Evaluation of the influence of Ottoman practice on the development of the concept of tolerance in the XVIII. century Christian West: The example of voltaire

Throughout history, the concept of religious tolerance has been one of the most problematic issues for Christianity, despite its self-proclaimed "religion of love". From the 4th century, when Christianity was accepted as the official religion of the Roman Empire, until the 18th century, Western Europe not only implemented a policy of oppression and persecution against other religions, but also accused all sects other than Catholicism of being "heretical" and condemned them to severe punishments, believing that they would jeopardise the authority of the state and the church. Towards the early modern era, with the emergence of a pluralistic world order, the West interacted with many cultures and as a result initiated a process of social transformation in which it would rebuild its own concepts. The Ottoman Empire, which became a rising world civilisation from the 15th century onwards, was one of the most influential forces in the transformation of the Christian West with its social, political and religious policies. Presenting an analysis in terms of relations between civilisations, this study questions whether the Ottoman practice, which set an example for freedom of religion and belief, had an impact on the debates on the concept of tolerance in the West in the 18th century. Using the method of discourse analysis, it evaluates the experiences and records of Western thinkers, travellers, diplomats and clergymen who resided in various territories of the empire regarding the political-social policies of the Ottoman Empire, especially the practices of religious tolerance. It also reveals how prominent intellectual pioneers of modern times, such as Voltaire, perceived the Ottoman Empire and how they referred to Ottoman practices, in contrast to the historical record since the Middle Ages in which Turks were portrayed as "heretics", "the other" and "the scourge of God" for Christians. The results reveal that many Westerners, upon returning to their own countries, admitted that the Turks granted many ethnic elements of different religions a wider scope of worship and belief than their own religious and secular authorities, and that they even appreciated this. In addition, it reveals the impact of the new perspective they acquired on various occasions on the development of the social order of the West. Keywords: Religious tolerance, Christian West, Inquisition, Voltaire, Ottoman Empire