Voltaire And Religion

618 Words2 Pages

How does one treat religion seriously? By treating it with respect and seeing its value. Voltaire was distressed at how harshly Christians dealt with people of other faiths. He found this disheartening as he also believed in God and some of the Christian values. While Voltaire respected and saw value in Christianity, in Treatise on Tolerance, he challenged Christians to embrace love and equality instead of judgment and rituals.
Voltaire’s evident belief in God in Treatise on Tolerance was one way that he treated religion seriously. If Voltaire thought religion was a joke, then he would not have admitted to believing in the existence of God. In the document, he often talked about God using plural first person. He referred to God as, “our Creator and Father” (HR, p. 161). This implies that Voltaire felt that he had something in common with Christians—his belief in God. At one point, Voltaire even wrote directly to God. He wrote, “I no longer address myself to men, but to thee, God of all beings, all worlds, and all ages” (HR, p. 161).
In the document, Voltaire referred to God as the ...

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