Locke: Toleration

Care theorists have yet to outline an account of how the concept of toleration should function in their normative framework. This lack of outline is a notable gap in the literature, particularly for demonstrating whether care ethics can appropriately address cases of moral disagreement within contemporary pluralistic societies; in other words, does care ethics have the conceptual resources to recognize the disapproval that is inherent in an act of toleration while simultaneously upholding the positive values of care without contradiction? By (...) engaging care ethics with John Locke’s influential corpus on toleration, I answer the above question by building the bases for a novel theory of toleration as care. Specifically, I argue that care theorists can home in on an oft-overlooked aspect of Locke’s later thought: that the possibility of a tolerant society is dependent on a societal ethos of trustworthiness and civility, to the point where Locke sets out positive ethical demands on both persons and the state to ensure this ethos can grow and be sustained. By leveraging and augmenting Locke’s thought within the care ethical framework, I clarify how care ethics can provide meaningful solutions to moral disagreement within contemporary pluralistic societies in ways preferable to the capability of a liberal state. (shrink)

This study aims to present that the most visible and drastic changes in the life of modern humans are caused by the ability human to be a person that is equal to be tolerant. From a historical point of view, the manifestation of tolerance towards people has always been problematic – for some it is in short supply, and for others it has been in surplus. In the first case, it has caused conflicts and wars to win it, in the (...) second, sanctions and repressions. The tolerance has been and is the subject of many analyzes, philosophical concepts, ethical schemes, and socio-political mechanisms that construct societies. This article is explored John Locke and Immanuel Kant’s position on the tolerance described in their scientific papers A Letter Concerning Toleration and Perpetual Peace. In the introduction is said that the tolerance has many dimensions. In its essence, it is always pluralistic, implied consent, freedom, continuity, understanding, equality, etc. It is a segment of achieving interpersonal, group, intergroup, inter-community and international relations. The first subtopic is about tolerance in historical contextual links. The second is about Locke and his Letter – Locke’s letter of the tolerance from 1689, which supports the idea of the need for religious tolerance, it is not only a recommendation, but also a condition for a peaceful and just cohabitation of citizens in a society – this is the century, when England sets up its own church, which strives to distinguish both from the Roman Catholic and the Protestant – creating a Protestant church – the Anglican church. Before Locke published a Letter of Tolerance, after his return to England in 1689, after his immigration to the Netherlands, he published two other fundamental works: Two Tracts on Government and An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. The third sub-topic is about Kant and his concept of the possible perpetual peace – the theory of “perpetual peace” was created by Kant at the end of the 18th century. According to him, as relations within a state can be regulated wisely in order to maintain internal peace, and relations between people from different countries could be wisely regulated in order to achieve external peace. Kant thinks that moral-practical reason obliges us to exclude wars, otherwise it would mean that we have to give up our mind and be equated with the animals. In the conclusion is noted the great contribution of ideas from the works of Locke and Kant is the basis of the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and how much tolerance we need today in a globalized world. (shrink)

RESUMO A “Carta sobre a tolerância” de Locke tem uma questão que suscita polêmicas desde o século XVII: sua defesa da tolerância compromete na restrição aos ateus e católicos, o que atingiria a liberdade religiosa, um dos maiores valores da teoria liberal. Tomando como problemática central esta questão, o objetivo deste artigo é pensar esta tensão no pensamento político de Locke. Visando a colaborar com este debate, o texto está dividido em duas partes: na primeira, serão apresentados os vários sentidos (...) do que Locke entende por ateu, em seus diferentes textos políticos; na segunda, será analisada a importância da religião no pensamento político lockiano. ABSTRACT Locke’s Letter on Tolerance has been a controversial issue since the seventeenth century: its defense of tolerance compromises restricting atheists and Catholics, which would attain religious freedom, one of the highest values of liberal theory. Taking this issue as its central, the purpose of this article is to think about this tension in Locke’s political thinking. In order to collaborate with this debate, the text is divided in two parts: in the first one, the various meanings of what Locke understands by atheist will be presented in his different political texts; in the second, we will analyze the importance of religion in Lockean political thought. (shrink)

Jolley argues that paying close attention to Locke’s Epistola de Tolerentia, as well as the later letters on toleration occasioned by Jonas Proast’s response to the Epistola, reveals that “a different Locke emerges from the one who is familiar to us today; it is a Locke who is more single-mindedly devoted to the project of promoting the cause of religious toleration than has been realized”. Jolley argues that Locke is a more systematic thinker than we think, and that the theme (...) that unites his three greatest works—Epistola, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, and Two Treatises—is a commitment to the cause of religious toleration. Jolley’s discussion proceeds through eight main chapters: one on the... (shrink)

