Theophilanthropy : A ( Masonic ) Plan for Deist Worship
Pierre Mollier
Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society - Volume 4 - Number 1 - Spring 2016
Can deism be the object of
worship ? This was the ambition of
Theophilanthropy , a movement that is largely forgotten today but which , for almost two years from 18 Fructidor year V ( September 4 , 1797 ) to 30 Prairial year VII ( June 18 , 1799 ), was practically the “ official religion ” of France . In the beginning , it was no more than a strange utopist project , like several others that existed during the Revolution . But the political situation and the protection of one of the strong men of the revolutionary government , the “ Director ” La Révellière-Lépeaux , brought it to center stage . After tracing the main paths of this curious story 1 , we will investigate the principals professed by the Theophilanthropists , and then explore the numerous links with Freemasonry .
I . The Origin and History of a New Religion
In 1796 , Chemin fils , a young and
relatively obscure bookseller , published a plan for deist worship entitled Manuel des Théoanthropophiles . He was not the first but , to his great surprise , the book achieved a certain success and he found several enthusiastic readers who pressed him to move on from the plan to the organization of a small circle that would put into practice the deist worship outlined in the work .
Some of the enlightened bourgeoisie , such as the benefactor of the blind Valentin Haüy or the deputy Goupil de Prefelne , gathered with their families in the little Church of St . Catherine to celebrate the Father of Nature and to teach each other the purest of morals . They also slightly changed the name proposed by Chemin to “ Theophilanthropists ”, which better suited their tastes . Then , what could have remained as an astonishing experience moved , thanks to the political situation , into the grand narrative of history . In 1797 , the leaders of the Directory were faced with the slow revival of conservative and monarchist opinion in the country . The “ refractory priests ” were at the forefront of this opposition to the Republic . Moreover , as men of the eighteenth century , the republicans were convinced that politics and religion were intimately linked , and that revolution in the political domain must be accompanied by grand changes in the religious sphere . This opinion can be found not only among Robespierre ’ s disciples , but also among practically all of the supporters of the Revolution , even the most moderate . Thus that Egeria of the liberals , Madame de Staël , could write :
The system of the French Republic can only be based on the total acceptance of reason as the foundation for all institutions
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The history of Theophilanthropy has been magisterially traced by the great historian of the French Revolution , Albert Mathiez , in a landmark thesis that remains , more than a century after its publication , the essential work of reference . We rely in part on this study , which we use extensively : Albert Mathiez , La Théophilanthropie et le culte décadaire 1796-1801 , Essai sur l ’ histoire religieuse de la Révolution , Paris , Félix Alcan , 1903 , reprinted by Slatkine Reprints , Genève , 1975 . One may also consult : Jean-Pierre Chantin , “ Les adeptes de la théophilanthropie , pour une autre lecture d ’ Albert Mathiez ”, in Rives méditerranéennes , No . 14 ( 2003 ) Révolution et minorités religieuses , p . 63-73 . doi : 10.18278 / rscs . 4.1.2
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