Carol Rioux, Kingwood High School. Kingwood, Texas

Many philosophes believed organized religion was the chief impediment to human improvement and happiness Complained that churches hindered the pursuit of a rational life and the scientific study of humanity & nature Suggested that the churches through conflicts over doctrinal differences promoted intolerance and bigotry, incited torture and war and other forms of human suffering

Churches and churchmen were deeply involved with the old regime. Churches were exempt from taxes Tithes were paid before any secular taxes Provided intellectual support for the social and political status quo Many countries required membership in state church to hold office

Philosophes sought a religion free of fanaticism and intolerance Wanted to substitute the authority of human reason for the authority of churches Based on Newtonian ideas, philosophes believed that the life of religion and of reason could be combined. Thus giving rise to DEISM

Book by John Toland, an early deist

Promoted religion as natural and rational Regarded God as a watchmaker who had created the mechanism of nature, set it in motion, and then departed Were, in general, anticlerical and for than reason, regarded as radical

Belief in the existence of God, which could be empirically justified by the contemplation of nature Belief in life after death because nature provided evidence of a rational God who must also favor rational morality, thus one who lived according to this morality would be rewarded upon death

Voltaire wrote: The great name of Deist, which is not sufficiently revered, is the only name one ought to take. The only gospel one ought to read is the great book of Nature, written by the hand of God and sealed with his seal. The only religion that ought to be professed is the religion of worshiping God and being a good man.

Widespread acceptance of deism would end rivalry among the various Christian sects end religious fanaticism, conflict and persecution end the the need for priests and ministers who were often responsible for fomenting religious differences and denominational hatred

Believed religious toleration was a primary social condition for the virtuous life Voltaire and the Calas case Gotthold Lessing, author of Nathan the Wise, pleaded for toleration not only of different Christian sects, but also of religious faith other than Christianity Motivation of all these calls for toleration was the belief that secular values and consideration were more important than religious ones

Voltaire: Philosophical Dictionary pointed out inconsistencies in biblical narratives and immoral acts of biblical heroes David Hume: Inquiry into Human Nature argued that no empirical evidence supported the belief in divine miracles central to much of Christianity Edward Gibbon: The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire explained the rise of Christianity in terms of natural causes rather than the influence of miracles and piety

Paul d’ Holbach: System of Nature argued that human beings are just machines and god was simply the product of a human mind and not necessary for leading a moral life. Marie-Jean de Condorcet: The Progress of the Human Mind argued that humans had progressed through nine stages and with spread of reason and science were about to enter a stage of perfection

Baruch Spinoza: Ethics, in which he so closely identified God and nature that his contemporaries condemned him Theologico-Political Treatise called upon both Jews and Christians to use their own reason in religious matters and to treat the Bible like other ancient works Came to be viewed as a secularized Jew who could be accepted into mainstream European society -- acceptance of Jews while rejecting their religion

Moses Mendelsohn - Jewish Socrates Leading Jewish philosopher of the 18th century Model for Lessing’s Nathan the Wise Wrote Jerusalem or On Ecclesiastical Power and Judaism Urged religious toleration for all Suggested that governments should be religiously neutral and grant equal civil rights to all regardless of their religious preferences Urged Jewish communities to tolerate different interpretations of the faith