The Theophilanthropists ("Friends of God and Man") were a
Deistic sect
A sect is a subgroup of a religious, political, or philosophical belief system, usually an offshoot of a larger group. Although the term was originally a classification for religious separated groups, it can now refer to any organization that ...
, formed in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during the later part of the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
.
Origins
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
, together with other disciples of
Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
and
Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
, set up a new
religion
Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...
, in which Rousseau's
Deism
Deism ( or ; derived from the Latin ''deus'', meaning " god") is the philosophical position and rationalistic theology that generally rejects revelation as a source of divine knowledge, and asserts that empirical reason and observation o ...
and Robespierre's
civic virtue
Civic virtue is the harvesting of habits important for the success of a society. Closely linked to the concept of citizenship, civic virtue is often conceived as the dedication of citizens to the common welfare of each other even at the cost of ...
(''rè de la vertu'') would be combined.
Jean-Baptiste Chemin wrote the ''Manuel des théopanthropophiles'', and
Valentin Haüy
Valentin Haüy (pronounced ; 13 November 1745 – 19 March 1822) was the founder, in 1785, of the first school for the blind, the Institute for Blind Youth in Paris (now Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, or the ''National Institute for the ...
offered his institute for the blind as a provisional place of meeting. When, later, the
Convention turned over to them the little
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chri ...
of Sainte Catherine, in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
, the nascent sect won a few followers and protectors; still its progress was slow till
Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux
Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux (24 August 1753 – 24 March 1824) was a deputy to the National Convention during the French Revolution. He later served as a prominent leader of the French Directory.
Life
He was born at Montaigu (Vend� ...
, an influential member of the
Directory
Directory may refer to:
* Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files
* Directory (OpenVMS command)
* Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network' ...
, took up its cause.
But it was only after the
Revolution of 18 Fructidor, which left La Révellière-Lépeaux master of the situation, that his sympathy bore fruit in the apogee of Theophilanthropism. Blended in a way with the ''
culte décadaire'', it came into possession of some of the great churches of Paris like
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...
,
Saint-Jacques du Haut Pas Saint-Jacques (the French name for Saint James) may refer to:
Canada
* Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal), built in 1822 and demolished in 1973
* Saint-Jacques (electoral district), a former federal electoral district in Quebec
* Saint-Jacque ...
,
St-Médard etc.; it took a conspicuous part in all the national celebrations, and from the metropolis passed into the provinces, chiefly the
Department of Yonne
Yonne () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the river Yonne, which flows through it, in the country's north-central part. One of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté's eight constituent departments, it is l ...
.
The movement, in spite of a strong opposition on the part of Catholics, was gradually taking hold among the masses when the Directory brought it to an abrupt end.
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
suppressed the movement.
Catholic reaction
The
constitutional clergy, in the national council at Notre Dame in 1797, protested against the new religion, and
Henri Grégoire wrote in his ''Annales de la Religion'' (VI, no 5.):
:"Theophilanthropism is one of those derisive institutions which pretend to bring to God those very people whom they drive away from Him by estranging them from Christianity... .Abhorred by Christians, it is spurned by philosophers who, though they may not feel the need of a religion for themselves, still want the people to cling to the faith of their fathers."
Pope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI ( it, Pio VI; born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, 25 December 171729 August 1799) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 February 1775 to his death in August 1799.
Pius VI condemned the French Revoluti ...
on 17 May 1800 placed an interdict on the churches that had been used by deists, and
Cardinal Consalvi
Ercole Consalvi (8 June 1757 – 24 January 1824) was a deacon and cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served twice as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Papal States and who played a crucial role in the post-Napoleonic reassertion of the leg ...
, in the course of the negotiations regarding the
Concordat of 1801
The Concordat of 1801 was an agreement between Napoleon Bonaparte and Pope Pius VII, signed on 15 July 1801 in Paris. It remained in effect until 1905, except in Alsace-Lorraine, where it remains in force. It sought national reconciliation ...
, demanded that a speedy end be put to their use of the Catholic churches.
Later history
Sporadic attempts at reviving Theophilanthropism were made in the course of the nineteenth century. In 1829,
Henri Carle
Henri is an Estonian, Finnish, French, German and Luxembourgish form of the masculine given name Henry.
People with this given name
; French noblemen
:'' See the ' List of rulers named Henry' for Kings of France named Henri.''
* Henri I de Mon ...
founded "L'alliance religieuse universelle",
[Lynn Sharp, ''Secular Spirituality: Reincarnation and Spiritism in Nineteenth-century France'' (2006), p. 30.] with ''La libre conscience'' as its organ, but both society and periodical disappeared during the
Franco-Prussian war. In 1882, Décembre and Vallières, through ''La fraternité universelle'' and many similar publications, sought directly to reorganize the sect, but the attempt failed and, in 1890, Décembre confessed the impossibility of arousing public interest.
