What is anti-clericalism? This word is foreign. To understand its interpretation, one should turn to etymology. It comes from the Latin prefix anti - “against” and the late Latin adjective clericalis, which means “church”. The latter were formed from the Greek prefix ἀντί - “against” and the noun κληρικός - “clergy”, “clergy”. The word atheism is formed in a different way: from the ancient Greek ἀἀ - “without” and θεός - “god”, that is, “denial of God, godlessness”.
More on the fact that this is anti-clericalism and atheism will be discussed below. Also consider their difference from each other.
Clericalism
To understand that this is anti-clericalism, it would be advisable to start with the definition of this concept. In a broad sense, clericalism is such a political direction, whose representatives seek the dominant role of the clergy and the church in politics, culture, public life. The opposite of this term is "secularism."
The carriers of clericalism are the clergy and persons associated with the church. But clericalism is enjoyed not only by the apparatus of the church, but also by various organizations, clerical political parties. Also, clergy often involve cultural, women's, youth, trade union and other organizations created with his participation in the realization of their goals.
Clerical parties were created along with parliamentarism. But as for clericalism as a worldview and ideal, it is much older.
Anti-clericalism
This is a social movement that is directed against the clergy, religious organizations and their power - political, economic, as well as in the field of culture, science, education. Some of his ideas were expressed by ancient philosophers. In Europe in the Middle Ages, anti-clericalism was a form of struggle against the idea preached by the church about the superiority of spiritual authority over secularism. Then his main focus was the condemnation of the feudal church. Moreover, peasant movements directed against the church, primarily, pursued economic goals.
In the Renaissance, the ideologists of anti-clericalism are representatives of the humanistic trend: philosophers and writers who expressed the ideas of the early bourgeoisie. Their work contributed to the beginning of the struggle for tolerance of various faiths, for the revival of the antique view of a person lost in Catholicism. Such figures were, for example, Giordano Bruno, Lorenzo Valla, Poggio Bracciolini, Leonardo Bruni.
Atheism
It is necessary to distinguish the concept under consideration from atheism. The latter in translation from ancient Greek means "godlessness", "denial of God." In a broad sense, it is understood as a denial of the belief that the gods exist. In a narrower sense, it is a belief in what is said above.
But there is also the broadest interpretation, according to which atheism is a simple lack of faith in the existence of a higher power. In relation to religion, it is a worldview that denies everything supernatural.
From what has been said, it can be concluded that the concepts of “anti-clericalism” and “atheism” differ.
- The latter is in the position of denying the existence of God and other supernatural phenomena, the existence of which is declared by religion.
- Anti-clericalism does not deny the truth of religion in general, but only those claims that the church makes for its exclusivity in society.
Thus, these two concepts, although they are related to each other, are essentially different. Next, we will consider the features of the manifestation of anticlericalism and atheism in the Enlightenment.
Bourgeois thought and the "cult of Reason"
In the Enlightenment, anti-clericalism was one of the important tasks of bourgeois ideologists. They connected him with the struggle for freedom of conscience, with the challenge of religious concepts, with criticism of church politics. This, first of all, refers to Pierre Beyl, Toland, Voltaire.
At that time, bourgeois laws were adopted that provided for the alienation of church property, primarily land, and the separation of the church from the state.
During the French Revolution, the negative consequences of the fight against clericals manifested themselves. They were expressed in the desire to liquidate the church as a social institution, in the destruction of church buildings, the seizure of property of churches, forcing priests to abandon the dignity. Due to violent de-Christianization, religion was replaced by the “cult of the Mind”, and subsequently by the “cult of the Supreme Being” at the state level. The Thermidorian coup ultimately occurred.
At the end of the 18th century, the first atheistic thinkers began to appear, who spoke openly. Such was, for example, Baron Holbach. During this period, an expression of unbelief becomes less dangerous. The most systematic representative of enlightened thinking was David Hume. His ideas were based on empiricism, which undermined the metaphysical foundations of theology.