We have already discussed that countless reasons, such as poverty, the domination of people’s property and assets by religious leaders, the spread of liberal movements and opposition to religious affairs, the spread of rationalism, and the rise in the level of education of the European nation, caused a change in the views and opinions of the people of Europe towards the religious government, leading to the great revolution in France.
All these changes announced the blowing of the winds of change on the European continent and warned about the beginning of a new era that was opposite to past eras in terms of values, thoughts, and positions. France had special cultural and social situations among the European countries and had the authority to accept these changes in a unique way.
A few years before the French Revolution, political corruption and economic collapse had reached their peak in France, so much so that the Minister of the National Treasury of France, Mr. “Calvin,” admitted this in 1787.
and to prevent this inability, the government imposed new back-breaking taxes, which, as a result, worsened the already poor condition of the poor, and a wave of hunger and unemployment swept the city.
At the same time when the patience of the nations was exhausted and they were brought to their knees by hunger and poverty, there were two groups of people who were immersed in all kinds of blessings and pleasures and enjoyed all kinds of pleasures: 1- Religious men and men of the church; 2- The class of the nobles and the rich, next to these were also the families of the lords who were a heavy burden on everyone’s shoulders.
The situation had reached such a state that the salvation of the nations required action and a movement to remove the oppression and nightmares from the downtrodden. For this reason, all members of the nation came together, farmers, workers and small priests were on the same front, and in front of them, a coalition of two privileged classes; that was: religious men and nobles.
Allah’s destiny was that the weak nation of France would win over the powerful and the rebellious and welfare-seeking people would be defeated. This revolution had very important results in the western world; In such a way that for the first time in the history of Christian Europe, a republican government was established, whose philosophy is based on the rule of the nation instead of the rule of God, religious freedom instead of belief in Catholicism, personal freedom and liberty instead of belief in morality and religious restrictions, and based on the constitution instead of approvals of the church.
This revolution had unfamiliar functions, in such a way that it declared the dissolution of religious communities, freed monks and nuns, confiscated the property of the church and revoked all its privileges, and religious beliefs were deeply, and fiercely fought, and religious leaders were placed with the government as regular employees.
These conflicts and the results and effects of this revolution had countless reasons, some of which can be analyzed as follows:
1- The anti-religious thinking of that era
One of the most important causes and reasons for the establishment of the French Revolution and the results that originated from it were various schools and movements that were formed in the Enlightenment era with a single goal, which was the collapse and destruction of religion and its teachings and replacing it with naturalism.
For this purpose, three schools and theories tried:
1- Scientific school; this school consisted of people who had a scientific motivation and considered religious thoughts and opinions to be opposite to science and knowledge. The most obvious example of this school was the writers who supervised the “Encyclopedia Project” under the supervision of “Danny Diderot” and according to Wills: “they blasphemed religion with blind hostility.”
2- The second school: It was a school that arose with a social and political leap. At the head of this theory, Rousseau was the author of the book ” Social Contract”, which was known as the Bible of the French Revolution. Montesquieu, the French philosopher and author of the book “The Spirit of Laws” was also at the head of this movement. The leaders of the French revolution used his writings and sayings and inspired his principles from them.
The aim and purpose of social thought was clear and obvious, and it was to replace social expediency and beneficial individual relationship instead of morality and religious system. In this theory, the worship and service of the society was substituted for the service of Allah (S.W.T). Before Rousseau, many western thinkers in the past centuries believed in this and replaced individual understanding and benefit of people with religiosity.
3- Philosophical school against religion; this school was led by rationalist philosophers. They were ahead of others regarding the relationship between the individual and the state and the promotion of a society where religion is separate from the state. For this group, it was necessary to completely abolish religion so that naturalism and the law of nature could replace it.
The Jewish philosopher, “Spinoza” was the leader of secularism in terms of what he considered to be the method and the right way of life. He writes in the book “The Message of God and Politics”: “One of the most dangerous things for religion and the government is that religious people are given the right to issue approvals and to interfere in government affairs. On the contrary, the survival and establishment of the state will increase when religious men only answer the questions presented to them and in this way rely on the old heritage, which is more certain and more acceptable among the people.
Another philosopher who approved and propagated this school was “Faultier”. He considered the religion of people of thought to be devoid of superstitions and contradictory legends. The German philosopher Kant was a contemporary of the French Revolution and he approved it and also approved the same anti-religious thought.
For this reason and by the thought of irreligiousness, the French Revolution was able to magnify the old philosophical thinking and reject morals and religious values and make pure utilitarian communication a holy tool of communication. So, in fact, irreligion and the feeling of escaping from religious teachings was the first reason for the success and fruitlessness of the French Revolution.
By admin2
