Abstract

At death's door, Leibniz firmly refused to see a priest. This seems to be in strong contrast with the central role that he attributes to God in his philosophy and with his explicit acceptance of the Christian religion. Thus, the circumstances surrounding Leibniz's death, as related by some direct and indirect witnesses, provide an opportunity to examine the sincerity of Leibniz's position on religion. The final conclusion is that Leibniz believed in a religion broadly inspired by Christian principles but that he was not a particularly pious believer, which is fully in line with his own kind of ante litteram deism.