François-Marie Arouet, otherwise known as Voltaire (1694 – 1778), was a French Enlightenment writer. Voltaire was famous for his wit and his attacks on Christianity- both of which highly dissented at the time. He also outright rejected the established Catholic church and fought for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and separation of church from state. He is most well-known for writing Candide, a scathing satire on optimism and religion hidden in a semi-realistic fantasy tale.