Erin McCarthy
Period 2
Question: How and why did the Christianity come under attack in the late 19th Century? How well did
the churches respond? Discuss the policies of Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius X. During a period of attack upon
the church, how do you account for the resilience of the papacy?
The intellectual attack on Christianity arose on the grounds of its historical credibility, its
scientific accuracy, and its pronounced morality. David Strauss questioned whether the Bible provided
accurate historical records of Jesus. He contended it was a myth. Others were also skeptical about the
life of Jesus. In the late 18th century other authors published versions of the Bible with the problems of
the Jewish society and politics in mind. This questioning caused people to lose their faith.
The geology of Charles Lyell suggested earth was older than biblical records suggested and
removed God’s miraculous works from the equation. Psychologists, sociologists, and anthropologists
suggested religion was just a set of natural phenomena. Others questioned morality of Christianity.
Liberals brought up God’s supposed cruelty. Nietzsche portrayed Christianity as a religion of sheep that
glorifies weakness. Christianity began losing intellectual respect. Fewer joined the clergy. Many began
living lives without reference to faith whatsoever.
Liberals did not agree with the dogma and political privileges of established churches. Protestant
and Roman Catholic Churches clashed. Churches feared that students would be educated in state
supported schools rather than religious schools. Later the state ruled that money would be given to
religious run schools as well and demanded the same educational standards of both schools. After laws
being passed and repealed, in 1905 church and state were totally separated. Bismarck removed clergy
from overseeing educational matters in Prussia and set education under state direction, beginning the
attack on independence of Church in Germany. After the May Laws of 1873, Bismarck had either
arrested or driven out all the catholic bishops from Prussia.
The most striking feature of Christian religious revival amidst turmoil and persecutions was the
resilience of the papacy. Pope Pius IX fled the turmoil in Rome. He later launched a counteroffensive
against liberalism in thought and deed. He condemned all the major tenets of political liberalism and
modern thought. He set the church against science, philosophy, and politics. Leo XII’s encyclicals
permitted Catholics to participate in the politics of liberal states. Rerum Novarum defended private
property, religious education, and religious control or marriage laws. He condemned socialism and
Marxism. He supported laws to protect labor conditions. He urged society be organized by corporate
groups who would cooperate according to Christian principles.
Pius X hoped to resist the intrusions of modern thought and to restore traditional modern
devotional life. He condemned Catholic Modernism, a movement of modern biblical criticism within the
Church, and in 1910 he required all priests to take an anti-Modernist oath. Pius X set the Church against
the intellectual currents of the day, and the struggle between Catholicism and modern thought
continued. Although Pius X did not strongly support the social policy of Leo XIII, the Catholic church
continued to permit its members to participate actively in social and political movements.