Religious policy and religious tolerance of Osman Turks in the eyes of French Enlightenment

Abstract

The article concerns the image of Ottoman religious policy in the literature of the French Enlightenment. The author analyzes the way eighteenth-century French thinkers presented Turkish despotism and religious tolerance toward Christians. The subject fits within studies on stereotypes concerning the Orient and the development of the idea of tolerance in early modern Europe. The aim of the article is to demonstrate how French philosophers and publicists used the image of Ottoman Turkey in debates about religious tolerance in France. The author employs a historical-literary method, referring primarily to the writings of Montesquieu and Voltaire. The study demonstrates that despite the established stereotype of Turkey as a despotic and backward state, some French thinkers perceived Ottoman policy as an example of practical religious tolerance, especially in comparison with European confessional conflicts. The author emphasizes that Voltaire used this theme as an argument against religious intolerance in France. The results of the analysis indicate that the image of Turkey in Enlightenment literature was ambivalent: it combined criticism of despotism with appreciation for the relative religious tolerance of the Ottomans.