Protestantism in the 19th century
The century began with the 1801 Concordat and 1802 Organic Articles ruling the life of Churches.
Their measures enabled to reorganise the Protestantism after the Desert period. The Protestants were allowed places for worship, for instance they were granted former Catholic Churches, and had a lot of new buildings erected. The clergy was reinstated.
Several Protestant religious societies, such as the evangelical missions Society (1818), the Protestant Biblical Society of Paris (1822), the Salvation Army (1878) as well as Protestant schools were set up in France.
The revival trends from Geneva and English Methodism dominated the renewal of French Protestantism. They influenced parishes within the Concordat and gave rise to new free Churches outside the Concordat, as the Taitbout chapel in Paris.
During the second half of the century Reformed Churches were divided by the conflict between Orthodox Evangelists, influenced by the Revival, and the Liberals. The conflict culminated with the national synod of Paris in 1872, that adopted a declaration of faith rejected by the Liberals. In the last century the conflicts were less violent.
The Lutherans avoided these conflicts as the Augsburg confession was still acknowledged and a central structure existed, namely the general consistory of Strasbourg.
