The French Revolution was perhaps the greatest tragedy in history.
It ushered in an era of:
-violence
-class warfare
-authoritarianism
But France’s faith suffered the most—thousands of priests were executed or exiled as a new atheistic religion was thrust onto the people…🧵
Before the revolution, France and Catholicism were inseparable.
France was called the “eldest daughter of the Church” since Frankish king Clovis I accepted the Catholic faith in the early 6th century.
In the 18th century, the vast majority of the population were Catholic, and it was the only religion officially allowed in the kingdom.
The church influenced all aspects of French life—hospitals, education, and birth/death records were controlled by the Church.
But the Church became a central target of the French Revolution in 1789.
The monarchy owed its legitimacy to the Church, so by destabilizing the Church, revolutionaries were able to pull out the rug from under the monarchy—the two went hand in hand.
Initially, as outlined in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789, revolutionaries sought a libertarian approach to religion:
“No one may be disturbed for his opinions, even religious ones, provided that their manifestation does not trouble the public order...”
Anti-Catholic sentiment intensified though, and the National Constituent Assembly, France’s acting government, ordered the seizure of properties and land held by the Catholic Church, selling them to fund the new revolutionary currency.
And later the assembly passed the "Civil Constitution of the Clergy," a law that subordinated the Catholic Church in France to the secular government.
Though it was rejected by the pope, it divided the clergy into jurors, who accepted the law, and non-jurors, who rejected it.
Non-juring priests were viewed as counter-revolutionaries, and were sentenced to death on sight.
Hundreds of Catholic priests were executed while thousands more were banished from the country. Faithful Catholics that remained were left without leadership or the sacraments.
Eventually anti-Catholic sentiment gave way to a frenzied anti-Christian sensationalism.
Crosses, church bells, statues, and iconography were destroyed in an attempt to secularize society.
Under the leadership of figures like Joseph Fouché, revolutionaries removed crosses from graveyards and declared that all cemeteries must bear only one inscription:
“Death is an eternal sleep.”
Instead of Christianity, revolutionary leaders thrusted a new, atheistic religion on the French people: the Cult of Reason.
Though hard to pin down, it centered around the core principles of Reason, Liberty, Nature, and the revolutionary spirit.
Promoted by Antoine-François Momoro, it was an assortment of various ideas based on materialist philosophy.
In practice, it was little more than an avenue for the state to promote anticlericalism and wealth confiscation.
The Cult of Reason even had its own places of worship—the churches of France were converted into modern “Temples of Reason,” where Christian altars were dismantled and transformed into altars to Liberty.
And ceremonies were held to celebrate the new religion…
The largest ceremony was held at Notre Dame in Paris. The inscription "To Philosophy" was carved over the cathedral's doors, and girls dressed in white danced around a costumed “Goddess of Reason,” who was played by Momoro’s wife.
She was said to have dressed “provocatively.”
The Cult of Reason was later supplanted by another state-imposed religion, the Cult of the Supreme being, but these were both ultimately banned by Napoleon.
Napoleon allowed the Church back into France in 1801, but the damage the revolution caused to the Faith was incalculable
The removal of the Catholic Church completely transformed French society, from the dissolution of the monarchy to the restructuring of basic institutions like education and administrative government.
Though not as stark as during the French Revolution, the same materialist principles dominate mainstream thought in Western countries today just as faith is being discarded.
Will the West undergo the same restructuring that France went through when it abandoned its faith?
If you enjoyed this thread and would like to join the mission of promoting western tradition, kindly repost the first post (linked below) and consider following: @thinkingwest
Rome was the preeminent engineering civilization. Its roads, bridges, and aqueducts ensured an unmatched quality of life for its citizens.
Yet its greatest engineering feat wasn’t about providing comfort—the Colosseum was built for a dramatic death...🧵
The Colosseum became famous for its gladiatorial contests, executions, reenactments of famous battles, and even mock sea fights.
It was a theater designed with two things in mind: death and spectacle.
Constructed between 72-80 AD under Vespasian, the Colosseum was the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. Holding a capacity of 65000 spectators, the building project required extraordinary human ingenuity.
Of course, such a massive undertaking required a lot of money…
All empires repeat the same cycle, says 20th-century historian John Glubb.
He observed that for the past 3000 years every civilization has followed the same 6 stages before decline—what are they?🧵
Sir John Bagot Glubb was a British soldier and author who served as the commanding general for Transjordan's Arab Legion from 1939 to 1956.
In his later years he wrote about geopolitics and world history, and penned a succinct description of how civilizations rise and fall…
Glubb’s 1978 work, “The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival,” is an idea-dense essay that argues all great empires follow an eerily similar pattern.
From observing 11 distinct cultures, Glubb draws some intriguing conclusions that have implications for modern society.
On May 20th, 1910, nine kings gathered at Windsor for the funeral of King Edward VII.
The photograph they took is a stark reminder of how drastically European leadership has changed—the men pictured remain symbols of a bygone era of monarchy.
Who were they?🧵
King Haakon VII of Norway (top row, far left)
Ruled from November 1905 until his death in 1957. After the 1905 dissolution of the union between Sweden and Norway, he became the first independent Norwegian monarch since Olaf II in 1387.
Tsar Ferdinand of the Bulgarians (top row, second from left)
Ruled as Tsar during the tumultuous First World War. After a series of military setbacks in 1918, he abdicated the throne in a bid to save the monarchy. His eldest son succeeded him, becoming Tsar Boris III.
Galileo called him “superhuman”. Tesla said he was the “ideal” inventor. And da Vinci was directly inspired by him.
Simply put, Archimedes was the greatest engineer and mathematician of the ancient world.
Here’s why...🧵(thread)
Born around 287 BC, Archimedes was an inventor, mathematician, astronomer, and engineer from the city of Syracuse in Sicily.
Very little is known of Archimedes’ life other than his discoveries and inventions, of which there were many.
The ancient historian Polybius was the first to reference Archimedes about 70 years after his death, describing various war machines that the inventor built including catapults, a giant crane that destroyed ships, and various stone-throwing machines.
Charles "the Hammer" — perhaps no figure deserves the title “defender of Western civilization” as much as him.
A warrior-statesman, he not only crushed foreign invasions but also laid the foundation for medieval Europe🧵
Born an illegitimate son to Pepin of Herstal, ruler of a few Frankish territories, Charles (c. 688–741 AD) enjoyed the youth of an aristocratic warrior, but was never expected to inherit his father’s rule.
Between royal courts and battlefields, he was trained as a warrior, receiving instruction in sword fighting, horseback combat, and military strategy.