What Black Legends did the Jansenists and the Enlightenment promote? Dr. John Rao outlines them as being on the one hand, the idea that the Church was a hypocritical supporter of despotism. Yes, she claimed to raise things to the greater glory of God but in fact really built a monstrous despotism which crushed the pure, simple believer who really understood what a wretched sinner he was. On the other hand, Black Legends once again depicted the Church as a force that directed men away from Reason and blocked their rational, scientific use of the things of the world to provide them a happy life of never-ending Progress. Taken from: The Black Legends: The Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and the Anti-Catholic Myth - 2003 VonHildebrand Institute