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Atheism, Religion, and Politics During the French Revolution Shane H Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2014 Les Hommes sans Dieu: Atheism, Religion, and Politics during the French Revolution Shane H. Hockin Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES LES HOMMES SANS DIEU: ATHEISM, RELIGION, AND POLITICS DURING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION By SHANE H. HOCKIN A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2014 \Shane H. Hockin defended this dissertation on March 31, 2014. The members of the supervisory committee were: Darrin McMahon Professor Directing Dissertation John Corrigan University Representative Rafe Blaufarb Committee Member Ed Gray Committee Member Charles Upchurch Committee Member The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Writing a dissertation seems like a solo venture, but the truth is that the dissertation cannot come to fruition without the wisdom and aid of many people. These individuals cannot be appreciated enough. Some of them I do not even know their names. I am especially thankful for the assistance of the staff at the George A. Smathers Libraries, the Archives Nationales, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Newberry Library, and Strozier Library. They are the unsung heroes of my research and I could not have done this without them. Lucy Patrick and Sarah Buck-Kachaluba of Strozier Library deserve extra thanks for helping get me started. None of my work would be possible, unfortunately, without money, and I have several people and organizations to recognize for helping me in this regard. At the top of the list are Margaret Ausley, the Florida State University Department of History, and the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution. Without Margaret Ausley and the FSU History Department’s generous fellowship offer, I never would have been able to return to school, let alone write this dissertation. The Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution, particularly Rafe Blaufarb and Darrin McMahon, was vital in aiding me in completing my research and allowed for me to study in Paris. I also received funding from Central Michigan University’s Department of History to complete my Masters at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, Scotland— a life-changing experience. Special thanks go to Chris Pigniatello, Vicky Bernal, and Anne Kozar of the FSU Department of History for helping me stay on top of the administration for many of these opportunities. Of course, I am eternally indebted to the support I received from a number of professors throughout my academic career. Patricia Ranft, David Rutherford, and James Schmiechen of iii Central Michigan University played crucial roles in guiding my early forays into the history field, and without them I would never have started or continued this journey. At Florida State University, I have Ed Gray, Charles Upchurch, Matthew Day, Jonathan Grant, and Rafe Blaufarb to thank for their guidance and encouragement as I reinvented my academic self after six years away from school. Above all, I am unremittingly grateful to Darrin McMahon, my major advisor, whose criticism, patience, and reassurance were essential to my success. There is no Dr. Shane Hockin without Dr. Darrin McMahon. Thank you for everything! Finally, I want to recognize three people in my personal life for their contribution to this project. My mother, Darlene, played the most instrumental role of my entire life in encouraging me from a young age to use my intelligence, believe in myself, and stick to school. I doubt she ever imagined I would be “sticking to school” for the rest of my life. My wife, Angela, has endured an avalanche of academic discussion, stressful evenings, and philosophical speculation while I studied and researched. Her love and support motivate me not only to be the best student that I can be, but the best person. My old friend, Mike, occupied a special role in this project. In addition to occasional editing duties on this dissertation, his compassion for helping people and his toleration of others’ religious beliefs despite his personal atheism are inspirational and helped change the way I view religion, atheism, and culture. This dissertation is dedicated to people such as him—people who put compassion for humanity before their cultural, intellectual, and political systems of belief. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... vii Introduction ......................................................................................................................................1 1. The Materialist, the Mathematician, and the Libertine—an Examination of Three Types of Enlightenment Atheism in the Early Years of the French Revolution ...............................16 1.1 Atheism and the Enlightenment ...................................................................................17 1.2 Naigeon: the Overt Atheist ..........................................................................................25 1.3 Condorcet: the Subtle Atheist .......................................................................................37 1.4 Sade: the Libertine Atheist ..........................................................................................46 2. Atheists and Fanatics: the Early French Revolution and the Specter of Atheism ......................60 2.1 Bigots and Fanatics: Atheism as Counter-Revolutionary Political Label ....................68 2.2 Atheism, Religion, and the Early Revolutionaries .......................................................77 3. Eternal Reason: Atheism and the Dechristianization Movement of 1793 .................................97 3.1 Historiography of Atheism and the Dechristianization Period ..................................102 3.2 The Paris Commune and the Dechristianization of 1793 ........................................... 115 3.3 The Atheism of the Representatives on Mission ........................................................128 3.4 Atheism, the National Convention, and the Revolutionary Calendar ........................134 3.5 Civil Religion versus the New Dawn of Atheism ......................................................141 4. La Père Duchesne—Jacques Hébert and the (A)Theism of Dechristianization ......................147 4.1 Jacques Rene Hébert: Biography of an Atheist? ........................................................148 4.2 Contemporary Views of the Religious Beliefs of Hébert ...........................................153 4.3 The Politics of Religion in La Père Duchesne: Proof of Hébert’s Atheism? .............157 v 4.4 Christ and the Eternal Father: Hébert’s Examples of the “Perfect Sans-Culotte” .....172 4.5 Hébert, Religion, and the Festival of Reason .............................................................182 5. The French Revolution and the Rejection of Atheism .............................................................186 5.1 Robespierre: the Crusader Against Atheism ..............................................................188 5.2 The Death of a Specter: the Fall of the “Hébertists” ..................................................198 5.3 The Citizens and the Rejection of Atheism ................................................................216 5.4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................228 Epilogue .......................................................................................................................................231 References ....................................................................................................................................242 Biographical Sketch .....................................................................................................................259 vi ABSTRACT When Edmund Burke declared in 1790 that the French Revolution was made up of an atheistic “cabal” of philosophers, he initiated what would remain a stereotype of the revolutionaries for not only the duration of the Revolution, but for the next two centuries and continuing—the claim that atheism was a key component of the French Revolution and its ideals. When the Revolution radicalized three years later in response to counterrevolution and war, violence against priests, churches, and practicing Catholics escalated exponentially, culminating in a spectacular Festival of Reason where the Revolution appeared to make Burke a prophet. This “atheism” reigned supreme only briefly, and within months the term “atheist” was used to brand certain radicals as immoral aristocrats and traitors, leading to their deaths on the guillotine. This dissertation examines atheism as a state-of-being, ideological concept, and political tool during the eighteenth century in France and attempts to answer several questions regarding the role of atheism during the French Revolution. What did it mean to be an atheist during this period? Was there an atheistic strain in the ideology of the Revolution? Were there atheists involved within the political sphere—speaking in the National Assembly and Convention, participating
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