Side altars and various emblems were removed from the churches, not
because they were useless, for humble Christians still prayed to their
God before such altars, but because the emperor thought side altars
were signs of superstition. The old and well-loved ceremonies were
altered at his command. Many monasteries were abolished. The clergy
were to be trained in schools controlled by the emperor. And, to cap
the climax, heretics and Jews were to be not only tolerated, but
actually given the same rights as orthodox Catholics.
Many of these measures were no doubt desirable, and one or two of them
might have been accomplished without causing much disturbance, but by
trying to reform everything at once, Joseph only shocked and angered
the clergy and such of his people as piously loved their religion.
His political policies, which were no more wisely conceived or
executed, were three in number. (1) He desired to extend his
possessions eastward to the Black Sea and southward to the Adriatic,
while the distant Netherlands might conveniently be exchanged for near-
by Bavaria.
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