Cult of the Supreme Being

E108714

The Cult of the Supreme Being was a deistic state religion established during the French Revolution that promoted virtue, civic morality, and belief in a non-Christian supreme deity as an alternative to both Catholicism and atheism.

All labels observed (2)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (52)

Predicate Object
instanceOf deistic religion
religious cult
state religion
associatedWith Committee of Public Safety
Reign of Terror
coreValue civic morality
civic virtue
patriotism
republicanism
country France
dissolved 1794
late 1794
doctrine promotion of natural religion
rejection of clerical hierarchy
rejection of traditional Catholic dogma
endCause Thermidorian Reaction
fall of Robespierre
establishedBy National Convention
foundedBy Maximilien Robespierre
hasBelief divine punishment for vice
divine reward for virtue
existence of a supreme deity
immortality of the soul
hasRitual civic festivals
patriotic ceremonies
public processions
hasType civil religion
state-sponsored deism
ideologist Maximilien Robespierre
inception 1794
7 May 1794
influencedBy Enlightenment deism
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
language French
legalBasis decree of 7 May 1794
locatedIn French First Republic
majorEvent Cult of the Supreme Being self-linksurface differs
surface form: Festival of the Supreme Being
majorEventDate 8 June 1794
majorEventOrganizer Maximilien Robespierre
majorEventPlace Paris
opposedTo Cult of Reason
Roman Catholicism
atheism
partOf French Revolution
politicalFunction alternative to Catholic Church authority
moral foundation for the French Republic
unifying civic ideology
religiousAffiliation deism
religiousText none (no canonical scripture)
replaces Cult of Reason
worshipOf God
surface form: Supreme Being

non-Christian monotheistic deity

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Maximilien Robespierre religiousBelief Cult of the Supreme Being
Reign of Terror notableEvent Cult of the Supreme Being
this entity surface form: Festival of the Supreme Being
Cult of the Supreme Being majorEvent Cult of the Supreme Being self-linksurface differs
this entity surface form: Festival of the Supreme Being
Maximilien proposedReligion Cult of the Supreme Being
subject surface form: Maximilien Robespierre