On 9 December 1905, France abolished Catholicism as the state religion after MPs voted to separate church and state, a move that redefined the relationship between the republic and religious worship and founded the principle of secularism seen in modern France.
Under the monarchy, the Catholic Church held major privileges and played a central role in society. The French Revolution of 1789 upended this order. Revolutionaries nationalised church property and required priests to swear allegiance to the new republic. Those who refused were persecuted.
