THE MODERN AGE

AGE OF SAINTS

• The 17th century was known as the age of saints
• Included famous missionaries who preached the Gospel and hostile lands
• France produced a number of efficient and exemplar Saints during this time
• Different saints included educational saints, companions and ones who countered heresy
• All Saints believed in helping others and or having love for the poor

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL

• Paul may be the greatest organizer of Charity in history
• Left the easy life in Rome and began Pastoral work in a rural area where the poverty of people moved him
• Organized disciplined teams of charity workers who provided services for the poor
• Congregation of the Mission was founded, which preached to bring people back to the faith
• St. Paul also founded the Daughters of Charity an order devoted to serving the sick, poor, elderly and orphans

AGE OF REASON

• This period was a revolutionary thinking, away from religion
• The church was affected due to the American and French revolutions
• People stress the power of human reason to explain reality apart from divine revelation
• They rejected anything that was not absolutely clear to human reason
• Many rationalists and philosophers created their own religion, Deism, which lessens God's authority

FRENCH REVOLUTION

• Enlightenment thinkers impacted France greatly, since many leaders were aristocratic
• A growing number of French citizens absorbed the ideas of equality and freedom
• After a time, many of the French began to attack the undemocratic nature of their government
• They pushed for freedom of speech and challenged the Roman Catholic Church
• The major leader in this successful revolution was Napoleon Bonaparte

19TH-CENTURY LIBERALISM

• Liberalism called much of the social ferment
• These people opposed rule by aristocrats
• Separation of the church and state was strongly encouraged
• Thoughts were human centered and sometimes atheistic
• Nationalism combined with Liberalism to create the modern states of Germany and Italy

KARL MARX

• Marx taught that religion was the "opiate of people"
• He described that religion was a drug that kept people content with their life
• His works inspired the foundation of many Communists regimes during the 19th century
• The Communist Manifesto was his greatest work, which reflects the ideas Communism
• Marx also argued that class struggle is the motivating force behind all historical developments

CHURCH HISTORY COURSE FRAMEWORK