Camerlynck's voluminous book, "Théisme", published in Paris in 1900, had a similar aim and met a similar fate.
Beliefs and organisation
Theophilanthropism was described in the ''Manuel du théophilanthropie'', of which there were new editions made as the work progressed. The governing body consisted of two committees, one called "comité de direction morale", in charge of the spiritual, the other styled "comité des administrateurs" in charge of the
temporalities.
No dogmatic creed was imposed on the adherents of the new religion, the two fundamental tenets, viz. the
existence of God
The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...
and the
immortality of the soul
Christian mortalism is the Christian belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal and may include the belief that the soul is “sleeping” after death until the Resurrection of the Dead and the Last Judgment, a time known as the inte ...
, being purely sentimental beliefs (''croyances de sentiment'') deemed necessary for the preservation of society and the welfare of individuals. The moral teaching, considered the principal feature of the movement, held a middle position between the severity of
Stoicism
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting tha ...
and the laxity of
Epicureanism
Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism.
Few writings by ...
. Its basic principle was good: good is all that tends to preserve and perfect the man; evil is all that tends to destroy or impair him. It is in light of that axiom and not of the Christian standard - in spite of the phraseology - that we should view the commandments concerning the adoration of God, the love of our neighbor, domestic virtues and patriotism.
Theophilanthropist worship was at first very simple and meant chiefly for the home: it consisted in a short invocation of God in the morning and a kind of
examination of conscience at the end of the day. A plain altar on which were laid some flowers and fruits, a few inscriptions appended to the walls, a platform for the readers or speakers, were the only furnishings allowed. The founders were particularly anxious that this simplicity be strictly adhered to. Nevertheless, the progress of the sect led gradually to a more elaborate ceremonial. It is a far cry from the early meetings where the minister or ''père de famille'', presided at prayer or mimicked
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
,
First Communion
First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Commun ...
,
marriages
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
or
funerals
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
, to the gorgeous display of the so-called national festivals. There even was a Theophilanthropist Mass, which, however, came much nearer a
Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...
service than to the Catholic Liturgy.
Of the hymns adopted by the sect, some taken from the writings of J. B. Rousseau,
Madame Deshoulières, or even
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
, breathe a noble spirit but, side by side with these, there are bombastic lucubrations like the "Hymne de la fondation de la ré" and the "Hymne a la souverainete du peuple". The same strange combination is found in the feasts where
Socrates
Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...
, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and
St Vincent de Paul
Vincent de Paul, CM (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660), commonly known as Saint Vincent de Paul, was a Occitan French Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor.
In 1622 Vincent was appointed a chaplain to the galleys. After ...
are equally honored and in the sermon where political harangues interlard moral exhortations. In Dubroca's funeral oration of
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
the orator, under cover of the American hero, catered to the rising
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
.
The first idea of the sect really belongs to
David Williams, a Welsh minister who exercised considerable influence in Paris during the Revolution. Chemin consulted the Calvinists before launching his ''Manuel''.
Notes
References
*
Joseph Brugerette, Les cré religieuses de la revolution (Paris 1904):
*
Moncure Conway
Moncure Daniel Conway (March 17, 1832 – November 15, 1907) was an American abolitionist minister and radical writer. At various times Methodist, Unitarian, and a Freethinker, he descended from patriotic and patrician families of Virginia and ...
The Centenary of Theophilanthropy The Open Court, (1897)
*
Giambattista Ferrero, ''Disamina Filosofica de Dommi e della Morale Religiosa de Teofilantropi'' (Turin 1798).
*
Albert Mathiez, ''La Théophilanthropie et le culte decadaire, 1796-1801'' (Paris 1903);
*
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
, ''
The Age of Reason
''The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology'' is a work by English and American political activist Thomas Paine, arguing for the philosophical position of deism. It follows in the tradition of 18th-century Briti ...
''
*
William Hamilton Reid, ''The Rise and Dissolution of the Infidel Societies in this Metropolis'' (London, 1800):
*
Maurice Tourneaux, ''Bibliographie de l'histoire de Paris pendant la Révolution'' (Paris 1890-1900).
* Maurice Tourneaux, ''Contributions à l'histoire religieuse de la révolution française'' (Paris 1907);
* {{Catholic , wstitle=Theophilanthropists , first=Joseph Francis , last=Sollier , volume=14 , year=1913
Deism
Religion and the French Revolution