<P> Within the Civil Constitution of the Clergy there was a clause that required the Clergy to take an oath stating the individual's allegiance to France . The oath was basically an oath of fidelity and it required every single priest in France to make a public choice on whether or not they believed the nation of France had authority over all religious matters . This oath was very controversial because many Clergy believed that they could not put their loyalty towards France before their loyalty towards God . If a clergyman were to refuse to take this oath of allegiance then they were challenging the Civil Constitution of the Clergy and challenging the validity of the assembly which had established the Civil Constitution of the Clergy . On 16 January 1791 approximately 50% of the individuals required to take the oath went ahead and took it and the other half decided to wait for Pope Pius VI to provide instruction, since he was indecisive on what the Oath signified and how the Clergy should respond to it . It is important to note that all but seven of the bishops in France decided to not take the oath and as a reprimand those governing France began to replace the individuals with those who had taken the oath . In March 1791 Pope Pius VI finally decided that the oath was against the beliefs of the Church . By deciding that it was against the beliefs two groups were formed "jurors" ("refractory priests") and "non-jurors" and that was based on whether or not they had decided to take the oath . The Pope condemned those who took the oath and went as far as saying that they were absolutely separated from the church . Additionally, the Pope expressed disapproval and chastised King Louis XVI for signing the document that required the oath to be taken . Since the Pope expressed disapproval those who did not take it stayed unwilling to take it and as a result were replaced by those who had taken it . In addition to not receiving support from approximately 50% of the Clergy the oath was also disliked by a part of France's population . The individuals in France who were opposed to it claimed that the Revolution was destroying their "true" faith and this was also seen in the two groups of individuals that were formed because of the oath . Those who believed that the Revolution was causing their "true" faith to be destroyed sided with the "non-jurors" and those who believed that the French government should have a say in religion sided with the "jurors ." </P> <P> American Scholar Timothy Tackett believes that the oath that was required determined which individuals would let the revolution cause change and allow revolutionary reform and those who did not would remain true to their beliefs for many years to come . Apart from Tackett's beliefs, it can be said that the obligatory oath marked a key historical point in the French Revolution since it was the first piece of legislation in the revolution that received massive drawback and resistance . </P> <P> As noted above, the government required all clergy to swear an oath of loyalty to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy . Only seven bishops and about half of the clergy agreed while the rest refused; the latter became known as "non-jurors" or "refractory priests ." In areas where a majority had taken the oath, such as Paris, the refractory minority could be victimized by society at large: nuns from the Hôtel - Dieu de Paris, for example, were subjected to humiliating public spankings . </P> <P> While there was a higher rate of rejection in urban areas, most of these refractory priests (like most of the population) lived in the countryside, and the Civil Constitution generated considerable resentment among religious peasants . Meanwhile, the Pope repudiated the "jurors" who had signed the oath, especially bishops who had ordained new, elected clergy, and above all Bishop Louis - Alexandre Expilly de la Poipe . In May 1791, France recalled its ambassador to the Vatican and the Papal Nuncio was recalled from Paris . On June 9, the Assembly forbade the publication of Papal Bulls or Decrees, unless they had been approved by the Assembly as well . </P>

How did the civil constitution of the clergy change the legal position of the roman catholic church