French Revolution Catholic clergy of the established church. Some historians hold something similar to what Thomas Jefferson proclaimed: that France had "been awakened by our [American] Revolution." Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates General in May 1789. During the first year of the Revolution, members of the Third Estate (commoners) took control, the Bastille was attacked in July, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen was passed in August, and a group of women marched on Versailles that forced the royal court back to Paris in
Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution 10, 1789, the National Constituent Assembly seized the properties and land held by the Catholic Church and decided to sell them as assignats. On July 12, 1790, the assembly passed the Civil Constitution of the Clergy that subordinated the Roman Catholic Church in France to the French government. It was never accepted by the Pope and other high-ranking clergy in Rome. The programme of dechristianization waged against Catholicism, and eventually against all forms of Christianity, included: An especially notable event that took place in the course of France’s dechristianization was the Festival of Reason, which was held in Notre Dame