Voltaire

Voltaire (1694-1778), born François-Marie Arouet, was a French Enlightenment philosopher and writer whose critiques of religious orthodoxy profoundly influenced Western thought on God and religion. A deist rather than atheist, Voltaire believed in a supreme being as creator but rejected organized religion's claims to revealed truth. His "Philosophical Dictionary" (1764) systematically challenged Christian dogma, miracles, and biblical authority while defending natural religion based on reason. Through works like "Candide" (1759), he criticized theodicy and religious optimism, particularly targeting Leibniz's assertion that this is "the best of all possible worlds." Voltaire championed religious tolerance, famously defending victims of religious persecution and advocating for freedom of conscience. His phrase "écrasez l'infâme" (crush the infamous thing) became a rallying cry against religious fanaticism. While maintaining that morality required belief in a just God, Voltaire's rational deism and satirical attacks on institutional religion helped establish the intellectual framework for religious skepticism in modern Western thought.