THL303: Introduction to Church History: Church in the Modern Era

Focuses on the entire range of philosophic and social changes engendered by the Enlightenment. The Encyclopedia extends the conventional geographical boundaries of the Enlightenment, covering not only France, England, Scotland, the Low Countries, Italy, English-speaking North America, the German states, and Hapsburg Austria but also Iberian, Ibero-American, Jewish, Russian, and Eastern European cultures.

Contents: Meeting for worship and meeting for business -- The origins of American Quakerism, 1640-1800 -- Their separate ways : American Friends since 1800 -- Quaker faiths and practices -- Contemporary Quaker debates -- Quakers and the world -- "A quarterly meeting in herself" : Quaker women, marriage, and the family -- Quaker lives, past and contemporary

Examining the ways in which politics and religion have influenced each other over the last two hundred years, Burleigh reveals that throughout history the two realms have interacted in complex and sometimes lethal ways--just as they still do today. The overall effect was a widespread increase in secularism and a demystification of the power of politics. Burleigh encompasses the philosophies of the Enlightenment, as well as the pseudo-religious aspects of Marxism. While the nineteenth century saw the replacement of the confessional by the liberal state, it also saw the birth of ideological fanaticisms that would achieve enormous power in the twentieth century. laying the foundations for both the soft totalitarianism of the modern bureaucratic welfare state and the more sinister police states of Communists and National Socialists. The most violent and repressive of these systems mimicked many of the functions of religion. Although liberalism was eventually restored to the continent in 1945 and 1989, many of the themes that Burleigh highlights here, notably the need for civic religions, have assumed a terrible relevance as Europe reacts to the threat of Al Qaeda.

Contents: The crisis of 1788 -- Church, state, and society on the eve of the revolution -- 1789 : May to October -- The ecclesiastical policy of the Constituent Assembly, August 1789 to June 1790 -- The civil constitution of the clergy -- The Gallican church divided -- The beginning of persecution, January 1791 to September 1792 -- The decline of the state church and the origins of the revolutionary religion, 1789 to September 1792 -- The Vendée and the beginning of terror -- De-Christianization -- Reason and the Être Suprême -- The clergy under the terror -- Thermidor to Brumaire -- The twilight of the revolutionary cults -- Towards the Concordat

This survey launches a major five-volume series exploring the history of the papacy. This initial volume runs from the French Revolution to the fall of the Soviet Union. Its central theme is the response of this most ancient of institutions to the modern secular age.

With fascinating insight into the Vatican's public records and hidden secrets, The Papacy in the Modern World explores the triumphs, controversies and failures of Pope's throughout the modern history of the Catholic Church.

This is a study of the nine men who became Pope from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Dr. Riccards chronicles the lives and times of these popes, the issues and events of their papacies. The focus here is on leadership and how it is exercised in the organization and administration of the church. The popes sit on top of one of the world's most rigid and formal bureaucracies, whose structure and practices find their origins in the society of ancient Rome. Depending on the times and the personality of the reigning pontiff, various styles of leadership are utilized. The inherent tension between church law, tradition, and the charismatic Spirit-inspired model of the founders is always present, and it manifests itself in sometimes surprising ways.

The book presents the history of the last ten popes, Pius IX to John Paul II, and covers the period beginning from when the church was deprived of temporal power. It will be described the life of every Pope, offering a detailed analysis of the activities conducted and the contributions of doctrine, finally reaching an overall judgment about their respective pontificates. Each Pope has managed to preserve its own way, even in the most critical moments that seemed to undermine the strength of the Church, providential serenity and balance, and in the book shows the contribution each has been able to lead to the construction of a Christian "civilization of love."

For the first time in a quarter century, the world has a new pope. While people around the world struggle to understand the brilliant and enigmatic Joseph Ratzinger, Heinz-Joachim Fischer offers us this first-hand account of the Pope's astonishing life and ministry: from his early days in Germany to his meteoric rise as Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, confidant of Pope John Paul II, and the first new pope of the 21st Century. Dr. Fischer is the ideal biographer of the new Pope. As a theologically trained journalist, a friend of Ratzinger,and the 25-year Vatican correspondent for Germany's leading daily newspaper, Fischer understands the life and work of this complex church leader as well as the challenges and questions that confront Benedict XVI in his new role.

Authored by two highly-esteemed Argentine journalists, the book provides an in-depth analysis of Pope Francis' youth, influences, doctrine, and potential to inspire a renewal of faith, not only within the Catholic Church, but the world-over. From Bergoglio's coming of age in the Peronist era and his role in Argentina's darkest period, the Dirty War, to his volatile relationship with the Kirchners, and his views on everything from same-sex marriage and abortion to women's issues and the crisis of world poverty, this book addresses the all of the key issues facing the new leader of the largest religious organization in the world and provides a concise look at the history and politics that have consumed Latin America, Argentina, and the Church, breaking the cult of secrecy that has long plagued the region as well as the institution.