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Treaty of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War
Link to the Peace Treaty of Westphalia.
This peace treaty marked the end of a brutal war that was waged initially for religious reasons, but soon gave way to the politics behind the struggle of power between Europe's most prominent states. -
Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan published
Link to Hobbes' Leviathan
Hobbes' literature advocated the stability and security in an absolute monarchy, a system of rule which was employed in many European states. Louis XIV's rule epitomised this structure of power through the French monarchy's justification by divine right to exercise sovereignty over its state. -
An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to use means for the Conversions of the Heathens published
Link to William Carey's missionary pamphlet
Religious justification was a key aspect of colonialism between the 17th and 19th centuries. The Church's duty to proliferate Christianity to non christian states validated their settlement and colonisation. This religious notion was the precursor that allowed for more political and economic ideologies regarding colonies to take hold. -
French Republican Calendar adopted by National Convention
Link to Phillibert-Louis Debucourt's 1794 French Republican CalendarThis radical movement for removing Christian influence from French society is an example of how even a negative perspective on religion can be used as a means of commanding power and gaining public support. With the ousting of the Ancien Regime, Catholicism was portrayed as a symbol of and oppressive past, and was accompanied by a great shift away from religion. -
Salvation Army is founded
Link to the Manifesto of the Salvation Army, 1878
The Salvation Army's Methodist- and conventional Christian- aligned manifesto allowed for their gaining of popular support, illustrating how favourable Church affiliation can be. After the Army's influence was substantial, its breakaway from conventional Christianity marked their true religious ideologies being proliferated. -
Lenin's "Manifesto of the Workers' Deputies in the State Duma" published
Link to Lenin's Manifesto
The ideologies adopted by the Bolshevik political agenda would be integral in mobilising the proletariat, particularly due to its emphasis on production as the meaning of being, as opposed to divine reasoning. The sentiment of distaste for the old regime, (and with it, Christianity) amongst the working class was used as an effective tool to gain political support.
