Final answer:
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy brought the Catholic Church under state control, making Church officials elected positions and requiring an oath of allegiance to the civil constitution. Option D is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The status of the Catholic Church under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy changed in that D) The Church was brought under the control of the state. This legislation was part of the broader movement of the French Revolution, aimed at reducing the power of the Church and establishing national sovereignty over religious affairs.
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy mandated that bishops and priests become elected officials, paid by the state, and demanded an oath of allegiance to the civil constitution, effectively making the Catholic Church in France a department of the state.
Before this, the Catholic Church had vast influence, controlling learning, scholarship, and finance by levying taxes. However, the Reformation marked a new era where numerous political entities in Europe, such as the Holy Roman Empire and the French and English monarchies, sought to diminish Papal power and establish their own authority over religious matters.
This intertwined relationship between church and state was reshaped substantially by the sixteenth-century Reformation, which saw the emergence of Protestantism and a subsequent decline in the political power of the Catholic Church.