Voltaire's Candide Look at the Spanish (Holy) Inquisition

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Voltaire once said, “Of all religions, the Christian [religion] should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men.” The quote was once true for the Catholic Church. Catholics have the ten commandments, one of them being, “Thou shalt not kill.” As long as the commandments are followed, it would guarantee a one way ticket to heaven. However, what if the Catholic Church and the Pope grant permission for thousands of innocent people to be killed or punished just because they have their own beliefs that do not follow those of the Catholic religion? In 1472, the Spanish rulers and the Catholic Church started the Spanish (Holy) Inquisition in Western Europe (mainly Spain and Portugal) to gain more political and religious power. Any heretics and non-believers were executed, tortured, or driven away. Thousands of innocent people were killed or harmed all because they did not follow the Catholic belief system. Voltaire is a famous enlightenment writer who wrote many well known poems, plays, and books. One of his most famous literary works is Candide. Candide is written by Voltaire to criticise the events that took place during the Spanish Inquisition. The fictional characters in the book make real life decisions and were stuck in realistic life situations. Voltaire wrote about actual things that happened in history and incorporated his views and opinions into the story (Barnes). Voltaire disagreed with the methods used by the Spanish rulers and the beliefs of the Catholic Church during the Spanish (Holy) Inquisition.

Voltaire and the Catholic church and Spanish rulers had very different beliefs and opinions. The Catholic Church rejected all ideas and philosophies that were diff...

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"The Inquisitions." The Plain Truth about Protestantism. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.

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