ABSTRACT
The relationship between religion and modernity has for some time been a constant focus of reflection and debate. In general, it was common throughout the 19th century to associate the Catholic religion with what represented a past to be overcome, made of superstitions and beliefs in a world enchanted by intercessions and miracles. In view of this, the ambiguous relationship between Catholicism and the process of Western modernization ends up presenting important questions for understanding the way in which modernity has consolidated in the West. The purpose of this article is thus to analyze the ambiguous reactions carried out by European Catholic Church sectors towards the process of technical modernization and consolidation of modernity throughout the 19th century. In order to do so, it focuses on the cases of France and Germany.
Keywords:
catholicism; modernization; Europe; ultramontanism