Kulturkampf - Part I

Noun. Kul·​tur·​kampf ku̇l-ˈtu̇r-ˌkäm(p)f. :conflict between civil government and religious authorities especially over control of education and church appointments. broadly : a conflict between cultures or value systems.

Historically, this was a conflict that occurred in the late 1800s between Otto Von Bismarck (the Prussian government) and Pope Pius IX (the Vatican).  The principle points of contention were clerical v. secular control of education and ecclesiastical appointments.  Begging the obvious there were differences of opinion depending-upon the relevant point of view. 

An 1875 cartoon lampooned this standoff illustrating Bismarck lassoing St. Peter's Basilica while declaring to Satan his intent to topple the papacy.  To which Satan says:  I have been trying to do it all my life.  If you manage it, I shall give you full marks.

Satire is hardly new under the sun but it is important to note that Bismarck, a staunch Protestant, distrusted Roman Catholic loyalty to the state.  He was deeply troubled by the notion of Papal Infallibility and its implication of supremacy to the Pope that outweighed loyalty to the state.  Finally, there was the Catholic Centre Party and its resistance to his policies in parliament.  

Of course there was no shortage of resentment on the part of Catholics as a consequence of decades of persecution that had begun under the rule of Kaiser Wilhelm I.  As the Prussian Empire expanded this continued under what they perceived as the iron fist of Bismarck.  To make a long story short, as Prussia amassed larger sway over other German states, Catholic populations found themselves chafing under a Protestant administration.

For Bismarck the challenge was solidifying German national and cultural identity complicated by sizeable Catholic populations in an expanded Germany.  From Bismarck's point of view Catholic influence had to be blunted.  Bismarck found political allies in two seemingly disparate parties:  The Conservatives, who were determined to maintain the Protestant character of the government.  And the Liberals, who supported constitutional government and embrace of German Enlightenment (the rejection of perceived superstition, absolutism and dogmatism of Catholicism). 

Beginning in 1871, with the support of his political allies, Bismarck began implementing the following:

• Abolished the Roman Catholic bureau within the Prussian Ministry of Culture.  

• Threatened priests with imprisonment for voicing political opinions from the pulpit.  

• Jesuits were expelled from the German Empire (only to return in 1917).  

• All religious schools had to accept official government inspection.  

• Religious teachers were expelled from all government schools.  

• The German government broke-off diplomatic relations with the Vatican. 

• Strict state controls were placed on religious instruction and appointments within the Church.  

• Civil marriage became mandatory. 
  

• State funding for non-compliant Dioceses was revoked and their clergy expelled.

To their credit Roman Catholics responded politically and in the 1874 elections the Centre Party doubled their representation in parliament.  Sensing the handwriting on the wall Bismarck sensed that circumstances for the German Empire may have changed.  Closer relations with the Catholic Austrian Empire could serve as a counterweight to Russian ambitions.  Embracing the Catholic Centre Party to resist the rise of the Social Democrats was pragmatic.  Fortuitously, with the passing of Pope Pius IX in 1878 it was the ascension of a new Pope Leo XIII which led to a gradual declaration of an end to hostilities followed by the repeal or dilution of anti-Catholic legislation.  

Post Script:

Kulturkampf was considered dead, although the (rarely enforced) prohibition on political speech from the pulpit remained in effect until 1953.  Public education and public records remained under the control of the state. Civil marriage persists as the law of the land.  A generation of Catholics was alienated from German life.  And Bismarck's career ended pathetically when he resigned in 1890 at the insistence of his onetime pupil Wilhelm II.

History Lesson:

Catholic faithful were oppressed and humiliated in their own country for the sake of nationalism and cultural purity.  For generations the Catholic Centre Party remained a powerful force for good in German governance holding the chancellorship eight times; voluntarily dissolving itself in 1933 before Hitler could disband it.  This is a cautionary tale about citizens who risk labeling as enemies of progress in the face of vast cultural and ideological struggles.

Stay-tuned.....