ABSTRACT
The 1870s and 1880s, and at least the early part of the 1890s, appeared to contemporaries as a sharp and unexpected break with the age of progress in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. This break and resulting uncertainty was apparent in many different aspects of late-nineteenth century European life. The triumph of the idea of the nation-state had been another feature of the turbulent politics of the 185971 period. This triumph brought with it, though, new problems, particularly in central and eastern Europe. Among the features of these reforms were a secularization of public elementary education, both in terms of its administration and its curriculum, the introduction of civil marriage, and the establishment of equality before the law of citizens of all religious confessions. Particularly in central Europe Austria-Hungary, Switzerland, and Germany a part of this package was a broad attempt to control the Catholic Church and to curtail its public influence.
