Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution itself. There has been much scholarly debate over whether the movement was popularly motivated. The French Revolution initially began with attacks on church corruption and the wealth of the higher clergy, an action with which even many Christians could identify, since the Roman Catholic church held a dominant role in pre-revolutionary France. During a two-year period known as the Reign of Terror, the episodes of anti-clericalism grew more violent than any in modern European history. The new revolutionary authorities suppressed the church; abolished the Catholic monarchy; nationalized church property; exiled 30,000 priests and killed hundreds more. In October 1793 the
Reign of Terror "A Short History of the French Revolution". 6th ed. London: Routledge, 2016. “Robespierre, "On Political Morality",” Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, accessed October 19, 2018, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/413. Rothenberg, Gunther E. "The Origins, Causes, and Extension of the Wars of the French Revolution and Napoleon." "The Journal of Interdisciplinary History 18 ", no. 4 (1988): 771-93. doi:10.2307/204824. https://www.jstor.org/stable/204824. “"Terror Is the Order of the Day",” "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity", accessed October 26, 2018, http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/416. Voltaire. "Voltaire, Selections from the Philosophical Dictionary." Omeka RSS. Accessed October 23, 2018. http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/273/. Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror, or The Terror (), is the label given by most