The statement about the king being sacred and an attack on God is attributed to which figure?

The statement about the king being sacred and an attack on God is attributed to which figure?

• A. Voltaire
• B. Montesquieu
• C. Bishop Jacques Bossuet
• D. Rousseau

Answer: (C)

This question tests the idea of the divine right of kings—the belief that monarchs rule by God's will and are sacred representatives on earth. Bishop Jacques Bossuet was a leading defender of this view, arguing that the king is God’s representative and that attacking the king is effectively an attack on God. This framing helped legitimize absolute monarchy in France during Louis XIV’s era and discouraged opposition by linking political authority to sacred authority. The other figures—Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau—were critical of absolute monarchy and offered ideas like religious tolerance, separation of powers, and popular sovereignty, rather than upholding the king’s sacred status.

This question tests the idea of the divine right of kings—the belief that monarchs rule by God's will and are sacred representatives on earth. Bishop Jacques Bossuet was a leading defender of this view, arguing that the king is God’s representative and that attacking the king is effectively an attack on God. This framing helped legitimize absolute monarchy in France during Louis XIV’s era and discouraged opposition by linking political authority to sacred authority. The other figures—Voltaire, Montesquieu, and Rousseau—were critical of absolute monarchy and offered ideas like religious tolerance, separation of powers, and popular sovereignty, rather than upholding the king’s sacred status.