How Does Voltaire Show Religious Extremism

Religious Extremism and Enlightenment Ideals in Voltaire's Candide Voltaire's satirical novel Candide critiques religious extremism in the Enlightenment era, challenging the optimistic beliefs of thinkers like Leibniz through the character of Pangloss. Fourny (2004) notes that Enlightenment thinkers believed in the power of reason and science to create a perfect society, but Candide reveals the flaws in this utopian vision. Pangloss's adherence to his idealistic philosophy despite confronting various tragedies demonstrates the dangers of blind faith and religious obsession. In addition, Voltaire satirizes the unreasonableness and hypocrisy of religious extremism through the corrupt and brutal depiction of the Inquisition. The novel portrays

This essay will explore how Voltaire uses specific evidence from Candide to depict religious extremism and relate it to the Enlightenment idealism of reason and logic, challenging the depiction of a perfect world and highlighting the importance of rational inquiry in contrast to unchecked adherence to religious doctrine. Through its critique of religious extremism, Candide reflects the broader cultural shift towards rational inquiry and empiricism that characterized the Enlightenment era. One outstanding example of religious radicalism in Candide is represented by Pangloss, who proceeds to embrace his idealistic philosophy despite confronting various tragedies. For instance, when Pangloss is contaminated with syphilis and suffers significantly, he still demands that it is the best of all possible diseases, utilizing deductive reasoning to legitimize his condition: "If Columbus had not caught on an island in America this sickness, which poisons the source of generation [...] we should have neither chocolate nor cochineal" (Voltaire,9). Here, Pangloss illustrates his extraordinary adherence to his logic, denying questioning or critically looking at it despite the self-evident

Nicholas Cronk argues that Candide's satire "tends to fall hardest on religion and religious figures" and that "Voltaire does not save other targets of his satire, such as the military, the aristocracy, and science, but none comes in for quite as sustained an attack as religion" (Cronk, 298). Cronk recommends that Voltaire's satire is more directed toward religious figures than other teachings in society, driving to a one-sided and one-sided depiction of religious extremism. He focuses on that other education, such as science and the military, is too criticized in Candide, but not to the same degree as