EH.N: CfP: Patrimony, business and management of religious institutes in Europe, 1789-1914

[Maarten Van Dijck]

Call for papers
Patrimony, business and management of religious institutes in Europe, 1789-1914
Date: 7-8 November 2008
Venue: University of Leuven (K.U.Leuven), Belgium

(For a French version of the call for papers: www.kloosterkwestie.be)

Unlike medievalists, modern historians have paid scant attention to 
the economic side of the history of Catholic religious institutes. Up 
to this day, most interest has been devoted to the spiritual aspects 
and apostolate of the different orders and congregations in the 
nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Given the spiritual calling of 
religious institutes, the economic activities necessary to keep the 
institutes running in a technical sense are seen by most historians 
as irrelevant to the essence of an organization that consists of 
education, preaching, charity, contemplation, and liturgy. Yet many 
religious institutes were very successful in re-establishing 
themselves after the French Revolution, sometimes accumulating large 
patrimonies, against the background of often-hostile political forces.

The long nineteenth century is remarkable because, after the seizure 
of the estates of the regular clergy during the French Revolution, 
the religious institutes succeeded in building (or rebuilding) their 
material base over the course of the century. The religious 
institutes flourished and consolidated themselves, through the 
provision of educational and charitable services, but also through 
inheritances, gifts and sound investments. The newly built property 
and economy of the religious institutes aroused much political 
discussion until well into the twentieth century. Most governments 
were interested in this patrimony for financial and political 
reasons. Anti-clerical agitation was strengthened due to the success 
of the congregations in the fields of charity and education. The 
opponents of the religious institutes accused them of violating their 
vows of poverty.

Interest in the economic aspects of religious institutes among 
historians of the modern period, however, is growing. In 2004 the 
European Forum for the Research on Religious Institutes called for 
more research on Catholic orders and congregations from an economic 
point of view, provocatively speaking of "religious business 
companies." The possible tension and interaction between aspects of 
the religious life and temporal issues form an important backdrop for 
the discussion of the theme. This workshop wishes to focus on the 
economic history of Catholic orders and congregations during the 
period from the French Revolution to the First World War. The diverse 
world of orders and congregations offers perspectives for 
comparisons. Proposals that address this issue from the following 
historical perspectives will be considered:

1. The first is the income and the accumulation of patrimony in the 
long nineteenth century. How large was this newly accumulated 
patrimony? Where did the income of the orders and congregations 
originate? Which sources of revenue were the most important? Were 
there any other sources outside of labour, gifts and legacies, such 
as financial investments? How was the capital of the religious 
institutions invested? What kind of economic activities were carried 
out? What was the money spent on? Were choices made for religious or 
for financial reasons? Contributions dealing with poverty or the 
contrast between individual poverty and the affluence of the 
religious institutes will also be considered. The economic impact of 
religious institutes on the local economy is another subject of 
potential interest.

2. The second issue is the management of orders and congregations. 
The internal structures of orders and congregations are an explicit 
focus. How was the management structure organised? How were the 
relations between centre and periphery of the institutes structured? 
What instruments for control and accountability were in place? How 
was the accounting system organised? Was there a clear human resource 
management, with personnel being exchanged and with function 
specialisation? Were laymen involved in the management of these 
religious institutes and in which functions? What did employment 
contracts for servants look like? Legal issues can also be addressed: 
how did the orders and congregations try to by-pass the legal 
limitations for possession installed by different nineteenth century 
governments?

3. The last point of interest is the mentalities and culture of the 
orders and congregations. The economic and work ethics of religious 
institutes can be addressed using normative sources, while 
confronting them with practice. How did orders and congregations 
relate to modern industrial capitalism? Did they perceive an 
opposition between economics and religion? Were any modern management 
techniques used? Is a comparison to corporations or family businesses 
justified? We especially welcome papers addressing the question of 
how religious institutes coped with the concepts of enterprise, 
profit, innovation and competition. Were financial matters regarded 
with suspicion? Cases that deal with conflicts between religious 
institutes and the Church hierarchy are welcomed. Possible sources 
could be internal correspondence, justifications to the outside 
world, conscious reflections on economics, etc.


PRACTICAL INFORMATION:
Proposals for papers (max. 300 words) should be addressed by e-mail 
to Maarten Van Dijck (maarten.vandijck at kadoc.kuleuven.be) by 31 
January 2008. The participants of the conference will be asked to 
produce an article for a volume in the international peer reviewed 
series KADOC Studies on Religion, Culture and Society (University 
Press Leuven).

Contact: Dr. Maarten Van Dijck
KADOC, K.U.Leuven
Vlamingenstraat 39
B-3000 Leuven
Belgium
tel. +32 16 32 3520
fax. +32 16 32 3501
e-mail: maarten.vandijck at kadoc.kuleuven.be

This call for papers is part of a larger research project on 
"Religious institutes and their Patrimony in Europe, 1789-1914. 
Development, management and social-political debate," funded by the 
Funds for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO). More information on our 
research project can be found on: www.kloosterkwestie.be

The organising committee consists of: Dr. Roel de Groof (History 
department, VUB), Prof. dr. Jan De Maeyer (MoSa and KADOC, KULeuven), 
dr. Peter Heyrman (KADOC, KULeuven), Prof. em. dr. Emiel Lamberts 
(MoSa, KULeuven), Rik R=F6ttger (History department, VUB), Prof. dr. 
Fred Stevens (Division for Roman Law and Legal History, KULeuven), 
Prof. dr. Jeffrey Tyssens (History department, VUB), dr. Maarten Van 
Dijck (KADOC, KULeuven), Prof. em. dr. Els Witte (History department, 
VUB).


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