Jansenism

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

It was based on the ideas of Cornelius Jansen, a Dutch bishop, and his book Augustinus. Jansenists believed that God’s grace was the only way to salvation and that human free will had no role. Jansenists 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]

In 1653, Pope Innocent X condemned five ideas from Jansenism in the apostolic constitution Cum occasione. Although Jansenists had some protection under Clement XI, they later became linked to political opposition to the monarchy. This made them a target of King Louis XIV and Clement XI, who took strong actions against them. In 1708, the Abbey of Port-Royal, a center of Jansenist thought, was closed. In 1713, Clement XI issued the bull Unigenitus, which further condemned Jansenist teachings.^[2]

In the 18th century, Jansenists joined forces with Enlightenment thinkers in opposing the Jesuits, and they also played a role in persuading Louis XV to launch the Suppression of the Jesuits. Many priests who supported the Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution were influenced by Jansenism. However, Jansenism declined in the 19th century. The First Vatican Council's decision to declare papal infallibility ended the main debates that had supported Jansenism, leading to its disappearance.