Ética e religião: uma análise da ética no fenômeno religioso a partir da tolerância em Voltaire

Abstract

This thesis has as its main purpose to investigate the religious phenomenon in relation to the value of tolerance as proposed by Voltaire. Therefore, throughout this paper?s studies of tolerance, peace and ethics, it is also highlighted the main religions in France during the Enlightenment and their conflicts. In a similar way, this work makes an interface with current conceptions of religious intolerance, verifying its disagreement with ethical ideals. Furthermore, it is postulated here a solution to religious conflicts in general based on universal values, which may also allow the dialogue and the harmonious coexistence between religions. All in all, this research starts from the theoretical initiatives launched by Voltaire on tolerance and peace and compares them to the postulations of contemporary philosophers of religion, such as Küng, who defends the existence of universal ethic values present in all religions. It is worth mentioning that Küng also propones the construction of a dialogical and equitable ethos in which religions can abdicate fundamentalism in favor of mutual peace and the construction of common ethical principles that may lead to a peaceful world or, at least, to start a mankind movement (for both believers and non-religious people) in that direction. In addition to that, this thesis also examines Zubiri?s propositions regarding the essential marks of all religions, highlighting the process by which they arise, either as positive religions or as non-axiomatic ones, i.e., as non-institutionalized religions. Regarding the political and social imbrications of the religious phenomenon, these subjects are analyzed based on Voltaire?s reports about the period of time in which he lived, and the commentaries of contemporary theorists such as Berger, Castells and Maduro, which applied themselves to study religions from a sociological perspective. Moreover, in order to obtain a philosophical concept for ethics, this thesis recalls the theories by Comparato, Kant, Küng, Souza and Voltaire himself, among others, on that matter. Similarly, in order to obtain a conceptualization for peace, this work examines the texts by Guimarães and Marcondes, as well as those by Berger, Boff, Castells and Küng, mainly. Finally, after investigating the characteristics of the religious phenomenon, as well as its ethical deviations, a survey is conducted here aiming to point out two things: the positive aspects common to all religions, and a proposal for dialogue and agreement between them. [resumo fornecido pelo autor]