Jansenism

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French. (November 2014) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the French article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 1,495 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at [[:fr:Jansénisme]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|fr|Jansénisme}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Part of a series on the
History of Christian theology
Background Christian theology Diversity in early Christian theology Adoptionism Arianism Docetism Gnosticism Marcionism Montanism Early Christianity Proto-orthodox Christianity Timeline History of Christianity Template:History of Christianity Ecclesiastical polity Trinitarianism Nontrinitarianism Christology Paterology Pneumatology Mariology Biblical canon Deuterocanon Hermeneutics Theological hermeneutics African American Asian American Philosophical theology Christian philosophy Christian apologetics Persecution and tolerance Historical theology
Ecumenical Creeds Apostles' Nicene Chalcedonian Athanasian
Patristics and Councils Great church ante-Nicene period Church Fathers Apostolic Fathers Cappadocian Fathers Desert Fathers Desert Mothers Augustine Nicaea Ephesus Chalcedon
Post-Nicene development Heresy Monophysitism Monothelitism Byzantine Iconoclasm Gregory I Alcuin Photios East–West Schism Scholasticism Aquinas Anselm Palamas
Reformation Martin Luther Theology 95 Theses John Calvin Radical Evangelicalism theology Five solae Book of Concord Arminianism English Counter- Trent Jansenism
From the Reformation to the World Wars Natural Practical Pietism John Wesley Great Awakenings Holiness movement Restoration Movement Existentialism Dogmatic theology Fundamental/foundational Liberal Secular Catholic Modernism Anglo-Catholic Critical realism Political
Since the World Wars Vatican II Situational ethics Nouvelle théologie (Ressourcement) Death of God Postliberal  • Narrative Continental philosophy Radical orthodoxy Neo-orthodoxy Paleo-orthodoxy Reconciliation Open theism Analytic in Thomism Atheism Theopoetics of religions Ecumenism Digital Transmodernism Constructive Eco- Environmental Public extraterrestrial life Progressive Christianity Moderate Christianity Conservative Christianity Emerging church Confessing Movement Evangelical theology
Contextualisation and Inculturation Indigenous church mission theory Sino-Christian Feminist in the broader movement of Feminist theology Asian Womanist New Queer Liberation Black Dalit Latin American Minjung Palestinian Postcolonial
Christianity portal
v t e

Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace, in response to certain developments in the Roman Catholic Church, later developing political and philosophical aspects in opposition to royal absolutism.

The very definition of Jansenism proves problematic, since Jansenists have rarely assumed this appellation, instead considering themselves to be Roman Catholics. They do, however, possess some characteristic traits, such as the profession of the doctrine of divine grace associated with Augustine of Hippo, as not only necessary for good works and salvation, but also as negating and renewing human free will in order to effect salvation. The Jansenists were also distinguished by their moral rigorism and hostility towards the Jesuits and ultramontanism. From the end of the 17th century, this theological movement gained a political aspect, with the opponents of royal absolutism being largely identified with Jansenism.

Jansenism began in the midst of the Counter-Reformation, and owes its name to the Dutch bishop of Ypres, Cornelius Jansen (1585-1638), the author of its foundational text, Augustinus, which was published posthumously in Leuven in 1640. The work was first popularised by Jansen's friend Abbot Jean du Vergier de Hauranne of Saint-Cyran-en-Brenne Abbey, and after Vergier's death in 1643, the movement was led by Antoine Arnauld. Augustinus was the culmination of controversies regarding grace dating back several decades, and coincided with the growing hostility of part of the Roman Catholic clergy towards the Jesuits. Jansen claimed to establish Augustine's true position on the subject, as opposed to the Jesuit view, which was said to give too great a role to free will in salvation.

Augustinus provoked lively debates, particularly in France, where five propositions, including the doctrines of limited atonement and irresistible grace, were extracted from the work and declared heretical by theologians hostile to Jansen.^[1] These were condemned in 1653 by Pope Innocent X in the apostolic constitution Cum occasione. The defenders of Jansen responded by distinguishing between 'the law and the fact', arguing that the propositions were indeed heretical, but could not be found in Augustinus.

The Jansenists attacked Jesuit casuistry as laxity, in such works as the Lettres provinciales ('Provincial letters', fictional letters defending the Jansenist cause) by Blaise Pascal, which greatly affected French opinion on the matter. At the same time, the Port-Royal-des-Champs Abbey became a theological centre for the movement and a haven for writers including Vergier, Arnauld, Pascal, Pierre Nicole and Jean Racine, and Jansenism developed and gained popularity. In the late 17th century, Jansenists enjoyed a measure of peace under Pope Clement IX.

Nevertheless, Jansenism was opposed by many within the Roman Catholic hierarchy, especially the Jesuits. Although the Jansenists identified themselves only as rigorous followers of Augustine's teachings, Jesuits coined the term Jansenism to identify them as having Reformed leanings.^[1] Jansenists were also considered enemies of the monarchy, and were very quickly targeted by royal power, with Louis XIV and his successors intensely persecuting them. The popes likewise demonstrated increasing severity towards them, notably with Clement XI abolishing the abbey of Port-Royal in 1708 and promulgating the bull Unigenitus in 1713, which further condemned Jansenist teachings.^[2] This controversy did not end until Louis Antoine de Noailles, cardinal and archbishop of Paris, who had opposed the bull, signed it in 1728. In this context, Jansenism merged with the struggle against royal absolutism and ultramontanism during the 18th century. The clerics supporting the French Revolution and the Civil Constitution of the Clergy were thus largely Jansenists. However, Jansenism receded and disappeared in the 19th century, with the First Vatican Council declaring a definitive end to most of the debates which caused its initial appearance.