Voltaire was a critic of the Roman Catholic Church because of its corruption and its dogmatic attitude. He especially hated that the church denied religious freedom to others and he didn’t like how they persecuted people who did not belong to their religion. He also criticized it because he felt that it did not allow people to think for themselves. He also felt that it was preventing people from living their lives freely and choosing their own path in life.
Philosopher lived during a time when the Roman Catholic Church was very powerful in France. The Church had great control over people’s lives, especially those who were lower class. They had control over everything from what they could read, to what they could eat and drink (or not drink), to what they could wear or not wear. If you went against any of these rules, you could be punished by burning at the stake or hanging.
The Roman Catholic Church also had a lot of money and power in France during this time period since it controlled so much land and wealth. People paid tithes for their salvation and their souls were saved if they paid enough money or performed certain acts such as going on pilgrimages or building churches etc… This made many religious officials very rich because they had control over everything related to religion including education which also made them even more rich!
