Thomas Kselman

Catholicism, Christianity, and Vichy

Les Catholiques dans la guerre, 1939–1945: Entre Vichy et la Résistance, by R B (Paris, 1998) War and Religion: Catholics in the Churches of Occupied Paris, by V D (Washington, D.C., 1998) Les Chrétiens français entre crise et libération, 1937–1947, by E F (Paris, 1997) Politics, Society, and Christianity in Vichy France, by W. D. H (Providence, R.I., 1995) Nîmes at War: Religion, Politics, and Public Opinion in the Gard, 1938–1944, by R Z (University Park, Pa., 1995)

The Perraud Affair: Clergy, Church, and Sexual Politics in Fin‐de‐Siècle France*

My God, why are there so many useless and unmerited sufferings upon the earth? Why do some die of hunger while others have all the joys of riches and all the splendors of luxury? Why are some born blind, others deaf‐mutes, others lepers, others paralytics? Why are innocent beings tortured their whole life through by hideous sores? Why are there mothers who kill their infants and sons who murder their fathers? Why was this furor of voluptuousness inflamed in our veins, which arouses our blood and tortures us even more than it elates us, and which, under the deceptive name of love, multiplies crimes among men? (Charles Perraud, Meditations on the Seven Words of Our Lord on the Cross, 1890)

Lamennais’ Dilemma: Reconciling Religion and Revolution

Kselman traces the career of Felicite de Lamennais (1782–1854) as a key figure who articulated the challenges faced by the Catholic Church in the age of democratic revolution. Struck by the demands for self-government by Catholics in Ireland, Belgium, and Poland, Lamennais envisioned an alliance of “God and Liberty” in which the Church would abandon its support of monarchy in favor of democratic regimes that would accept the separation of the Church and State. When this position was condemned by Pope Gregory XVI, Lamennais expanded his view of liberty to include the right of individual conscience to reject papal teachings. Lamennais’ struggle to reconcile Catholicism and freedom of religion made him a controversial figure in his own time, and established a contested legacy over an issue that continues to resonate in the modern world.

Le Saint-Siège et l'organisation politiques des catholiques français aux lendemains du Ralliement, 1890–1902 by Martin Dumont (review)

Although Catholic education for the poor was the issue, a stronger, more aware, more united, and more vocal Catholic citizenry was the outcome. English Catholics and the Education of the Poor, 1847–1902 makes a significant contribution to Catholic intellectual history. It well deserves a place on the reading list in graduate schools of history, education, and religious education on both sides of the pond.

Small-Town Martyrs and Murderers: Religious Revolution and Counterrevolution in Western France, 1774–1914 (review)

engagement is with the field of whiteness studies and the theory of boundary studies. Given his unique research question, Wray demonstrates the limits of conceptualizing “whiteness” primarily in terms of racial domination. He contends that “whiteness” is better understood as involving broad processes of social differentiation, and he views the concept as a boundary that leads to social inequality. As a result, his notion of “whiteness” is determined by both biological differences and distinctions based on morality, culture, and social organization. Moreover, “whiteness” depends not only on race, but is also connected to class, gender, sexuality, and other categories of analysis. It is these intersections and their influence on social differentiation that interest Wray. By recognizing that “whiteness” is very much about power, Wray’s analysis is in line with the most recent studies in the field, while his adaptation of boundary theory pushes the scholarship even further. Not Quite White is a short book of only 144 pages of text. The length of the book and an easily readable narrative style make it well suited for the undergraduate classroom. Students will find the book accessible; educators should appreciate its potential to stimulate thought-provoking discussion. The book’s potential contributions, though, might have been even greater. Given the extensive chronological scope of his study, Wray’s decision to stop the narrative in the 1920s feels sudden. He explains that poor whites gained recognition of their “whiteness” as a result of the hookworm campaign, when industrialists sought to eradicate the disease in order to ensure a productive and democratic workforce. The rhetoric of the campaign refigured “poor white trash” as being pure white Americans. Yet, negative stereotyping of poor, rural whites did not stop in the 1920s. If Wray’s goal is to redefine “white” as a social rather than a racial category, why culminate with an example that focuses on the centrality of race? Other scholars have admittedly written on twentieth-century stereotyping of poor, rural whites. Wray might have used the introduction or conclusion to explain his study’s relation to this scholarship. From an historical perspective, this would have strengthened the book’s sense of context. All in all, this is a well-argued and thought-provoking book. It complicates scholarly understandings of what it has meant to be “white” and succeeds as a model of interdisciplinarity.

Chrétiens dans la première guerre mondiale. Actes des Journées tenues à Amiens et à Péronne les 16 mai et 22 juillet 1992 Edited by Nadine- Josette Chaline (review)

The religious history of World War I in France has in the past focused on the importance of the war in mitigating the church-state conflicts that were so much a part of prewar politics. Although two of the essays in this collection deal with the interplay of politics and religion in wartime, most concentrate instead on the beliefs and practices of ordinary soldiers, chaplains, and civilians. The authors call on a variety of sources—diaries, letters, newspapers, literature—to illuminate the experiences of their subjects, and a number of them make excellent use of images as well. The holy cards, photos, and stainedglass windows reproduced in this book make it a rich visual source for anyone interested in the cultural history of World War I.