Ritual , Secrecy , and Civil Society
links with the ousted government , remained very active in Paris and in the provinces . It would not disappear until the Concordat of 1801 , when the papal negotiators made its suppression a condition of the agreement with the First Consul .
II . Simple and Practical Principles
As he himself said in his Manuel des
Théophilanthropes ( 1797 ), Chemin had done no more than to set down on paper the doctrine of the “ natural religion ”. This holds to two principles , or “ dogmas ” in the language of the era :
“ Theophilanthropists believe in the existence of God and in the immortality of the soul . The wonder of the universe attests to the existence of a first being . The faculty we have for thought assures us that we ourselves have a principle superior to matter which will survive the dissolution of our bodies . The existence of God and the immortality of the soul do not require long demonstrations ; they are the truths of feelings that each of us has in his heart .” 5
As truths of feelings , the two dogmas of Theophilanthropy had another essential justification in the eyes of the new church – they were useful :
Theophilanthropists hold yet more firmly to this double belief because it is as necessary to the preservation of society as to the happiness of the individual . 6
Good is everything that tends to preserve man or perfect him . Evil is everything that tends to degrade man or deteriorate him .
There are no good acts except those which are useful . 7
Principles are true when they are useful , but also when they are simple . The revealed religions have obscured their primitive simplicity by encumbering the principles with “ theological ” myths and “ sacerdotal ” customs . At times the Theophilanthropists thought to call themselves “ primitive Christians ”, as they believed that they professed the original faith . This idea of a “ natural religion ” dominated the second part of the eighteenth century and the first two thirds of the nineteenth century . For the “ philosophes ”, the different revealed religions all derived from this primitive religion which the priests had sadly overloaded with useless dogmas and obscure myths in order to legitimize the “ priesthood ”. This thesis would be defended and promoted by a book – in fact ten volumes riddled with Latin – that would long resonate in men ’ s minds : L ’ Origine de tous les Cultes ou Religion Universelle by Dupuis . The author was already a renowned intellectual at the end of the Ancien Régime , but he had to wait for the Revolution before he could publish his impious theories , and his magnum opus did not appear until 1794 8 . The Theophilanthropists wanted to rediscover and revive this “ principal ”, by which they meant primitive and universal , religion :
There are many faiths and they may have within them infinite variations , but
5
Manuel des Théophilanthropes ou adorateurs de Dieu et amis des hommes contenant l ’ exposition de leurs dogmes , de leur morale et de leurs pratiques religieuses , avec une instruction sur l ’ organisation et la célébration du Culte , second edition , L ’ Abeille , Paris , An V-1797 , p . 11-12 .
6
Manuel des Théophilanthropes …, op . cit ., p . 12 .
7
Manuel des Théophilanthropes …, op . cit ., p . 19 .
8
Origine de tous les Cultes ou Religion Universelle by Dupuis , Citizen of France , in Paris , with H . Agasse , Year III of the Republic , one and indivisble .
5