Whether he was a Christian, a deist, or an atheist will likely never be sufficiently answered, but by bringing philosophical doubt into conversation with religion, Descartes did take a monumentally important risk. During a time when thinkers like Gisbert Voetius commonly equated doubt with denial, it was unavoidable that Descartes would have been accused of undermining the church. Though he carefully wore his “mask” in his writings, it may be that Descartes recognized that doubt was a force that could cleanse the church and renew spirituality. It is for this reason that Descartes, despite proving that his doubts could be solved with reason and through God, ended the Meditations by humbly declaring that: “it must be admitted that in this human
