The truth is that we no longer know what to become. The 1890s, neo-Christian years

The term neo-Christianity was a real media success in France in the 1890s, albeit short-lived (1890-1894), but of great intensity. The neo-Christians saw in the Gospel, interpreted independently of dogma, a way to give meaning to a morality of devotion likely to accompany the affirmation of democracy, by framing the rise of individualism and materialism. Whether it was a response to a particular situation, that of the retreat of the empire of positivism, or whether it was a manifestation of protean questions in a time of triumphant secularism, it also deserves to be analysed as a variant of 19th-century religious sentiment : it was, perhaps, its ultimate quest for a spiritual magisterium that sought, in a renewed religious sentiment, the means of an answer to the social question.

Automated summary

Neo-Christianity was a short-lived but highly successful media movement in France in the 1890s. It interpreted the Gospel independently and sought to give personal meaning to morality, while also addressing the challenges of democracy, individualism, and materialism.