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Article: Catholic and French Forever: Religious and National Identity in Modern France.(Book review)
- Article from:
- Church History
- Article date:
- June 1, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 American Society of Church History. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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doi: 10.1017/S0009640709000729
Catholic and French Forever: Religious and National Identity in Modern France. By Joseph F. Byrnes. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005. xxiii + 280 pp. $55.00 cloth.
Although secular republicanism remains a topcoat for contemporary France, beneath this veneer lie traces of a twisted and troubled relationship between it and Roman Catholicism. In a sharp study of this difficult topic, Joseph Byrnes provides some fascinating vignettes of how this liaison developed, what complications arose between the two interlocutors, and how--despite serious fractures--Catholic belief and practice continued to shape ...