The Misuse Of Faith In Moliere's Tartuffe

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Tartuffe is a comedic play written by Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, and he was most commonly known by his stage name, Moliere. In Tartuffe, the power of false teaching and habit of trusting the wrong sort of people is illuminated throughout the play. Moliere was greatly influenced by the historical conflicts that the Enlightenment era brought, specifically pertaining to the church’s response to the new age of thinking and reasoning. Even though Moliere seems to be mocking the Catholic faith, he is actually attacking “the misuse of faith” within Tartuffe (Martin Puchner 142). Moliere use Tartuffe to highlight the strategies the historical Catholic Church used to manipulate civilians and communities, and he critiques the historical power of the church in France during the Enlightenment era. In Tartuffe, Orgon’s infatuation with a “saint” referred to as Tartuffe. His interest in Tartuffe begins when Orgon quarters the clergyman at his house after witnessing Tartuffe’s apparent “humility” outside the church. Not only does Orgon’s infatuation with Tartuffe grow throughout the play, Orgon’s obsession with righteousness also grows. Orgon exposes his obsession with …show more content…
The prevailing struggle between the church and religious skepticism, brought on by the enlightened thinkers, influenced Moliere to characterize the conflict within the play. An example of how the tension between the enlightened thinkers and the church can be found within Immanuel Kant’s, What is Enlightenment?.
“I have placed the main point of enlightenment-the escape of men from their self-incurred tutelage-chiefly in matter of religion because our rulers have no interest in playing the guardian with respect to the arts and sciences and also because religious incompetence is not only the most harmful but also the most degrading of all.” (Kant

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