Pierre Bayle Quotes
It is pure illusion to think that an opinion that passes down from century to century, from generation to generation, may not be entirely false.
Bayle, Pierre. Various Thoughts on the Occasion of a Comet. Translated by Robert C. Bartlett, State U of New York P, 2000.
Even in free America, Allen had a very difficult time getting this work printed because it was so controversial culturally. He argued that existing religions contribute to superstitious fears of the population.
This is a very important historical quotation in that it shows the extensive degree of anti-Catholic prejudice that existed in America in the late 1930s. Most of the anti-Catholic feeling was based in the absurd but real belief of millions of Protestants that the Pope was trying to control America. Then there was the fear and that American Catholics would take political direction from the Vatican and the Catholic bishops. The perception of the Church was hundreds of years out of date. Most of the anti-Catholic bias reduced along with anti-Semitism in the remainder of the 20th century as Americans became much more religiously tolerant. By the 21st century, religious prejudice still existed but it was limited to a small group of Americans whose views were generally condemned by the American mainstream of thought and opinion.
Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his Historical and Critical Dictionary, whose publication began in 1697. Bayle was a notable advocate of religious toleration and his skeptical philosophy had a significant influence on the subsequent growth and development of the European Age of Enlightenment. Bayle is commonly regarded as a forerunner of the Encyclopédistes of the mid 18th century.
