Why did Joseph II dissolve hundreds of monasteries?

Joseph II dissolved more than 700 monasteries because he believed that religious institutions should contribute to the welfare of the community through "useful" activities, such as education, agriculture, and the care of the sick.12

He held that any monastery not engaged in these specific, practical services should be suppressed. The assets and property seized from these dissolved institutions were repurposed to fund the maintenance of existing parishes and to establish new ones. While the monks were forced to leave their orders, they were provided with annuities or funds to return to secular life, and some were encouraged to serve as secular priests. These monastic reforms were a key component of Josephinism, a policy framework that sought to subordinate the Roman Catholic Church to the needs and control of the state.12