From 1689, Jean Meslier was the parish priest of Étrépigny, a small village in the French Ardennes. To his flock and his superiors, he was a dutiful, unremarkable servant of the Catholic Church. For forty years, he led mass, performed baptisms, and administered the sacraments. He lived a life of extreme austerity, donating his own small surplus to the local poor. But it was all a performance. He later admitted he only joined the priesthood to please his parents. Privately, he believed every word he spoke from the pulpit was a lie. While his parishioners saw a man of God, Meslier was secretly annotating his books with radical thoughts, living a double life that would remain hidden for decades.
Jean Meslier, the Priest Who Secretly Denounced God
French village priest Jean Meslier served his parish for 40 years while secretly writing an atheist, revolutionary testament that was found only after his death in 1729.
Chapter 1
The Priest's Secret
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Frequently Asked Questions
Was Jean Meslier really a priest?
Yes. For forty years, from 1689 until his death in 1729, he served as the parish priest of Étrépigny, France. He performed all the duties of a Catholic priest, including mass and baptisms, while privately believing it was all a lie.
What was in Jean Meslier's secret manuscript?
His 1,166-page 'Testament' was a systematic attack on religion, which he called a 'castle in the air'. He argued for materialism, called Jesus a 'madman', and advocated for a violent social revolution to establish communal property for the poor.
Did people read Meslier's work after he died?
Yes, but not in its original form at first. The philosopher Voltaire published a heavily edited version in 1762 that removed the atheism and revolutionary politics. The full, unedited manuscript was not published until 1864.
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