Most people welcomed the changes that the National Assembly made. But on the subject of the church, many people were divided. One side argued that the Church had too much power, too much land and too much money. They also thought that the clergy, the people who were supposed to be setting an example and living holy lives, were in fact; living very unholy lives. The opposition were millions of God-fearing Catholics who argued that God was all powerful and that the way that the Church was run was something that should never be questioned, and never changed. 

    When the National Assembly began to take land and money from the Church, and therefore decreasing its power, many Catholics protested. In 1790, the Church drew up a new law. It said that all the clergy must be elected like other public officials, and that they must take an oath of loyalty. This law was called the Civil Constitution of the Clergy.        Many priests refused to take the oath, and soon the whole of France was divided by religion.