The term "Red Priests" (French: Curés rouges) or "Philosopher Priests" is a modern historiographical term that refers to Catholic priests who, to varying degrees, supported the French Revolution (1789-1799). The term "Red Priests" was coined in 1901 by Gilbert Brégail and later adopted by Edmond Campagnac. However, it is anachronistic because the color red, associated with socialist movements since 1848, did not signify supporters of the French Revolution, who were referred to as "Blues" during the civil wars of 1793–1799, in contrast to the royalist "Whites." Hence, a recent historian suggested using the term "Philosopher Priests" to describe this group, a term used at the time to refer to these priests.
Among the prominent members of this group were Abbé Sieyès, Abbé Grégoire, and Jacques Roux (1752-1794), who committed suicide in prison after being incarcerated on the orders of the Committee of Public Safety led by Robespierre. However, the group included many more members, especially all the priests who took the constitutional oath from 1791 onward, known as "sworn priests" in contrast to "refractory priests." The priests who were deputies to the National Convention and who voted in favour of the death of Louis XVI are also considered as part of this group. A number of priests from this group were extremists during the Reign of Terror.
Often from the lower clergy (parish priests and vicars), they constituted a significant faction within the Catholic Church in France at the beginning of the Revolution. They supported Gallicanism, advocating for the autonomy or even independence of the Catholic Church in France from the Pope. They opposed the privileges of the higher clergy and the nobility, clerical celibacy, and religious intolerance. While some of them left the clergy, often in connection with the criticism of clerical celibacy, a small minority engaged in actions of dechristianization.