Voltaire And Diderot Analysis

Religious Tolerance/Intolerance during the Age of Enlightenment Based On the Views of Voltaire and Diderot

In history, religion was one of the factors that can unite or separate men. It has a way of creating principles perceived as moral or immoral depending on a religious group’s teachings. It is so powerful that it created wars, separated families, and set territorial boundaries. The Age of Enlightenment, which was a philosophical movement, was the time of religious reforms in Europe -- to end warfare associated with religious intolerance. It was the age when the State was separated from the Church. Voltaire and Denis Diderot were two of the most notable philosophers of this era, who shared their ideas about religious tolerance and intolerance. Such ideas are detailed in their works “Candide” (Voltaire) and “Intolerance”, which is an article from “Encyclopedie” (Denis Diderot). This paper will examine the works of these exceptional religious thinkers. Voltaire has an atheist mindset about Religion while Diderot apparently values the Scriptures. However, they are both against the concept of religious intolerance, which is obvious in the works of Diderot because he talks directly about the concept of

Intolerance leads to various kinds of violence, and it divides men. His works constantly mention God and the acceptable beliefs, behavior, and morals in His eyes. He states: “Effect your own salvation. Pray for mine and believe that anything you permit yourself beyond this is an abominable injustice in the eyes of God and man” (Intolerance, n.pag.). This means that whatever any person is entitled to his salvation, but he must pray for his neighbor to be redeemed as well. For Diderot, prayer is the only thing that should be tolerated. Any action that is beyond that, especially those that use force and violence, is condemned by God and all of the