"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities"

Voltaire’s statement draws a direct line between the acceptance of irrational or unfounded beliefs and the likelihood of harmful actions. Absurdities, ideas disconnected from logic, reason, or evidence, can take many forms, whether in religious dogma, superstition, conspiracy, or ideological extremism. When such beliefs are held deeply and collectively, they create fertile conditions for justifying behaviors that, absent such beliefs, would be universally condemned. The willingness to embrace the illogical undermines the critical faculties that act as barriers to cruelty, injustice, and violence.

History offers countless examples aligning with Voltaire’s insight. The witch hunts in Europe, medieval and early modern, stemmed from the widely accepted belief in demonic possession and witchcraft, concepts unsupported by reality. These beliefs, though rationalized at the time, led directly to the torture and execution of thousands. The more people surrendered reason to embrace these absurdities, the easier it became to commit and rationalize atrocities.

Atrocities often proceed when ordinary moral inhibitors are bypassed by conviction in a higher cause or unassailable “truth.” Absurd beliefs create echo chambers and remove empathy for those cast as villains or outsiders. Ideologies that assert some people are inherently inferior, or that divine will sanctions violence, not only flourish when reason is abandoned but encourage active participation in horrific acts.

Voltaire was not simply criticizing certain religious or political systems; he was cautioning against the abandonment of reason and skepticism. He suggests that atrocity is not rooted only in malice or brutality, but often in sincere conviction, seduced by absurd belief. The call is to constant vigilance, critical thought, and the courageous questioning of inherited or popular ideas. Only by confronting and rejecting absurdities can the cycle of atrocity fueled by irrational belief be broken. Voltaire’s words thus serve as both warning and rallying cry for enlightenment and humanistic values, emphasizing the profound consequences of credulity.