1. Religious Authority and Beliefs In the Eighteenth Century By Nic Blommel and Nathan Sippel

2. Some Background stuff Rural areas – Most remained committed Christians – Local traditions In the cities – Tensions between authorities and the people – Criticism of popular religious practices by elites

3. Church Hierarchy Parish church – Community records, charity, and orphan care – Education Christian Monarchs – Spain- deeply Catholic – Austria-more practical clerical contribution to society – France-Jesuits became to powerful, Louis XIV forced them out 1763

4. Protestant Revival Medieval practices abolished – Idolatry – Saint worship – Pageantry Pietism – Warm, emotional religion Enthusiasm in prayer, worship, and preaching – Priesthood of all believers – Power of christian rebirth

5. Revival cont. Methodists – Protestant revival movement – John Wesley Wesley – Started Methodists – Intensely troubled about his own salvation – Preacher – 40,000 sermons between 1750 and 1790 – Rejected Calvinist predestination – Message=hope and joy, free will and universal salvation

6. Catholic Piety More than 95% of population attended Easter mass Church had integral role in daily life Saints days, processions, pilgrimages, and Palm Sunday Largely eliminated in reformed areas

7. Catholics cont. Jansenism – Cornelius Jansen – Bishop of Ypres – Emphasized original sin – Accepted predestination – Followers particularly among the French

8. Marginal Beliefs and Practices Peasants continue to hold obscure faiths – Ordinary person combines Christianity with superstition Catholics believe Saints’ relics would bring luck and fortune French priests particularly denounce paganism – During lent peasants would jump over fires to bring good harvests

9. Practices cont. Peasants saw attacks on their non-Christian beliefs as incomprehensible Intellectual era saw an end to witches – Common people still feared witches, but upper- class refused to prosecute them – Last witch executed 1682