Georgy Sh. Pilavov Diderot versus the Jesuits: the Presumption of Guilt

Abstract

The article aims to critically examine the ideological confrontation between French Enlightenment thinkers and the Society of Jesus. This confrontation was most clearly expressed in Denis Diderot’s article “Jesuits” in Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie, in which he levelled a number of accusations against the Society of Jesus. The article considers all the historical examples cited by the French thinker to demonstrate the allegedly criminal nature of the Jesuit order. The analysis reveals a discrepancy between Diderot’s stated accusations against the Jesuits and the actual historical events. It demonstrates that the style of presentation is non-academic and polemical, failing to meet the standards expected of an encyclopaedic work. It is shown that a number of the crimes attributed to the order are not supported by historical scholarship, including accusations that the Jesuits participated in attempts on the lives of French monarchs. Some accusations are linked to political circumstances, such as the order’s activities in the context of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, while certain claims are the product of Diderot’s imagination, including his account of the so-called Mammillairs sect. Overall, the article demonstrates the extreme lack of objectivity and pronounced bias of Diderot’s position, his failure to apply a scholarly approach to the issues under consideration and a tendency to tailor the evidence to a predetermined conclusion. At the same time, some of the French thinker’s statements not only contradict the findings of historical scholarship but also diverge from Diderot’s own views as a representative of the French Enlightenment. Given that Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie constitutes a kind of ideological manifesto of the French Enlightenment, the article concludes that it is necessary to move away from a purely eulogistic attitude towards the intellectual legacy of eighteenth-century French thinkers and to subject their works to critical reappraisal.

Keywords:

Enlightenment; Jesuits; Encyclopédie; Diderot

For citation:

Georgy Sh. Pilavov. Diderot versus the Jesuits: The Presumption of Guilt. The Historical Reporter. 2026. Vol. 60. P. 240–275. DOI:

Received 26.04.2026. Revised 06.06.2026. Accepted 26.06.2026.

Georgy Sh. Pilavov

C.Sc. (Philosophy), Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy, History and Pedagogy, Luhansk Voroshilov State Agricultural University. Lugansk, Russian Federation.

