Prompt Cast
The Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being during the French Revolution
TLDR During the French Revolution, the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being were attempts to replace the Catholic Church with state religions, but they faced backlash and were ultimately banned, leaving France once again a Catholic country.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The French Revolution attempted to replace the Catholic Church with a new state religion called the cult of reason.
01:49
The French Revolution targeted not only the monarchy, but also the Catholic Church, due to its immense power and influence over people's lives, and was fueled by the intellectual environment of the Enlightenment.
03:24
During the French Revolution, the National Constituent Assembly implemented reforms that included the elimination of mandatory tithes to the Church, the seizure of Church property, and the subordination of the Church to the government.
05:27
The French Revolution became more radicalized, leading to the elimination of the Gregorian calendar and an attempt to establish a fundamentally atheist state religion known as the Cult of Reason.
07:07
The Cult of Reason converted Catholic churches into temples of reason, replacing Christian symbolism with symbols of liberty and philosophy, and held nationwide events such as the Festival of Reason.
08:44
The Festival of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being, both introduced by Maximilian Ropes Fier, faced backlash and were seen as evidence that the revolutionary government had become the very thing they had been fighting against.
10:26
The Cult of the Supreme Being quickly died out and was forgotten after Maximilian Ropes Fier's downfall, and both the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being were officially banned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802, leaving France once again a Catholic country ruled by a monarch.
