Newland, T. C. “D’Holbach, Religion, and the ‘Encyclopédie.’” The Modern Language Review, vol. 69, no. 3, Modern Humanities Research Association, 1974, pp. 523-33. JSTOR, JSTOR, doi:10.2307/3724188.
In this article, Newland addreses the
contributions of the Baron D’Holbach
to the Encyclopédie, specifically
those on religion. Newland
recognizes that most of D’Holbach’s
signed articles deal with the sciences
but relies on Professor J. Lough’s
claims that numerous unsigned
Encyclopédie articles on
non-Christian religions are also by
D’Holbach. Newland, through
analyses on these religious articles,
investigates D’Holbach’s writing
strategies, claiming that D’Holbach’s
ultimate goal is to expose the
ridiculousness and unbelievability of
Christianity and religions in general.
Oftentimes, D’Holbach deliberately
changes or removes words and
phrases from his original sources to
avoid shining any religion in a
positive light. Newland also notices
that D’Holbach utilizes irony (a
popular method for Encyclopédie
contributors) to criticize and mock
religion. Newland provides textual
examples for each of D’Holbach’s
writing tactics found in the
Encyclopédie and makes sure to
clarify that even though it is not
certain that D’Holbach actually wrote
these articles on religion, the ideas
expressed reflect the views found in
his other signed works.
Basic Information
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Language: English
Decade: 1970s
Main Classification: Religion
Related Sources
*In Progress*
Notes
1. Encyclopédie and other sources are quoted in French.
Updates
11/16/2020: Created page.