Church and State: Napoleon and the Superior Being

In terms of religion, Napoleon bordered between deism and atheism. I suppose you could say that Catholicism as a religion of salvation had little meaning to him. But, like Machiavelli, Rousseau, and Marx, Napoleon believed that religion was little more than the cement which held society together. Again, we are reminded of Marx when he remarked that “religion is the opiate of the people.” According to Napoleon, religion promoted national unity and prevented class war — it kept the people meek and mild instead of strong and independent. He made every effort to close the divide between the State and the Church, a divide created by the Revolution. The Temples of Reason (i.e., the churches) and the Cult of the Supreme Being, erected in the early 1790s, were too abstract for Napoleon. How could he expect the French common people to have understood them? So, his desire was to reconcile Church and State. Such a reconciliation would gain for Napoleon even greater approval of his people.

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Author: Steven Kreis

Keywords: State religion, mark of the beast, number of the beast, 666, Napoleon, Napolean, Napoleon Bonaparte, state church, Church and state, Marx, Carl Marx, religion opiate masses, religion opiate of the people, state sponsored religion, worship the beast, worshipping the beast, French Revolution, France, Catholic church, roman catholic church

Bible reference(s): Revelation 13

Source: “Lecture 15: Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon,” The History Guide.

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