmalkaldic
War, 50
MichaelIgnaz,50n
Schmidt,
Schram,Lenore,49n
Schrockh,
Matthias,32
49n
Schwerthau,
63n
Serfdom,
"Sermoncritics,"36,56
Servetus,Michael,66
Smith,Adam,62
SocietyofJesus,see Jesuits
Socinians,18,47
Socrates,7
Sonnenfels,
Josephvon,15, 16, 19,31, 37,
38,40,41,49,57,59,60,62,67,69
Spaur, Joseph Philip von, Bishop of
Seckau,Brixen(1778-1791),19,52,57
Spaur,Leopold,Bishopof Brixen (17471778),59n
St. Omer,49n
Staats-Anzeigen,
by Schlozer,41
16
Staatskirchenrecht,
14n
Staatsrathsakten,
StandardCatechism(1777), 33,34
StateChancery,
14
State Council,13, 14, 18, 19, 23-25, 27,
37,56
StephanFddingeroder der Bauernkrieg,
byWeidmann,
38,50
Stock, Simon, Auxiliary Bishop of
Quakers,18
Vienna,53,56
De Summa catholicaede gratia Christi
doctrinae(1771), by Tamburini,
53
Racine,Jean,51
Sweden,63
RakocziRebellion(1703-1711),13
Swieten,Gerhardvan,31,35,52,53
Joseph,
49,67
Ratschky,
van, 31-36,38, 46, 53,
Franz Stephan,Abbot of Swieten,Gottfried
Rautenstrauch,
56,68,71
Braunau,32-34,36, 37, 53, 57, 58n,60,
70
Realzeitung,
32n,46,47,59,60-62
Talmud,30,34,35,61
49n
Nadler,Joseph,
Tamburini,
Pietro,33,51n,53-57,70,71
6, 8, 48,49,50,65,66
Reformation,
Nathander Weise,byLessing,38n
de Terme,Jean,Abbe,51n,52n
church,
see Calvinists
NaturalHistoryofReligion,byHume,36 Reformed
TeutscherMerkur,68
Colloquy(1541), 8
Naturallaw: 16, 19,29, 62; Alxingeron, Regensburg
TheresianAcademyin Vienna,see Colsee ImperialAulic Council
on, 47; Herberstein Reichshofrat,
67, 68; Bartholotti
legiumTheresianum
on JosephII, 18; Reinhold,Karl Leonard,60,62,67-69
on, 42, 44; influence
Theresianische
Kataster,14n
on, 70; ReligiousPatent(Aug. 27, 1778),22
Jansenists
on, 51; Josephinists
Pezzl on, 64; Scharf on, 60; Tam- Revocationof the Edict of Nantes, 16, ThirtyYears' War, 10,66
47n
Thomasius,Christian,
17n,51
burinion, 55, 56; "ViennaFriends"on,
De tolerantiaecclesiasticaet civili, by
Ricci,Scipione,Bishopof Pistoja,42,57
69
Tamburini,
53
60
und Riedel,FriedrichJustus,
Neueste Beitrdgezur Religionslehre
30n
Torquemada,66
Riegger,Joseph,
56,69
Kirchengeschichte,
11,12,15,19,28,37,42
Riegger,Paul Josephvon,16, 17,31, 42n, Transylvania,
Neupauer,Franz,57
CourtChancellery,
15
Transylvanian
46
6-8, 16,17,37,47,65
New Testament,
Trautmannsdorf,
Thaddeus, Count, 53,
RomanCuria,8, 39,40,54,57,58
39,53n,61n,65-68
Nicolai,Friedrich,
RomanIndex,56n
59n
Nicole,Pierre,51
67
Trieste,12,19,20,25,29,30,34,35
Rosicrucians,
49
byWeidmann,
Die Nonnenschlacht,
HeinrichFranz,Count,24,30n Turgot,14
Rottenhan,
51,56
NouvellesEcclesiastiques,
Turks,9, 11,12
53n
Rottenstaeder,
Novatian,54
Turretin,
54
Royko,Kaspar,48n,59
40
Nunciature
controversy,
RudolphII, Holy RomanEmperor(1576UberWiensAutoren,64
1612), 12
Oberon,byWieland,67
51
Franz,52n
Unigenitus,
43, Ruschitzka,
Biedermannschronik,
5sterreichische
Unitarians,
11,15,28,42
68
see ChurchofUtrecht
Utrechtchurch,
Sailer,J.M., 40n
52
Opstraet,Johann,
Salzburg: 40, 66; migrationof ProtVaticanII, 44n
estantsin 1733from,16,26
37
Pannich,J. Christian,
Venice,20n,25
of,11,47n,64
Salzburg,University
Papacy,see Holy See
Vertraute
Briefe,64,66
Salvianus,48
Pardubitz,Bohemia,28
Vienna,7, 10,14,24,34,39,50,52,56
Saxony,16,25,66
Patent,see EdictofToleration
"ViennaFriends,"58,59,67,69,71
Scharf,Antonvon,60,62
Pavia, 33,39
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80
O'BRIEN:
IDEAS OF RELIGIOUS
TOLERATION
Paul, 38,49,50,67,70,71
Vienna,Universityof, 15, 16, 32, 38, 53, Weidmann,
Weimar,67
62
VincentJoseph,Countvon Schrattenbach,Wenzeslaus, Klemens, Archbishop of
40
TrierandAugsburg,
BishopofLavantin InnerAustria,46n
44n,47n
Benedikt,
Voltaire,16, 18,35-37,49, 50n,57,62, 64, Werkmeister,
62n,63
Wertheim,
65
battleof (1620), 10
WhiteMountain,
Martin,67,68
Wieland,Christoph
22
Waldhuber,
Wiener Freunde, die, see "Vienna
Ernst,5
Wangermann,
Friends"
War of the Bavarian Succession(1778WienerKirchenzeitung,
53,56,58
1779), 13n
59
WienerMusenalmanach,
WarsawTract (1768), 12n,15
WienerZeitung,23n,60
Franz X. von,60
Wasserberg,
HeinrichJ.,32, 46, 60, 62-64, Winkopp,PeterAnton,65n,69n
Watteroth,
Wittola,Marc Anton,36, 40, 43n, 51n,
71
56-60,62,66n,69-71
49
Joseph,
Weidmann,
[TRANS. AMER. PHIL.
SOC.
47,62
Wolff,Christian,
36,38
Wucherer,
Joseph,
Dagobert,Count,23
Wurmser,
Zinzendorf,Karl von, Count,Governor
ofTrieste,20n,25,53n
Zondadari,Cardinal,36
Zum heiligen Joseph, 67. See also,
masonicorder
Zur wahrenEintracht,59, 60, 67. See
also,masonicorder
Zur Wohltitigkeit,59n. See also,
masonicorder
Zwingli,Ulrich,66
9
Zwinglians,
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