ВОЛТЕР И КАТОЛИЧЕСКАТА ЦЪРКВА ВЪВ ФРАНЦИЯ: СЛУЧАЯТ „КАЛАС“
VOLTAIRE AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN FRANCE: THE CALAS AFFAIR

Summary/Abstract: During the Enlightenment, the Catholic Church came under attack from a number of intellectuals in France. One of its critics was François Voltaire, who saw in the Church an institution that provided divine legitimacy for monarchical power and for social privileges during the age of absolutism. Secularization was one of the main formulas for removing the Catholic Church from political power and, at the same time, for reducing its economic strength. Voltaire was not an atheist; he was a deist who believed in a supreme Reason, yet rejected dogmas, miracles, and the institutional mediation of the Church. For him, the problem did not lie in faith itself, but in fanaticism and the abuse of religion. His famous motto „Écrasez l’infâme!“ was directed against intolerance and spiritual despotism. The publication traces the influence of the Calas Affair on Voltaire’s views and the shaping of his anti-Catholic positions. The trial and execution of Jean Calas in 1762, a Protestant accused of killing his own son, had a signif-icant impact on French society at that particular moment. Voltaire regarded this case as an example of religious fanaticism and began his attacks on the Church. The case itself serves as a marker of the role of Catholicism in France and of French society’s attitude toward the Catholic Church.

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