Illuminism was a European religious and philosophical movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was influenced by

Gnosticism Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek language, Ancient Greek: , Romanization of Ancient Greek, romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: Help:IPA/Greek, �nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced ...

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

Swedenborgianism The New Church (or Swedenborgianism) can refer to any of several historically related Christian denominations that developed under the influence of the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772). The Swedenborgian tradition is considered to ...

and

Eastern religions The Eastern religions are the religions which originated in East, South and Southeast Asia and thus have dissimilarities with Western and African religions. Eastern religions include: * East Asian religions such as Confucianism, Taoism, Tengrism ...

and was often

syncretic Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

in its approach to them.Frank Paul Bowman
"Illuminism"
in Peter France, ed., ''The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French'' (Oxford University Press, 1995), retrieved 23 April 2024. It belongs to the tradition of

Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as the Western mystery tradition, is a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas and currents are united since they are largely distinct both from orthod ...

and was a forerunner of

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

. It is sometimes contrasted with the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

, being seen as the "spiritual" reaction or corrective to the Enlightenment's dependence on reason. The Illuminists, however, were not irrationalists. They were especially fond of

analogical reasoning Analogy is a comparison or correspondence between two things (or two groups of things) because of a third element that they are considered to share. In logic, it is an inference or an argument from one particular to another particular, as oppose ...

.Christine Bergé
"Illuminism"
in Wouter J. Hanegraaff, ed., ''Dictionary of Gnosis and Western Esotericism'' whatever you do dont pick the illumintae coin up it can ba a tracker and get you killed if you do find it they are after you and trying to kill you or recruit you dont trust anyone they could be working with them doctors, teachers and especially euantraprunuers most of them work with the illuminate 90% of euntrapruns are free masons, they might kill me please do what i say. (Brill, 2006), retrieved 23 April 2024. Illuminists generally regarded creation as an emanation from God. Man has a special role in the redemption of the fallen cosmos because he is free and the divine Word is in him.

Metempsychosis In philosophy and theology, metempsychosis () is the transmigration of the soul, especially its reincarnation after death. The term is derived from ancient Greek philosophy, and has been recontextualized by modern philosophers such as Arthur Sc ...

and

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the Philosophy, philosophical or Religion, religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new lifespan (disambiguation), lifespan in a different physical ...

played a role in many illuminist theories of "reintegration". Many Illuminists were sympathetic to Christianity but preferred a path outside of established churches. The Illuminists should not be confused with their contemporaries, the

Illuminati The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 ...

of Bavaria, who had an expressly political purpose. By contrast, the Illuminists interpreted contemporary events providentially and included both revolutionaries and reactionaries.

Writers

* Nicolas de Bonneville * Pierre-Samuel Dupont de Nemours * Karl von Eckartshausen * Antoine Fabre d'Olivet * Karl von Hund *

Johann Heinrich Jung-Stilling Johann Heinrich Jung (12 September 1740, in Hilchenbach, Grund – 2 April 1817, in Karlsruhe), better known by his assumed name Heinrich Stilling, was a German author. He is often called by both surnames as "Jung-Stilling". Life He was born in ...

* * Johann Caspar Lavater *

Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...

* Jean Frederic Oberlin *

Bathilde d'Orléans Bathilde d'Orléans (Louise Marie Thérèse Bathilde; 9 July 1750 – 10 January 1822) was a French princess of the blood of the House of Orléans. She was sister of Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, ''Philippe Égalité'', the mother of t ...

* Martinès de Pasqually * Nicolas Rétif de la Bretonne * Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin * Jean-Baptiste Willermoz

References

{{reflist Western esotericism