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François-Marie Arouet: The Treatise Of Tolerance By Voltaire

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François-Marie Arouet, otherwise known by his pen name as, ‘Voltaire,’ was born to a prosperous French family in Paris on November 21, 1694. When Voltaire was only 7 years old, his mother passed away. This contributed to a growing relationship with his free-thinking grandfather, who influenced him significantly in his youth. Although Voltaire had aspirations to become a writer and playwright like his idols Molière, Racine, and Corneille, his father met this idea with aversion and soon imparted his own plans on the young Voltaire. François senior had aspirations of his son becoming a public authority, thus in 1704, the young François-Marie was enrolled at Collège Louis-le-Grand in Paris. It was there at the Jesuit school in Paris where François-Marie …show more content…

Like his deist counterparts, Voltaire was a strict opponent of organized religion but he was a huge advocate for religious toleration. The basis of his treatise was that humans were only a minor aspect of God’s creation and that they should stop unnecessary religious feuding and join together to form one united group that praised the one all-powerful creator. Voltaire expressed his opinion of organized religion with his example of the two individuals. The first person said to the other, “hearken to me, for the God of all these worlds has enlightened me. There are about nine hundred millions of us little insects who inhabit the earth, but my ant-hill is alone cherished by God, who holds all the rest in horror and detestation; those who live with me upon my spot will alone be happy, and all the rest eternally wretched.” The point Voltaire was making with this example was that a perfect God would not tolerate and protect one group of individuals yet, condemn the rest of the population. This example shows the absurdity of organized religions that detested and warred against other religions. Voltaire believed that everyone should always be tolerant of one another because God’s intent was for humanity to use their gifted ability to reason and acquire knowledge instead of fight with one another over false ideas and

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In one of his many 20,000 letters he states that all people have the choice to hate each other, but it would be unwise to do so. In Document B, it explains what would happen if England decided to have only one or two religions. If England only chose to have one religion, then religion A would hate all other religions. Now, if England decided to have only two religions, then religion A & B would be constantly fighting each other. Since England has chosen to accept all religions, the country lives in harmony with the other religions.

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In his Letters Concerning the English Nation, of 1726, Voltaire stated “there the jew, the Mahometan [Muslim], and the Christian transact together as tho’ they all professed the same religion… There the Presbyterian confides in the Anabaptist [Baptist], and the Church man [Anglican] depends on the Quaker’s word (Document B).” The inclusion of all of the major religious groups of England, at the time, show that he was willing to reach out to all who would listen in hopes of spreading awareness of religious tolerance among all religious

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Voltaire’s main belief was that people should be allowed to make their own decision in choosing religion. He stated that if a kingdom would have only one religion, it would be forced and autocratic. If the government had two religions, it would cause the people to fight, so Voltaire believed there should be more than one religions, and the people should choose what they want to follow. (Document B) He thinks that to stop conflicts and bring the people to peace, religious freedom is something that will truly help.

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The author is trying to make a point because he is the only one that deserves to live. Jacques, by offering to help Candide by giving him room and even a job, is seen as the only character that should and deserves to live, so the author takes a dig at all the other “righteous” and “religious” people in the story. I believe that the scene right before Candide meets Jacques, where the catholic priest is preaching on the street about charity, helps to give emphasis on the fact of Jacques kindness to our naive protagonist. Along the same lines, the question that the street preacher asks Candide furthers Voltaire’s point of hypocrisy throughout the duration of the text. Throughout the story, optimism is one of the main targets of Voltaire and I have conclude that with having Jacques die and never come back that he is trying to “kill” optimism by symbolically killing off Jacques.

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A French Protestant theologian believed that more people were executed for heresy than they were for actual crimes (Doc 1). As a Protestant, this theologian understood the turmoil that other Protestants experienced during the sixteenth century, which shows that he understood the severity of the situation. Protestants being accused of heresy is somewhat similar to Jews being used as scapegoats during the Black Death because part of the reason that Jews were targeted was because they did not practice the Christian faith. Additionally, Voltaire believed that a peaceful society was one where multiple religions were accepted because the government would be able to run efficiently and protect many types of people (Doc 6). Voltaire often criticized the Catholic Church, however, he was also an advocate for religious freedom, which proves that his theories about society are knowledgeable.

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He aimed for religious tolerance for the country, much like Akbar of the Mughal Empire. Voltaire presents us with a scenario that could be hypothesized by future generations and viewed by those of the present in the 1726 work, Letters Concerning the English Nation. He argues that “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary [unrestrained]; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace.” Voltaire expresses that humanity is at peace because of such diversity, tolerance and freedom; if not for diversity, the government would control religion, and competing religions would wage war on one another. However, while the discussion of religion was important, many people had issues with Europe's economic

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Voltaire believed that a working society includes all religions. Having many religions kept the society at peace and happy. “If one religion only were allowed in England, the government would very possibly become arbitrary; if there were but two, the people would cut one another’s throats; but as there are such a multitude, they all live happy and in peace” (Doc B). He also thought that with many religions, it kept the government from becoming too controlling. Voltaire wanted to advance society with religious

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