How Did Religion Influence Voltaire

Voltaire believed in freedom of religion because if a society only has a couple religions, then everyone would turn against each other. During the Enlightenment period, if the people were

Toward the beginning of the 18th century, a new ideology began to take hold of Europe. It was during this time that a radical and critical revolution took place to bring about the use of rational thought and enlighten the people about their own beliefs and values; thus igniting the period of Enlightenment. In this period many people followed the teachings of their forefathers, such as Socrates, who was considered a figure of skepticism and rational thought. Challenging all views and theorems was the main point of this new ideology. Voltaire, a very powerful and influential figure among the writers of the 18th century, was known for his rejection of religion and a devout deist. In one of his most famous works, Candide, he

Voltaire is considered as one of the greatest Enlightenment writers in France for his extensive use of literary elements to convey his message. Voltaire satirizes different aspects of society to expose their absurdity in most of his writings. In Candide, Voltaire, by employing situational irony, mocks the blindness of society, magnifying the narrow-minded human nature.

The philosophical works of Voltaire, such as Candide, influenced the beginning of the French Revolution, promoting new ideas and concepts. Voltaire used both wit and sarcasm to prove his points against injustice and cruelty. Voltaire was exiled to England for many years, and while there, he became influenced by the English government systems, associated himself with Sir Isaac Newton, John Locke, and Sir Francis Bacon. Voltaire wrote many well known works, but Candide is the most widely read and considered to have the most profound impact on the French Revolution. In Candide, Voltaire uses his character Pangloss to imitate the extreme ways of Alexander Pope, another

France stood as the center for the Enlightenment because it was in a constant dichotomy between “the desire to censor dissident ideas and the desire to appear open to modernity and progress” (Hunt, 4098). Parliament hindered the monarchy’s reform efforts by using their own words of Enlightenment influence against them. This was a paradox that showed how the Enlightenment affected all levels of French life, but was applied to achieve different results. While the American Revolution and the resulting new republic was regarded as a successful application of the Enlightenment, the unstable, failed attempts at change and reformation in France led to early signs of revolution as revolts “in the name of liberty” from 1787-1789.

The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political change in France that lasted from 1789 to 1799. Before the revolution there was a period of time called the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement in which followers considered that human reason brought a move from theory to practice and criticism to reforming education, household administration, social reactions and politics. Voltaire, a French philosopher and contributor to the Age of Enlightenment, expressed these ideas utilizing his intelligence, wit and style to mark his name as one of France’s greatest writers. The Enlightenment influenced the French Revolution to a great extent by introducing new ideas that encouraged questioning of authority and religion, advancing people’s outlook on commodities, and forcing citizens to compare their need with the Republic’s needs. This further brought an uprising of people wanting more such as equality and civil rights. In the process to do so there were 250,000 casualties in the Reign of Terror followed the Thermidorian Reaction which implemented an oligarchy government called the Directory. Royalist riots prompted the Coup d’etat of Fructidor which brought Napoleon into Directory which he later overthrows and creates an Authoritarian Republic.

He viewed them as untrustworthy and hypocritical. He continuously uses satire to mock multiple religions for not demonstrating the practices that they promote. However, Voltaire does defend the Anabaptist due to the discrimination against Anabaptists in that time period. The death of the Anabaptists shows that even though a person lives the right way, bad things still happen in this world. Voltaire promotes that religion is what oneself makes of it. An example of this is shown by the sage in El Dorado. After being asked how they pray to God, the sage responds and says, “We do not pray to him at all. We have nothing to ask of him. He has given us all we want, and we give him thanks continually.” The sage shows that they do not pray as most organized religions reach, but instead thank God in their own

Throughout Voltaire's life, he inspired people to use their reason to make decisions about religion. He believed in social religion which was the belief in God and in a world of future rewards and punishments.3 Social religion was as old as creation and believed by most people. However, it did contradict organized Christianity with its miracles, supernatural doctrines, and its religious duties. Voltaire made many attacks on the Bible and historic churches. He focused on the contradictions in the Bible and the improbabilities of miracles. The greatest of his attacks was on the Old Testament. Voltaire doubted the existence of Moses, said that the Pentateuch was absurd, and believed the Old Testament was just a "collection of fables." On the other hand, he also attacked the New Testament. He called Jesus "a good fellow, a coarse peasant, and a fanatic."4 Many people read Voltaire's writings on religion and so there was much dispute and conflict among the church. His attacks on the Bible made people think and use reason in their lives.

How did Voltaire exploit the pre-modern era through mockery and criticism of 18th century society?

After 1688, England became a constitutional monarchy under the rule of Mary and William. English society evolved from embracing the absolute monarchy to one that introduces new thought processes and beliefs. In Voltaire’s Letters on England, he contributes the development of England to its respectable regards toward religion, governmental systems, and scientific advancements. He contrasts these practices with those of the less respectable Frenchmen, and reveals the different outcomes of the two nations.

Not only did Voltaire shape the French government, but his ideas also ended up in the United States Bill of Rights. Voltaire fought for civil rights, such as the right to a fair trial and freedom of religion and speech. Early on, Voltaire realized that the Ancien Regime was injustice. He realized that the First Estate (the clergy), the Second Estate (the nobles), and the Third Estate (the commoners and middle class) had an unfair balance of power. He was a large advocate of making the country a more balanced one. When the United States Bill of Rights was written, they made sure to keep the country as equal of power among the people as possible. The amendments of the Bill of Rights limited the powers of the federal government by having checks and balances so that the country wouldn’t end up like France had. The amendments also protected the rights of the citizens. Among the many amendments that were written were freedoms of speech and religion. The Bill of Rights also restricts Congress’ power by prohibiting them from making any law respecting an estalished religion. Moreover, Voltaire spoke openly about having fair trials for all citizens, regardless of who they are. The Bill of Rights

In his novel Candide, Voltaire often criticized religious beliefs of the times. His criticism of religion surfaces throughout the entire story. The kindness of the Anabaptist that Candide met showed the silliness of religious prejudices. The old woman's story of her father, Pope Urban X, and the life of wealth she lived as a child shows the corruption of the Catholic clergy. Finally, the conversation Candide and Cacambo had with the old man in Eldorado shows the benefits of a simple religion, a contrast of the European religions of the time.

The Enlightenment Philosophers Who do you think got us to have the rights we do now? And what do you think they had to do to accomplish that? There were four great thinkers that were the ones who really got us to where we are today. Those four great thinkers, also known as phiosophes or philosophers, were a huge impact in the Age of Reason, which we also call the Enlightenment Period, and made some great changes to how the society once was.

The French Revolution of 1789 was inarguably a significant turning point in the history of Europe. However, there have been historical debates over the major contributing factor that had caused the French Revolution. Many historians have argued that the French Revolution was sparked by the emerging new age ideas of Enlightenment in the 18th century, which encouraged people to think logically and critically about their society. Many notable writers such as Diderot and Voltaire began to publicly criticise the social structure and the governance of France. (Darlington et al., 2004, p.25) But other historians argue that ideas affected the way people saw

Francois-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name “Voltaire”, once said “Nothing is more dangerous than ignorance and intolerance armed with power”. This quote criticizes the government and the Catholic Church - two institutions known for their lack of tolerance, respect, and value of the common person’s life. Voltaire was a French author, historian, and philosopher who was active during the age of enlightenment in the 18th century. It was a time characterized by the discussion of four new values: Humanitarianism, ending suffering; Progress, furthering society; Rationality, using logic and reason to improve the world; and Freedom of Thought, challenging traditional authority, blind obedience, and superstition. Voltaire is known for