Activity for 15 to 16 year-old students. 1 working session or 2.
THE AGE OF REASON
TEXTS
“A reasonable being should, in all of this actions, aim for his own happiness and that of
his peers. Religion, which only concurs to show us that the most important object for our
temporal and eternal happiness, only has advantages for us to the extent that is makes
our existence in this world happy and it assures us that it will comply with its deceptive
promises in the afterlife. … A great majority of men only maintain religion as a custom …
they have almost never bothered to think about the reasons for their belief”
Holbach. Christianity Unveiled, 1767.
A) Which characteristics ideas of the Enlightenment are contained in this text?
B) Is there any criticism against the Old Regime in this text? Write down the corresponding
paragraph.
C) Which other enlightened intellectuals criticized the Old Regime? Write a short text
explaining who they were and what their main ideas against the Old Regime were.
HOLBACH (1724-1789), philosopher who sustained that religion is contrary to reason and a
product of tradition and superstition.
Main idea: the pursuit of happiness.