Editing History of Austria (section)

==== Religion ====
Joseph's Catholicism was that of Catholic Reform and his goals were to weaken the power of the Catholic Church and introduce a policy of religious toleration that was the most advanced of any state in Europe. In 1789 he issued a charter of religious toleration for the Jews of [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]], a region with a large, [[Yiddish]]-speaking, traditional Jewish population. The charter abolished communal autonomy whereby the Jews controlled their internal affairs; it promoted "[[Germanization]]" and the wearing of non-Jewish clothing.

Probably the most unpopular of all his reforms was his attempted modernization of the highly traditional Roman Catholic Church. Calling himself the guardian of Catholicism, Joseph II struck vigorously at [[Papacy, history|papal power]]. He tried to make the Catholic Church in his empire the tool of the state, independent of Rome. Clergymen were deprived of the tithe and ordered to study in seminaries under government supervision, while bishops had to take a formal oath of loyalty to the crown. He financed the large increase in bishoprics, parishes, and secular clergy by extensive sales of monastic lands. As a man of the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] he ridiculed the contemplative monastic orders, which he considered unproductive, as opposed to the service orders. Accordingly, he suppressed a `` of the monasteries (over 700 were closed) and reduced the number of monks and nuns from 65,000 to 27,000. [[Church court]]s were abolished and marriage was defined as a civil contract outside the jurisdiction of the Church. Joseph sharply cut the number of holy days and reduced ornamentation in churches. He greatly simplified the manner of celebration. Critics alleged that these reforms caused a crisis of faith, reduced [[piety]] and a [[moral decline|decline in morality]], had [[Protestant]] tendencies, promoted Enlightenment [[rationalism]] and a class of liberal [[bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] officials, and led to the emergence and persistence of [[anti-clericalism]]. Many traditional Catholics were energized in opposition to the emperor.