Imagine the founding fathers, egged on by a mob, converting a church into a temple of reason

[Boojatta]

To appreciate the difference between the French and American revolutions, you might try to imagine the American founding fathers, egged on by a mob, stripping a church in Philadelphia of its religious overtones and converting it into a temple of reason. That such an image seem preposterous makes a point not only about history but perhaps also about present-day realities.

From Descartes' Bones
by Russell Shorto

[Jnana]

1. Although they are sympathetic to the French Revolution in general,

most historians agree that the excesses of violence and mass executions represented an abandonment of reason.