Voltaire in the 21st Century

While I can't say for sure, I believe that Voltaire would be much happier seeing how far society has progressed as far as freedom goes, but he would definitely find his share of problems with the modern world. I think that he would appreciate that the internet makes it easier for the public to voice their opinions, and it promoted the growth of society by allowing people to communicate more easily. In addition, it allows each person to have a voice so that no one's opinion has to be isolated because of class. While I think he would appreciate the rise of democracy, I think that he would be outraged at the proceedings of the recent Iranian presidential election. If the suspicions of fraud were true, Voltaire might argue that it was a huge injustice to the Iranian people, not only that they were cheated out of their vote, but that their voices were being suppressed. As far as religious progress, while there is no singular, notable religious event that has occurred recently, I'm going to use Nicole's idea of Voltaire's opinion of Richard Dawkins. Voltaire may also have enjoyed Dawkins' discussion but not for the same reasons relating to scientific proof. While there is evidence that he often contradicted himself, it seems like he was against the Catholic Church, or possibly the establishment of religion in general, with a similar passion to Dawkins. (Voltaire wrote about religion often in a satirical light, but he is also famous for saying, "If God did not exist, he would need to be invented." Following my interpretation, I'm not entirely sure that Voltaire would agree with Dawkins' somewhat blind rejection of all aspects of religion.)