How and to what extent did Enlightenment ideas about religion and society shape the policies of the French Revolution in the period 1789 to 1799?.
Response .
The Age of the Enlightenment sparked a whole new way of thinking that had previously not been known to Europe. Philosophes such as John Locke and Mary Wollstonecraft introduced revolutionary ideas that all are equal and deserve certain rights. The idea of relying on reason instead of being spoon fed knowledge by the Roman Catholic Church became more and more popular. A secular feeling emerged as people impeded the Church from dictating all of the areas of their life. The introduction of this new world view combined with the tensioning economic situations in France set the stage for the French Revolution. Even after it began, the Enlightenment ideas about religion and society continued to shape the policies during the French Revolution.
During the Enlightenment, John Locke was one of the pioneers of advocating equality (Williams, 11). He maintained the belief that at birth the human mind is a tabula rossa, or blank slate. Only one's experiences could determine what was written on it. In this sense, contrary to medieval thinking, in which a man is regarded higher because of the social class he is born into, Locke developed the idea that at birth all men are equal. Locke also claimed that all people are endowed to three basic natural rights: life, liberty and property. These enlightened ideas influenced the members of the Third Estate who had felt that were being deprived of such quality in society. Configured of the common people, the Third Estate held virtually no power in government because they were being undermined by the dominant upper class First and Second Estates. With little power in government, the common people were denied equal representation. However, the members of the Third Estate felt as if they deserved this equality that John Locke as well as the overall feeling of the Enlightenment advocated.