Abstract - Naomi Dobrowolski

This paper considers the extent to which seventeenth-century thinker Pierre Bayle’s seemingly unorthodox positions on matters of faith and ethics are a testament to his reinforcement of, rather than resistance to, the Protestant traditions that he inherited and confessed. Although the scholarship on Bayle has drawn ample attention to his skepticism, the work of noted Baylean scholar Elizabeth Labrousse was particularly effective in reorienting the scholarly gaze onto Bayle’s entrenched Protestant affinities. In this vein, this paper further explores his relationship to religion and faith and considers how it manifests itself in his two masterworks The Historical and Cultural Dictionary and Various Thoughts on the Occasion of the Comet. Rather than interpreting his fideistic persuasions as an effort to undermine Christianity, this paper argues that fideism—that is, the belief that religion is based on faith apart from reason—and his trademark dialecticism were a means of preserving the purity of Christianity, particularly Protestantism. Moreover, the paper argues that Bayle’s willingness to critique religion was aided by the religious traditions that he inherited. The progression of his personal commitment to Protestantism—in the face of his exclusion from the Protestant establishment—suggests that his life-long ties to Christianity were maintained because of, not despite, his convictions. In spite of the dialectical approach he employs in his works, the editorial inclinations he exhibits in his Dictionary and the slanted line of argumentation he presents in Various Thoughts highlight the equal weight he places on faith and reason. Bayle’s confrontation of superstition and advocacy of toleration earned him a reputation among future thinkers as a “champion of reason.” However, in exposing the irrational undercurrents of Christian dogma and custom, he did not intend to belittle the Christian faith, but rather better its followers. Reason was not to replace faith; rather the two would symbiotically work to convert the religious individual into one who would better represent the merits of Christianity. Furthermore, Bayle’s writing suggests that he believed toleration could be fostered, and superstition could be inhibited, if religionists would cultivate the internal constraints birthed through faith and aided by reason, rather than relying on religion as an external constraint on their vices. Although his regard for the sanctity of individuals’ scruples would seem to run counter to the efforts of institutionalized religion, this paper demonstrates that his own individualism proceeded from his religious framework. The enlightened tradition which he imparted to future thinkers was not solely founded on a rationally oriented worldview, but was largely facilitated by the vision of the Protestant Reformation—a movement which enhanced the centrality of the individual. Bayle’s self-directed criticism of the Christian Church and its members was a testament to his interest in reforming (rather than eradicating) the institution, as well as his desire to revive the critical thinking and faith-driven practice of its followers.

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