e-mail: Pilav29@mail.ru

SPIN-code: 2240-8264

AuthorID: 1177930

ORCID: 0000-0001-6845-3282

References

1. Akinshin A. The phenomenon of Christian martyrdom in Japan in the XVI–XVII centuries. State, religion, Church in Russia and abroad. 2022;40(1):176–197. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.22394/2073-7203-2022-40-1-176-197
2. Boehmer H. History of the Jesuit Order. Moscow: Lomonosov; 2012. 216 p. https://www.elibrary.ru/ryrwop (in Russ.).
3. Gibert J. Spirituality of the Society of Jesus. Moscow: Institute of Philosophy, Theology and History of St. Thomas; 2010. 680 p. https://www.elibrary.ru/quzfsf (In Russ.).
4. Yemeleanova I. Death as a spectacle: Damien's execution. The historical magazine History Illustrated. 2012;(10):64–79. URL: https://www.nbpublish.com/library_get_pdf.php?id=28904&ysclid=mric600qo8785461699 (In Russ.)
5. Erokhin V.N. On the question of the circumstances of the origin of the Gunpowder plot of the English Catholics in 1605. In: Actual Problems of Studying and Teaching History and International Relations. Kursk: University Book; 2025. pp. 123–128. https://www.elibrary.ru/gvwarr (in Russ.).
6. Ivanov V.L. Luis de Molina, O.I., and the Beginnings of the Scholastic Theology of the Society of Jesus. Preface to the publication of the translation of the 52nd debate of the Concordia. EINAI: Problems of Philosophy and Theology. 2014;3(1–2)(5–6):187–212. https://www.elibrary.ru/xbntml (in Russ.).
7. Kornienko M.A. Linguophilosophical tradition of Port Royal. Bulletin of Tomsk State University. Cultural studies and art criticism. 2019;(35):29–40. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17223/22220836/35/3
8. Kudoyarov V.N. JapaneseDutch relations in the Edo period (1603–1867). Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Oriental and African studies. 2013;(3):54–61.https://www.elibrary.ru/piwmzo (In Russ.).
9. Kuzhel Yu. L. Japan's relations with the European Catholic world (late XVI – early XVII centuries). Yearbook Japan. 2019;48:321–343. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24411/0235-8182-2019-10014
10. Leroy M. Myth of the Jesuits: from Béranger to Michelet. Moscow: Languages of Slavic Culture; 2001. 464 p. https://www.elibrary.ru/hsdtyx (In Russ.).
11. Maksimov A.S. Jesuit Mission in Russia and Rome's Eastern Policy (Selected theological aspects and methodological principles). Sretensky Collection. 2022;(11–12):271–296. https://www.elibrary.ru/ndtisf (In Russ.).
12. Marakushina E.V. Historical and religious studies analysis of the activities of the Jesuit Order in St. Petersburg. Bulletin of St. Petersburg University. Series 6. Philosophy, political science, sociology, psychology, law, international relations. 2007;(3):269–277. https://www.elibrary.ru/rucavt (in Russ.).
13. Mounier R. The Assassination of Henry IV (May 14, 1610). Petersburg: Eurasia; 2008. 416 p. URL: https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01004097036?ysclid=mrid3ukcra9447803 (In Russ.).
14. Pilavov G.Sh. Blaise Pascal, Jansenists and Jesuits: explication of opposition. History of philosophy. 2025;30(2):17–32. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21146/2074-5869-2025-30-2-17-32
15. Pilavov G.Sh. Encyclopedia of Diderot and D’Alembert: contextual and critical understanding. History of Philosophy. 2024;29(1):43–57. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21146/2074-5869-2024-29-1-43-57
16. Ptifis J.K. Louis XIV. Glory and trials. Petersburg: Eurasia; 2008. 382 p. https://www.elibrary.ru/vrxpyt (In Russ.).
17. Rakuts N.V. Jesuit missions (reductions) of Spanish South America in the context of the problem of symbiosis of cultures. Ethnographic review. 2013;(3):102–116. https://www.elibrary.ru/rbrqnz (in Russ.).
18. Saraiva J.E. The history of Portugal. Moscow: Whole World Publ.; 2007. 384 p. https://www.elibrary.ru/qphoit (In Russ.).
19. Sukhova N.Y. Unpublished article by St. Tikhon (Bellavin). Bulletin of the Orthodox St. Tikhon University for the Humanities. Series 2: The Story, The History of the Russian Orthodox Church. 2015;6(67):97–122 (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.15382/sturII201567.97-122
20. Fadeeva T.M., Buttigieg E. Knights, Jesuits, carnival and Inquisition in Malta in the 17th Century: the essence of the conflict. Buttigig E. Knights, jesuits, carnival and the inquisition in XVII-century Malta. Historical J. N.Y. 2012;55:571–596. Social Sciences and Humanities. Russian and foreign literature. Series 5: The History. 2013;(3):149–153. https://www.elibrary.ru/ravgel (in Russ.).
21. Boguslavskiy V.M., ed. Philosophy in the “Encyclopedia” of Diderot and D’Alembert. Moscow: Nauka; 1994. 720 p. URL: https://search.rsl.ru/ru/record/01001691541?ysclid=mridnkv58d161578793 (In Russ.).
22. Andurand O. La Grande affaire. Les évêques de France face à l’Unigenitus. ParisRennes: Société d’histoire religieuse. Presses universitaires de Rennes, coll. Histoire; 2017. 398 p. https://doi.org/10.4000/assr.44495
23. Bauer S.W. The Story of the World. CharlesCity: Peace Hill Press; 2004. URL: https://archive.org/details/storyofworldtest0003baue
24. Braun H. Juan de Mariana and Early Modern Spanish Political Thought. London, 2007. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315590691
25. Campbell T.J. The Jesuits, 1534–1921: A History of the Society of Jesus from Its Foundation to the Present Time. New York, 2013. 798 p.
26. Disney A.R. A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2009. URL: https://assets.cambridge.org/97805218/43188/frontmatter/9780521843188_frontmatter.pdf
27. Duprat A. Stéphane Lamotte, L’affaire Girard Cadière. Justice, satire et religion au XVIIIe siècle. Cahiers de la Méditerranée. 2016;93:77–79 (In Fr.). https://doi.org/10.4000/cdlm.8500
28. Fraser A. The Gunpowder Plot. Manila: Phoenix; 2002. 410 p.
29. Gundani P. The “just war” tradition in Zimbabwean historiography. Dis(entangling) the Gordian knot between religion and morality of war. Missionalia. 2019;47(1):72–92. https://doi.org/7832/47-1-301
30. Hauschild W.D. Lehrbuch der Kirchen und Dogmengeschichte. Gütersloh; 2005. Bd. 2. 978 S. (In Germ.)
31. Milton G. Samurai William: The Englishman Who Opened Japan. New York, 2003. 368 p.