De l’apogée au déclin. Une crise ou des crises du clergé?
From an apogee to a decline. A crisis or crises of the clergy?

Summary/Abstract: The authors challenge the belief in an economic, financial and land crisis which the clergy apparently faced for over two centuries. They examine the crisis, using a questionnaire allowing them to question the sources and thus to determine to what extent it is really possible to assume that we are dealing with such a crisis, then to bring to light factors which could explain it, and, finally, to establish whether the crisis was overcome or not. It seems that the clergy had to face several crises, all more or less associated with changes in the attitude of the state, as well as with reactions of the faithful and of society as a whole. The clergy themselves should not be exempt from responsibility due to the uneven quality of their management, although it has been affected by unfavourable economic circumstances. It would be wrong, however, to believe in a general, continuous, irreversible crisis, as there were moments of respite, opportunity and salvation; some ecclesiastical institutions have managed to overcome the crisis better than others by reaching a critical size or thanks to their skills, or by chance.

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