Civil Constitution of the Clergy

Civil Constitution of the Clergy, (July 12, 1790), during the French Revolution, an attempt to reorganize the Roman Catholic Church in France on a national basis. It caused a schism within the French Church and made many devout Catholics turn against the Revolution. There was a need to create a new administrative and financial framework for the French Church after the Revolutionary governing body, the National Assembly, in its reforming efforts, had abolished the collection...