HIST 641B Social and Political History of European Catholicism
In the nineteenth century, many Europeans regarded Catholic ideas, organizations, and individuals as a dangerous threat to Western civilization and liberal progress. The so-called "culture wars" in Germany, France, and other European countries during the last third of the 19th Century re-shaped entire societies and political landscapes. Less than a century later, Catholics were well integrated into European society and Catholic politicians dominated Western Europe.
This course investigates this fundamental change by analyzing the relationship between Catholicism and modern society in Europe, including Austria, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Germany and France from 1870 to 1970.