Cult of Reason

A state-sponsored atheistic civic religion established in revolutionary France in 1793, promoting reason and replacing Catholic religious practices.

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Festival of Reason: A revolutionary ceremony held in Paris on 20 Brumaire, Year II, honoring Liberty and Reason in Notre-Dame Cathedral. The festival’s 1793 celebration in Notre-Dame made the new civic worship visible.
French Revolution: A period of political and social upheaval in France from 1789 to 1799 that ended the monarchy and reshaped Europe. The Cult of Reason emerged amid the Revolution’s struggle over sovereignty, religion, and social order.
Maximilien Robespierre: A French revolutionary politician who led the Committee of Public Safety during the Reign of Terror. Robespierre opposed the Cult’s atheism and helped displace it with the Supreme Being.
Roman Catholic Church in France: The Catholic institution and community established in France under the authority of the pope. The Cult sought to replace Catholic worship, clergy, and sacred spaces with revolutionary civic forms.
Notre-Dame de Paris: A medieval Gothic cathedral on the Île de la Cité in Paris. Revolutionaries converted this Catholic cathedral into a Temple of Reason for the festival.
National Convention: The French assembly that governed the First Republic from 1792 to 1795. The Convention’s radical period provided the political setting for dechristianization.
Cult of the Supreme Being: A deist civic religion instituted during the French Revolution in 1794. Its state-backed theism displaced the Cult of Reason’s atheistic program.
Atheism: The absence of belief in any gods. The Cult’s official rejection of deity distinguishes it from deist revolutionary religion.
Dechristianization of France during the French Revolution: The revolutionary campaign to suppress Catholic institutions and practices and replace them with secular or civic forms. The Cult of Reason became the most theatrical expression of this broader campaign.
Reign of Terror: A period of repression and executions during the French Revolution, chiefly from 1793 to 1794. The Cult spread during the same radical phase, when revolutionary loyalty faced intense scrutiny.