On the War Against Catholicism

I will preface this review by saying that this book was not one that I was looking forward to reading, but it surprised me and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Essentially, Gross argues that anti-Catholic sentiment was pervasive in 19th century Germany and that this is something many historians take for granted or ignore in favor of studying anti-Jewish sentiment. Moreover, he finds that anti-Catholic views were integral to the growth of liberalism in the 19th century, as Catholicism functioned as a canvas on which liberals could paint their attitudes towards the “premodern,” the “feminine,” and the “irrational.” Although the Bismarckian Kulturkampf aimed to unite Germany under one culture, it actually (unsurprisingly) caused greater rifts in German society.

Perhaps my interest in this book comes from my background working on France, where there was a similar movement (in the same time period) where liberal republicans excorciated the clergy and the Catholic Church, culminating in the separation between church and state in 1905. Clearly, anti-Catholic sentiment is not just a “French” or “German” phenomenon in the late nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries, but was something large (perhaps even “European?”) I wonder if any similar movements can be seen in Italy and Spain, although I’m just rambling now. In any case, this book is definitely worth reading for those interested in European church-state relations!