ABSTRACT
The remarkable story of the intellectual contribution of Bernard Picart and Jean Frederic Bernard to Enlightenment views of religion reinforces the central thesis of this chapter. In addition to the impact of atheist-materialist philosophical ideas, their experience of religious persecution was one of the factors motivating their novel intellectual project to criticize religious orthodoxy and compare religions respectfully and on equal terms. While the philosophical radicalism of a given thinker is undoubtedly an important factor to consider in any intellectual history of the Enlightenment, the chapter aims to demonstrate that more attention must be paid to the role of emotions in the genesis of commitment to social and political reform, in this case, looking at how empathy relates to advancing the social and political equality of all peoples. Empathic identification with peoples of radically different traditions was an important part of new views of religious diversity in the Enlightenment.
