D'Holbach taught that most of man's woes stemmed from religion. "Ignorance and fear, " he claimed, "are the two hinges of all religion." He taught that morals were quite possible without religion: "Let … reason be cultivated … and there will be no need of opposing to the passions such a feeble barrier as the fear of the gods." D'Holbach, a provocative, freethinking iconoclast, died in January 1789.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/baron-dholbach Baron d'Holbach]</ref>}} | D'Holbach taught that most of man's woes stemmed from religion. "Ignorance and fear, " he claimed, "are the two hinges of all religion." He taught that morals were quite possible without religion: "Let … reason be cultivated … and there will be no need of opposing to the passions such a feeble barrier as the fear of the gods." D'Holbach, a provocative, freethinking iconoclast, died in January 1789.<ref>[http://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/baron-dholbach Baron d'Holbach]</ref>}} |