The Constitution civile du clergé (“Civil constitution of the clergy”) was the most important religious measure of the French Revolution (1789). Growing criticism of the privileged status of the catholic clergy as an estate, of the secularization and aristocratic lifestyle of prelates, of the unscrupulous collection and misappropriation of tithes, which many considered part of the hated “feudal” system, was the background to the measure. Its goal was t…