anti-clericalism
Against religious authority
Anti-clericalism is opposition to the influence of religious clergy in public affairs, particularly in politics and education.
The stance typically targets institutional religious power rather than religious belief itself.
Anti-clerical movements have shaped secular governments, especially in France after the Revolution: The law separating church and state reflected decades of anti-clerical sentiment.
Active opposition to deity belief
- irreligionAbsence of faith
- atheismRejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
- freethoughtReason-based belief formation
skepticism · rationalism · humanism · deism · heresy · apostasy · blasphemy · iconoclasm
Separation of faith, state
- republicanismGovernment by elected officials
- liberalismPhilosophy valuing reform, tolerance
- socialismCommunal economic control
- anarchismPhilosophy rejecting state authority
leftism · radicalism · Marxism · syndicalism · antiestablishment · revolutionary · disestablishment · separation
Late-1700s republican upheaval
- Mexican Revolution1910s armed political transformation
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
- JuárezNorthern Mexican border city
Bismarck · confiscation · suppression · expulsion · religious orders
Government religious neutrality doctrine
- disestablishmentWithdrawal of official status
- secularizationReligion losing social significance
- dechristianizationEliminating religious presence systematically
- civil marriageGovernment-sanctioned spousal union
secular education · expropriation · nationalization · concordat · ecclesiastical · theocracy
antitheism
Active opposition to deity belief
- irreligionAbsence of faith
- atheismRejection of deities
- agnosticismDoubt about divine existence
freethought · skepticism · rationalism · humanism · deism · heresy · apostasy · blasphemy · iconoclasm · godlessness
secularism
Separation of faith, state
- republicanismGovernment by elected officials
- liberalismPhilosophy valuing reform, tolerance
- socialismCommunal economic control
anarchism · leftism · radicalism · Marxism · syndicalism · antiestablishment · revolutionary · disestablishment · separation · nationalism
French Revolution
Late-1700s republican upheaval
- Mexican Revolution1910s armed political transformation
- EnlightenmentEra prioritizing reason over dogma
- VoltaireFrench Enlightenment satirist
Juárez · Bismarck · confiscation · suppression · expulsion · religious orders
church-state separation
Government religious neutrality doctrine
- disestablishmentWithdrawal of official status
- secularizationReligion losing social significance
- dechristianizationEliminating religious presence systematically
civil marriage · secular education · expropriation · nationalization · concordat · ecclesiastical · theocracy
- church-statechurch-state, separation, church-state separation, establishment clause, religious accommodation
- enlightenmentVoltaire, Rousseau, Locke, Kant, Montesquieu
- VoltaireVoltaire, Candide, El Dorado, satirical novels, novella
- Third RepublicNational Assembly, Dreyfus Affair, separation of church and state, presidential powers, bicameral legislature
- Church Conflictsschism, Great Schism, church split, Investiture Controversy, Protestant Reformation
- German ChristianityMartin Luther, Luther, Lutheran, Lutherans, Lutheran Church
anti-clericalismtheocracy
Rule by religious authority
ecclesiocracy · established church · state religion · religious establishment · religious nationalism