So far I've read up to chapter 22 of Candide, and while its protagonist has quite literally been murdering a number of religious figures, it seems as though Voltaire is satirically attacking the idea of religion simultaneously. Voltaire seems to look at religion as a means for people to carry out very unholy actions. The driving point in many of the wars, which eventually lead to raping and pillaging in the book, seems to be religious differences. While religion and war run rampant in these awful lands of Europe, when Candide and Cacambo venture to the seemingly ideal land of Eldorado, where there is no violence, there are also no religious fanatics. Voltaire writes:
At length Candide, whose taste still ran to metaphysics, asked through Cacambo whether the people of this country had any religion.
The old man flushed a little. "But how could you suppose otherwise!" he replied. "Do you takes us for ingrates?" Cacambo humbly asked what was the religion of Eldorado. The old man flushed again. "Can there be more than one religion?" he replied. "We have, I believe, the same religion as everyone else: we worship God from night till morning." -"Do you worship only one God?" asked Cacambo, who continued to act as the interpreter of Candide's doubts. - "Evidently so," said the old man, "since there are not two Gods, or three, or four. I must say that the people in your world ask some very odd questions."
The old man goes on to say: "We do not pray to him at all." "We have nothing to ask of him; he has given us everything we need; we thank him unceasingly."
Candide is astounded by this assertion, he wonders whether or not they have disputing monks, governing and burning people alive for believing otherwise. The old man is dumbfounded by Candide's questioning, because no one in Eldorado would consider persecution for religion.
What do you think of Voltaire's opinion on religion? How does he show it in Candide?
At length Candide, whose taste still ran to metaphysics, asked through Cacambo whether the people of this country had any religion.
The old man flushed a little. "But how could you suppose otherwise!" he replied. "Do you takes us for ingrates?" Cacambo humbly asked what was the religion of Eldorado. The old man flushed again. "Can there be more than one religion?" he replied. "We have, I believe, the same religion as everyone else: we worship God from night till morning." -"Do you worship only one God?" asked Cacambo, who continued to act as the interpreter of Candide's doubts. - "Evidently so," said the old man, "since there are not two Gods, or three, or four. I must say that the people in your world ask some very odd questions."
The old man goes on to say: "We do not pray to him at all." "We have nothing to ask of him; he has given us everything we need; we thank him unceasingly."
Candide is astounded by this assertion, he wonders whether or not they have disputing monks, governing and burning people alive for believing otherwise. The old man is dumbfounded by Candide's questioning, because no one in Eldorado would consider persecution for religion.
What do you think of Voltaire's opinion on religion? How does he show it in Candide?
Voltaire’s position on religion seems to be that it is simply as device used to either assess wealth or oppress the poor. Europe during Voltaire was filled with countries constantly waging wars against each other simply in the name of God. But in truth, it was a justified way of obtaining much needed raw materials or acquiring wealth. Also the church, through the ideas of sins and punishment exploited the poor by either using them for cheap labor or “paying” the priest to pray for their sins. An individual’s class position or economic status deemed as based on the “will of God” and when in reality it was through the corruption and decay that either lead to their poverty or high position. I think Voltaire believes “God” is only powerful when there is inequality in terms of material possessions. But in the case of Eldorado, they had everything possible and therefore did not need a religion or God to oppress others or create a division between classes.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, Voltaire was never one to be a huge fan of religion or the Church; in fact, he butted heads with the clergy on quite a number of occasions. But this makes perfects sense given the time; Voltaire was an influential member of the enlightenment movement, which sought to loosen the church's stranglehold on the common people and the sciences. It's no surprise that he would have favored a more laid back, less demanding form of religion!
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