Fanaticism or imposture? On some controversial figures in the Dictionnaire historique et critique

The use of the notions of imposture and fanaticism is studied based on a selection of articles from the Dictionnaire historique et critique. We compare the Baylian interpretation of “factional prophetism” with the writings of Jurieu and David-Augustin de Brueys. Our approach is thus situated at the intersection of two axes of reflection, touching, on the one hand, on political imposture in its millenarian aspect, and, on the other, on forms of spirituality perceived as deviant.