A History of Modern Europe - From the Renaissance to the Present

Consolidation of Power 485

a “minister of religion” would sit with the other ministers in Paris. The state
would pay clerical salaries. No papal bull could be read in France’s churches
without permission of the government, and the clergy would have to read
official government decrees from the pulpit. Under Napoleon, the Church
gained the freedom of religious practice, but at the expense of some of its
independence. Primary-school students were required to memorize a new
catechism:

Question: What are the duties of Christians with respect to the

princes who govern them, and what are, in particular, our duties

toward Napoleon...?

Answer:... Love, respect, obedience, fidelity, military service....

We also owe him fervent prayers for his safety and for the spiritual

and temporal prosperity of the State.

Napoleon granted Protestants and Jews state protection to practice their

religion. An article of the Concordat guaranteed freedom of worship for peo­

ple in both religions (who together made up less than 5 percent of the popu­

lation, the vast majority of whom were Protestants). One set of Organic

Articles supervised Calvinists, another Lutherans. An imperial decree in

1808 organized Judaism into territorial consistories, although rabbis, unlike

priests and Protestant ministers, were not to be paid by the state.

Napoleon’s settlement with the Church alienated some of his cautious

supporters on the left, notably the group known as the Ideologues. After a

solemn ceremony at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris celebrating the Concor­

dat, one general put it bluntly to Napoleon—“A fine monkish show. It lacked

only the presence of the hundred thousand men who gave their lives to end

all that.”

Napoleons Leadership

One of his staff would later describe Napoleon as an “ever-restless spirit.”

He ate rapidly and could work days on end with very little sleep. He dic­

tated more than 80,000 letters in his extraordinary career. Napoleon

seemed to absorb every bit of information that arrived in his office or field

headquarters and rapidly mastered subjects related to military or adminis­

trative concerns. But he often ignored matters that did not particularly

interest him, such as economics and naval warfare, in which France lagged

behind Britain.

Napoleon was more than just an optimist. He believed that his wildest

dreams of conquest and empire would inevitably become reality. Everyone

feared his rages, although he could be surprisingly understanding and gen­

erous toward subordinates when he believed they erred. He delegated very

little meaningful authority, mistrusting even his closest advisers, but he

tolerated opposing viewpoints. Napoleon’s style of leadership became ever