Jansenism: Catholic Resistance to Authority from the Reformation to the French Revolution (Studies in European History)

Jansenism, and the theology of Cornelius Jansen, powerfully infused French political life from the mid-17th century to the revolution 150 years later. It influenced the Enlightenment, the development of French constitutional thinking, the destruction of the Jesuits, and the modernization of the Catholic Church. This book explains why Jansenism was so important, recreates the religious and intellectual world which fostered it, and examines the critical issues which led to the French Revolution.