French Revolution goes all religious !

I had a dream about this, and want to see how on Earth to bring it about ! Basically, instead of a militaristic imperialist like Napoleon, the Revolution gets taken over by a religious fanatic. The problem of course is secularism, rising out of the French Revolution, so I think we need to place the POD in the origins and workings of the early revolution. Can we avoid the Jacobites, the Terror etc and have something similarly chaotic but less secular ? I realise that beef with the religious establishment was part of the problem bubbling away at the heart of public discontent (or at least political discontent) but maybe if we posit a Henry VIII type figure leading the Revolution, aiming to REFORM religion, but still a fanatical believer - in 2 things perhaps, his own version of religion, and his own value, importance and destiny ?

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
As far as I remember the dream, the guy wanted to recreate a religious Roman empire stretching right across Europe, disdaining the HRE, and wanting a French focus, perhaps like a recreation of Charlemagne.

His focus was on taking various cities - Aachen, Frankfurt, Vienna, Rome

His followers had that mix of nationalism and religious fervour enough to allow this venture to succeed long-term, bed in and become a permanent future force

Best Regards
Grey Wolf
 
Sounds to me like you have a good beginning to a TL right there.

Seems to me from what you've wrote that the leader dude would do well to either be of royal descent or be able to plausibly claim such descent. If the king were killed much earlier in the Revolution, that would clear the way for our nascent emperor. Or maybe he could oppose the execution of Louis XVI and the extraction of revenge would be the beginning of his influence, and from there he has to take more and more responsibility until he unwillingly (true or not, that's the public version) becomes emperor.

For other ways to power, i think a highly placed clergy with populist leanings would do very well. Or maybe a megalomanic version of Philippe Égalité? Other possibilities would be a very charismatic preacher or shepherd or something who gains his popularity from the masses.
 
I would say for the French Revolution to occur as a religious rather than a secular event, that the discontent that is felt by the masses has to be supported by a broad base of the French Clergy. Ultimately, a single priest would not be enough to nullify the common belief that the clergy were just as much a drain on the third estate as the nobility was. However, if in the early 18th century, you started having a multitude of clerical theologians talking about the responsibility of the rich toward the poor, and indeed took their own words seriously and preached it from the pulpit.. then perhaps by 1789, the French would be looking to the Clergy for leadership rather than another group to blame.


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Bill
 
I would say for the French Revolution to occur as a religious rather than a secular event, that the discontent that is felt by the masses has to be supported by a broad base of the French Clergy. Ultimately, a single priest would not be enough to nullify the common belief that the clergy were just as much a drain on the third estate as the nobility was. However, if in the early 18th century, you started having a multitude of clerical theologians talking about the responsibility of the rich toward the poor, and indeed took their own words seriously and preached it from the pulpit.. then perhaps by 1789, the French would be looking to the Clergy for leadership rather than another group to blame.


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Bill

If the clergy starts doing that, wouldn't they also vote on behalf of the commoners, rather than the nobility, in the Estates General? If so, wouldn't the commoners be content, at least for the time being, and a reform, if it came, would be far from the violence of OTL?

Just speculating...
 
If the clergy starts doing that, wouldn't they also vote on behalf of the commoners, rather than the nobility, in the Estates General? If so, wouldn't the commoners be content, at least for the time being, and a reform, if it came, would be far from the violence of OTL?

Just speculating...


That depends on which part of the clergy is siding with the nobles and which with the tiers.

If the high clergy is for nobility and it's bas clergy which are preaching equality, you could get a reaction from High clergy to trust all post of deputies to the general estates. That could lead you to a violent reaction with the low clergy preaching attacks against the prince prelates who sold their souls....


Of course, if it goes that way, expect a new heresy which will not be in line with Rome.
 
Easier to imagine would be a successful and swift counter-revolution lead by clerics or catholic activists like de Maistre which gets carried on.
 
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