Unification of Italy
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| - | :''[[atheism]]'' | ||
| - | The [[Renaissance]] and [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] eras witnessed a resurgence in religious fervor, as evidenced by the proliferation of new religious orders, confraternities, and popular devotions in the Catholic world, and the appearance of increasingly austere Protestant sects such as the [[Calvinists]]. This era of interconfessional rivalry permitted an even wider scope of theological and philosophical speculation, much of which would later be used to advance a religiously skeptical world-view. | + | '''Italian unification''' (''il Risorgimento'', or "The Resurgence") was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the [[Italian peninsula]] into the single state of [[Italy]] in the 19th century. Despite a lack of consensus on the exact dates for the beginning and end of this period, many scholars agree that the process began in 1815 with the [[Congress of Vienna]] and the end of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleonic]] rule, and ended some time around 1871 with the [[Franco-Prussian War]]. The last ''[[Italia irredenta|città irredente]]'' however, did not join the [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Kingdom of Italy]] until after [[World War I]]. |
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| - | [[Criticism of Christianity]] became increasingly frequent in the 17th and 18th centuries, especially in France and England, where there appears to have been a religious [[malaise]], according to contemporary sources. Some Protestant thinkers, such as [[Thomas Hobbes]], espoused a materialist philosophy and skepticism toward supernatural occurrences, while the Jewish-Dutch philosopher [[Baruch Spinoza]] rejected [[divine providence]] in favour of a pantheistic naturalism. By the late 17th century, [[Deism]] came to be openly espoused by intellectuals such as [[John Toland (Irish Philosopher)|John Toland]]. Despite their ridicule of Christianity, many Deists held atheism in scorn. The first known atheist who threw off the mantle of deism, bluntly denying the existence of gods, was [[Jean Meslier]], a French priest who lived in the early 18th century. | + | |
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| - | He was followed by other openly atheistic thinkers, such as [[Baron d'Holbach]] and [[Jacques-André Naigeon]]. | + | |
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| - | The philosopher [[David Hume]] developed a skeptical epistemology grounded in empiricism, undermining the metaphysical basis of natural theology. | + | |
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| - | The [[French Revolution]] took atheism outside the salons and into the public sphere. Attempts to enforce the [[Civil Constitution of the Clergy]] led to anti-clerical violence and the expulsion of many clergy from France. The chaotic political events in revolutionary Paris eventually enabled the more radical [[Jacobin Club|Jacobins]] to seize power in 1793, ushering in the [[Reign of Terror]]. At its climax, the more militant atheists attempted to forcibly de-Christianize France, replacing religion with a [[Cult of Reason]]. These persecutions ended with the [[Thermidorian Reaction]], but some of the secularizing measures of this period remained a permanent legacy of French politics. | + | |
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| - | The [[Napoleonic era]] institutionalized the secularization of French society, and exported the revolution to northern Italy, in the hopes of creating pliable republics. In the 19th century, many atheists and other anti-religious thinkers devoted their efforts to political and social revolution, facilitating the [[Revolutions of 1848|upheavals of 1848]], the [[Italian unification|Risorgimento]] in Italy, and the growth of an international [[socialism|socialist]] movement. | + | |
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| - | In the latter half of the 19th century, atheism rose to prominence under the influence of [[rationalism|rationalistic]] and [[freethought|freethinking]] philosophers. Many prominent German philosophers of this era denied the existence of deities and were critical of religion, including [[Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach|Ludwig Feuerbach]], [[Arthur Schopenhauer]], [[Karl Marx]], and [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]. | + | |
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Revision as of 12:50, 24 December 2009
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Italian unification (il Risorgimento, or "The Resurgence") was the political and social movement that agglomerated different states of the Italian peninsula into the single state of Italy in the 19th century. Despite a lack of consensus on the exact dates for the beginning and end of this period, many scholars agree that the process began in 1815 with the Congress of Vienna and the end of Napoleonic rule, and ended some time around 1871 with the Franco-Prussian War. The last città irredente however, did not join the Kingdom of Italy until after World War I.
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