How Does Voltaire Present Religion In L Ingenu
L’Ingenu by Voltaire
The book L’Ingenu by Voltaire is bursting with corruption of the soul. Lying, manipulating, and bribery are the center of religion, politics, and social society. These issues are expressed very harshly by Voltaire in this book. Voltaire ties to enlighten the people of his day by shedding light on these issues and start a changing in the world. Along with religion, he focuses upon political, social, and cultural factors to describe how he feels about the 18th Century French society. Voltaire portrays religion as if it is something that he demands from other people. Every religious leader seems to be trying to better themselves through the power they hold and manipulation. He uses the character of the Child …show more content…
The Child of Nature always carried the Book around in his pocket and he mentions that he was never able to find a single apostle that had ever gone to confession and he became very obstinate about it. However, the religious figures and his family tell him that they believe in “confess[ing] your sins one to another.” (page 117 Voltaire). When the Child of Nature tries to follow this, it ends up causing more trouble in his already troubled situation. He finally gives way and confesses to the monk but then he demands that the monk and he must switch spots and the monk must confess to him since that was what the Book said. He learns that in religion, the teachings are for students only and not for the teachers …show more content…
The people of France claim that it is an evil sin to marry your godmother, which enrages the Child of Nature, also known as Hercules. He lashes out towards them saying, “I saw nothing in the Book you gave me to say it was wrong… I notice everyday that innumerable things go on here which are not in your Book, and that nobody follows what it says” (page 125 Voltaire). These few sentences are meant to shock the readers into realizing the dishonesty in our world, Voltaire is far from done from unearthing harsh realities. He mentions these few sentences to show that people that claim to be Christians or any other religion, don’t always follow what they are
The book L’Ingenu by Voltaire is bursting with corruption of the soul. Lying, manipulating, and bribery are the center of religion, politics, and social society. These issues are expressed very harshly by Voltaire in this book. Voltaire ties to enlighten the people of his day by shedding light on these issues and start a changing in the world. Along with religion, he focuses upon political, social, and cultural factors to describe how he feels about the 18th Century French society. Voltaire portrays religion as if it is something that he demands from other people. Every religious leader seems to be trying to better themselves through the power they hold and manipulation. He uses the character of the Child …show more content…
The Child of Nature always carried the Book around in his pocket and he mentions that he was never able to find a single apostle that had ever gone to confession and he became very obstinate about it. However, the religious figures and his family tell him that they believe in “confess[ing] your sins one to another.” (page 117 Voltaire). When the Child of Nature tries to follow this, it ends up causing more trouble in his already troubled situation. He finally gives way and confesses to the monk but then he demands that the monk and he must switch spots and the monk must confess to him since that was what the Book said. He learns that in religion, the teachings are for students only and not for the teachers …show more content…
The people of France claim that it is an evil sin to marry your godmother, which enrages the Child of Nature, also known as Hercules. He lashes out towards them saying, “I saw nothing in the Book you gave me to say it was wrong… I notice everyday that innumerable things go on here which are not in your Book, and that nobody follows what it says” (page 125 Voltaire). These few sentences are meant to shock the readers into realizing the dishonesty in our world, Voltaire is far from done from unearthing harsh realities. He mentions these few sentences to show that people that claim to be Christians or any other religion, don’t always follow what they are