Moral Purity and Persecution in History

The Christian legacy of Judaism is taken up in the religious wars of 16th century France. Following an examination of the formation of the Huguenots and of concepts of purity in Calvin, Moore concentrates on each side's invective (for Catholic leaders, Huguenots were blasphemers and heretics, f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of sociology 2001, Vol.26 (4), p.688-689
Main Author: Conley, Jim
Format: Review
Language:English
Subjects:
Book Reviews/Comptes rendus
Conflict
History
Moral values
Morality
Religious persecution
Revolutions
Sociology
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Summary:The Christian legacy of Judaism is taken up in the religious wars of 16th century France. Following an examination of the formation of the Huguenots and of concepts of purity in Calvin, Moore concentrates on each side's invective (for Catholic leaders, Huguenots were blasphemers and heretics, for Huguenots, Catholicism was corrupt and idolatrous), and on the St. Bartholemew's Day Massacre and Carnival in Romans. He finds that religious sanction dehumanized and demonized a polluting enemy, thereby "creating moral approval for cruelty" (57) that relieved the perpetrators of guilt or remorse and opened the door for murderous conflict between rich and poor. In the French revolution, purity loses its religious and sexual connotations, and becomes revolutionary purity in the speeches, writings, actions, and executions of Hebert, Robespierre, and Saint-Just. Despite the secular turn, purity is almost as other-worldly in its goals as prior religious conceptions, because the "high-altitude morality" (72) demanded by the revolutionaries is equally unattainable.
ISSN:0318-6431
1710-1123
DOI:10.2307/3341504