Catherine the Great of Russia was very welcoming of the Enlightenment and its associated ideas. One indication of this is the secular philosophy she held for certain matters. For example, she secularized church lands and she was not in favor of capital punishment. In the bible, there are many offences that are to be met with capital punishment. Whereas, Catherine seemed to think that punishments should be thought out according to the nature of the crime. The idea that our punishments should not come from holy books is important to the Enlightenment, and Catherine seemed to accept this idea. Another example of her acceptance of progressive ideas is her correspondence with men like Voltaire and Diderot. Catherine even supported the abolition
