Episode 170: The Catholic Church in the Age of Revolution & Democracy

In this episode of the Versus History Podcast, we interview Dr. Ambrogio A. Caiani about his new book. Losing a Kingdom, Gaining the World is the untold story of the fascinating and complex history of the Roman Catholic Church in the modern age. In the first book of its kind, Dr. Ambrogio A. Caiani unravels the enthralling and horrifying history of one of the world’s most powerful, controversial, and defiantly archaic institutions. The ambitious and authoritative work sees Caiani masterfully narrate the Church's journey through an array of challenges posed by modernity in all its forms. From the emergence of representative democracy and the nation-state to the advancements of science, literature, and secular culture, the book offers a gripping account of the Church's struggle to adapt and endure. Covering a number of critical periods in the Church's history, Caiani begins with the aftermath of the French Revolution and the democratic rebellions of 1848 and follows the Church's unique evolution that sees three popes being forced out of Rome, the secular power of papacy being destroyed, a disastrous series of concordats with fascist states in the 1930s, and the Church’s retreat into a fortress of unreason. As Catholicism lost its temporal power it made huge spiritual strides expanding across the globe and gaining new converts in America, Africa and the Far East; losing a kingdom but gaining the world. For terms of use, please visit To check out the book, please click here.

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Episode 170: The Catholic Church in the Age of Revolution & Democracy is an episode from Versus History Podcast by www.versushistory.com.

This episode is 25:09 long.

This episode was published on Oct 8, 2023.

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