What is Jansenist theology?

Question

I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around the Jansenism schism of the Catholic Church in 1643 and am having a hard time understanding exactly what the basis was.

In: Other

Answer 1

Here’s the quickest version I can come up with:

Jansenism is basically like a Roman Catholic version of Calvinism: it emphasizes God’s absolute sovereignty; the complete depravity of every part of the human soul; the inability of the human will to do anything to deserve God’s grace; and God’s free choice to dispense that grace anyway despite our undeserving evilness.

Unlike Protestant Calvinists, though, Jansenists didn’t reject the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Instead, they asserted that their doctrines were true and legitimate outgrowths of the Roman Catholic theological tradition. They traced their doctrines back to St. Augustine, who was recognized as an authoritative writer within the Church (as did Calvin, for what it’s worth).

In practice, the Jansenists tended to be very stern and serious, emphasizing a pessimistic view of human nature and encouraging strict moral discipline.

The Jesuits, however, argued strongly against Jansenist doctrine. They basically said that Calvinism was a heresy, and that Jansenism was just a less obvious version of that same heresy. Jansenists argued back that the Jesuits were trying to label perfectly orthodox Catholic doctrines as heresies, and that the Jesuits were freewheeling immoral jerks who were willing to make up whatever doctrines they liked to explain away their own corrupt behaviors.

In simplistic terms, Calvinists and Jansenists both held very similar doctrines. When Roman Catholic authorities said, “Those doctrines aren’t Catholic,” Calvinists said, “You’re right, we’re not Catholic, Catholicism is bad.” But Jansenists said, “You’re wrong, we are Catholic, this is what good Catholicism looks like.”

Over time, the Jesuits mostly won and the Jansenists mostly lost. But Jansenist ideas and writers continued to be influential, both within later Roman Catholic teaching and in Protestant circles.