Not ALL religious feeling comes under satirical attack in Candide. Jacques, the generous Anabaptist, and the El Doradans profess their faith and seem to go uncriticized for it. An oversight on Voltaire's part, or a cue to the positive views being advance in this novel?
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The attitude towards God and the attitude towards religion could be considered two different things in "Candide or Optimism". Voltaire does not criticize the deity himself, as demonstrated by the king of El Dorado and Jacque the anabaptist. The king openly says, "There is only one God, and we all worship him equally." This signifies that Voltaire does not criticize God, but possibly revere him. Meanwhile, religion does come under the attack of Voltaire's sharp wit, where Theatine monks are portrayed as miserable men, abbes in Paris are portrayed as corrupt, and the Jesuits are rejected by the natives of South America as clearly having wronged them at some point. It says something of Voltaire's attitude towards these organized religions when what he considers humanity in its barest form (the South American natives) to reject the jesuits and seek revenge on them. To summarize, God does not receive any of Voltaire's criticism, but many organized religions do.
Voltaire doesn't completely throw out religiosity or spiritual feelings. At the conclusion of the novel, it is a Muslim holy man (the dervish) (511-512) who gives this new family perspective on how a Deity might view humanity:
"What does it matter whether there's evil or there's good," said the dervish. "When His Highness sends a ship to Egypt, does he worry whether the mice on board are comfortable or not?"
The take-home message from this can be read as being Voltaire's view that the God/Deity is simply indifferent to the fate of humanity. God here isn't a cause of evil, impotent or malevolent, just a bit indifferent. So then, since we are 'mice', the meaning in the universe is not as objective as it is something that we generate internally. The garden line may also be a retelling of the Garden of Eden narrative - a rebirth and self-creation of human nature or values.
I think Voltaire makes a very interesting critique of religions during his time period through Jacques the Anabaptist. Clearly, Jacques is the most charitable religious person in the book. He helps Candide and Pangloss and dies saving a sailor. He is also more practical than the other philosophers, like Pangloss; while Pangloss believes that it is good that he has syphilis, because everything in the world is the best it should be, Jacques actually has him cured with medicine. I think Jacques can be seen as having an important quality that Voltaire favors, which are intellectual honesty -- although he is religious, he does not believe like Pangloss that this must be the best of worlds, and has come to more realistic philosophical conclusions and actually works to make the world better.
The Eldoradons share this quality as well. There religious views are consistent with the world they live in. For example, they "don't pray to God", because they "have nothing to ask him for. He has given us all we need, and we never cease to thank him" (482). If you lived in a world in which all your needs were inexplicably met, it might be rational to believe in a deity who has provided these things for you, at least more so than outside of Eldorado. Furthermore, they are practical as noted above with their religious beliefs; they do not pray because they do not need to and it is explained that simply. From Jacque and religion in Eldorado, the reader learns that Voltaire certainly doesn't view all beliefs as ridiculous and incorrect, it seems to be a certain attitude of arrogance and irrationality that he abhors, such as the philosophy of Pangloss which is shown to be repeatably false.
Voltaire's problem seems to be with organized religion, rather than spiritual/religious people in general. This interpretation allows for his acceptance of the faith of the El Doradans as well as that of Jacques. While the Anabaptists were an organized group, nowhere in Europe did they have the power to be a powerful social force, protecting them from Voltaire's ire. Simply put, it is the rules and customs imposed by organized religion which he finds necessary to satirize, not individual belief in a deity.
I thought that the El Doradans fit in rather well given that Voltaire was a Deist. They claimed that yes of course they believed in God but that they did not pray because he'd already given them what they needed. This seemed a sort of positive reflection of the idea that god created earth and then wandered off leaving us to our own devices thereby negating the necessity of prayer. The El Doradans were grateful to god for giving them their world, but didn't see a need to organize any sort of religion around this fact.
I think that the Anabaptist is tolerated because he is tolerant. Voltaire certainly criticizes the hypocrisy of certain religious figures who sin as a matter of course and then tell their congregation they are doomed to damnation for sinning. He also critiques the cruelties of the Jesuits in the colonies. The Anabaptist seems neither hypocritical nor cruel, so he isn't mocked. He is killed off though, which may be a commentary on the fact that perhaps the level headed and generous members of religious faiths tend not to be heard very often over the clamor made by the more corrupt.
In “Candide or Optimism” the tone towards God is separate from the attitude that is expressed towards religion. We have to view these as different subjects because Voltaire doesn’t disapprove of the deity, which is shown by Jacque the Anabaptist and the King of El Dorado. The king states that the existence of one God is solely the reason why he must be worshipped equally by all. This appears that Voltaire is not criticizing God, but rather showing that he respects God.
In terms of religion, Voltaire addresses religion differently by depicting monks as unhappy men, and Jesuits aren’t accepted by the native-born of South America as they were appeared to have mistreated them, and the abbes in Paris are portrayed as very dishonest and corrupt. These are all examples, of organized religions established during this period. It appears that Voltaire is only criticizing organized religions, none of which are directly related to God.
This shows that Voltaire is more of an attacker on organized religion than God himself. It seems evident that he does have a belief in God and that he respects him. His criticisms only fall upon certain organized religions and the people who "govern" them. He is a critic of human decision and competence, not of an all knowing higher power.
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