Thursday, May 11, 2023

It is the 11th of May 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org, I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

Culture wars, between church and state and amongst Christians, are nothing new. Even the term “culture wars” goes back to the 19th century and the “Kulturkampf” in the newly formed German empire.

To understand it, we need to do a little background- because while we speak of entities like “Germany” or “Italy” during the Renaissance and Reformation, they aren’t the countries that they are today until the 19th century- specifically in 1871. The unification of Germany was precipitated by the Franco-German wars when German states unified behind Prussian military power and Chancellor Otto von Bismarck. His “liberal tendencies” would alienate some, including conservative Catholics. Hold that line.

The Italian Peninsula had long been a disparate collection of kingdoms and city-states. Like Germany, they would begin to unify in the 19th century culminating in almost complete unification, also in 1871 by finally absorbing Rome. And other events were coming out of Italy at this time- the very consequential First Vatican Council. It was at this council that the controversial doctrine of Papal Infallibility was pronounced- that is, that the Pope can’t err when speaking on matters of faith and morals: ex-cathedra (that is, in his official office). This was seen by many, including Catholics, as an overreach. Combine a Pope seeming to consolidate power in a country consolidating power, and you might see why a country like Germany might be getting anxious. The concern would take an old name- Ultramontanism. This has long been a concern that Catholics outside of the Italian states would be loyal to the pope over the temporal rulers. “Ultramontanism” means “over the mountains”- looking over the Alps into Rome for guidance.

And so, back to Bismarck and the new German Empire. It was on this, the 11th of May in 1873, that Bismarck’s minister of Ecclesiastical Affairs, Adalbert Falk, passed the so-called “May Laws” through parliament (although there are other so-called “May Laws,” so we can call these the Falk Laws as well).

The point of these laws- and the subsequent “kulturkampf” or “Culture War” were an attempt to diminish Papal authority in Germany and make a statement against the Catholic powers of France and Austria-Hungary. Furthermore, the stance against the Catholic Church was received well in Protestant Britain and Orthodox Russia.

So, what were these religious laws- the Falk Laws- that upset Europe's tenuous political situation?

These laws placed the control of religious training a matter of the state- not the church. And church appointments could not come from any external church authority but also came from the state. Note how this is a specific attack on Catholic hierarchy. The Protestant churches- without the same central authority as the Catholic Church would submit. The story of Protestants in Germany giving into the state would have grave consequences in the coming decades and centuries.

Catholics would lose their place of cultural significance in that their schools, churches, bishoprics, etc., would now be diminished, with German Catholics torn between recognizing their temporal and spiritual authorities. Baptisms were no longer required, marriages would become a civil affair, and Catholic authorities had to swear fealty to the German state.

And, lest I skip past this: the Jesuit order was banned from Germany. This was part of the overall suppression of the Jesuits across Europe as they were seen as having dual loyalty- and perhaps were even undercover agents of the Pope and now Italian authority.

It was a mess. If, in America, there is an uneasy separation of church and state, it was messier not only when countries were consolidating and forming but when confessional loyalties mixed with national interests. The Falk laws would be eased over time, but the state’s power grabs against the church- the Catholic Church, in this instance would sow the seeds for future culture wars with the church that led to the disastrous 20th century in Germany and the rest of Europe. Today we remember a monumental moment in Kulturkampf- the Falk Laws passed on this day in 1873.

 

The last word for today from the daily lectionary- back in Psalm 66 and the Metrical Psalter:

1  All lands to God in joyful sounds,

         aloft your voices raise.

   2  Sing forth the honor of his name,

         and glorious make his praise.

   3  Say unto God, How terrible

         in all thy works art thou!

      Through thy great pow'r thy foes to thee

         shall be constrained to bow.

   4  All on the earth shall worship thee,

         they shall thy praise proclaim

      In songs: they shall sing cheerfully

         unto thy holy name.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 11th of May 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man that thought the Falk laws were when a detective was finished with his questions, but came back for just one more… He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who just there made a reference to Peter Falk and the old detective show Columbo… sorry. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.