ABSTRACTThe present article compares John Locke’s and John Owen’s approaches to toleration. Owen, a towering figure of the Puritan revolution and a Protestant scholastic whose work is still the object of significant appreciation in Reformed circles, was Locke’s dean during his time as a student in Oxford. There is a number of treatises on toleration by Owen, especially during the mid-1640s, and later again after the Restoration, in his role as a nonconforming divine. There has also been some speculation regarding (...) the involvement of both Owen and Locke in the circle around Shaftesbury. Together with their writings against Parker and Stillingfleet, this would seem to draw Owen and Locke quite close to each other. Both authors are, however, divided in their approach to Christian doctrine: Owen represents classical confessionalism and Locke modern doctrinal minimalism. The article explores the ways in which these oppositional approaches to doctrine relate to their views of toleration. (shrink)

The seventeenth century English philosopher, John Locke, is widely recognized as one of the seminal sources of the modern liberal tradition. _Liberty, Toleration and Equality_ examines the development of Locke’s ideal of toleration, from its beginnings, to the culmination of this development in Locke’s fifteen year debate with his great antagonist, the Anglican clergyman, Jonas Proast. Locke, like Proast, was a sincere Christian, but unlike Proast, Locke was able to develop, over time, a perspective on toleration which allowed him to (...) concede liberty to competing views which he, personally, perceived to be "false and absurd". In this respect, Locke sought to affirm what has since become the basic liberal principle that liberty and toleration are only meaningful when they are accorded to views to which we ourselves are profoundly at odds. John William Tate seeks to show how Locke was able to develop this position on toleration over a long intellectual career. Tate also challenges some of the most prominent contemporary perspectives on Locke, within the academic literature, showing how these fall short of perceiving what is essential to Locke’s position. (shrink)

RESUMENEn este trabajo quiero examinar la Carta sobre la tolerancia de John Locke, con el propósito de considerar los diferentes tipos de argumentos que propone para justificar la tolerancia en materia de religión y valorar su relevancia para el lector actual. Aunque la línea argumental principal de la Carta es insatisfactoria, cabe encontrar una justiicación alternativa, mucho más afin con la defensa que el liberalismo contemporáneo hace de la libertad de conciencia.PALABRAS CLAVETOLERANCIA-RELIGIÓN-LIBREALISMO-LOCKEABSTRACTIn this paper I will examine John Locke'se Letter (...) concerning toleration, with the aim of reviewing the different arguments he adduces to justify religious toleration and of assessing their relevance for the contemporary reader. Althought the Letter's main argument is not satisfactory, it is possible to find an alternative justification, in line with the freedom of conscience defended by contemporary liberalism.KEYWORDSTOLERATION-RELIGION-LIBERALISM-LOCKE. (shrink)

This work analyzes the problem of the development of John Locke’s ideas on toleration, in particular the grounds of separation of church and state. The first part examines Locke’s arguments regarding the prerogatives of the magistrate towards ‘indifferent things’ and the religious sphere. I distinguish between three stages in the development of Locke’s view on toleration: a suspicion toward the plea for it ; an implicit non-verbalized distinction between church and state, and support for toleration ; and toleration as a (...) political right. The second part focuses on the definition of ‘commonwealth’ in A Letter Concerning Toleration. I outline two fundamental sets of interdependent arguments that Locke uses for the separation of church and state. The third part is dedicated to the sphere of the church and the dimensions of the duty of toleration. The relation between Locke’s views on toleration and political practice explains the shift between the three stages, and is explored throughout the paper. (shrink)

According to Jeremy Waldron, John Locke's argument for the instrumental irrationality of persecution is fatally flawed. In this paper, I offer evidence that Waldron has misread Locke, and that Locke's views about why persecution generally proves inefficacious have greater plausibility than Waldron allowed. Locke's argument for the irrationality of intolerance does not, as has been thought, rest on a tendentious ontological distinction between ‘the will’ and ‘the understanding’, but on an account of the adverse psychological reaction of victims of persecution (...) to their plight. Persecution, Locke argued, provokes in its victims feelings of distrust and hostility that diminishes the chances that they will convert to the religion that has persecuted them. An appeal to the ‘victim's perspective’ in order to dissuade would-be persecutors was a fundamental part of his case for toleration, and one that was noticed and employed by other proponents of toleration. (shrink)

John Locke was one of the first modern thinkers to publish a work devoted entirely to the theme of tolerance in the late seventeenth century. In his work, however, Locke presents limits: atheists are not tolerated. Thus, the aim of this article is to think about this tension in the Lockean political thought.

Originalmente uma dissertação de mestrado feita sob a orientação de Antônio Carlos dos Santos e defendida em 2008 no programa de pós-graduação da Universidade Federal da Bahia, Tolerância Civil e Religiosa em John Locke é um livro relevante e oportuno: relevante porque se constitui num dos poucos publicados no Brasil a tratar especificamente da tolerância em Locke; oportuno porque vem à lume num momento em que é cada vez mais necessário um debate público sobre o convívio entre religiões e a (...) relação entre Estado e Igreja. O livro possui quatro capítulos repletos de subdivisões que organizam muito bem seu desenvolvimento conceitual, sendo os dois primeiros dedicados à tolerância civil e à religiosa, o terceiro aos limites da tolerância e o quarto à noção de moralidade em Locke. (shrink)

John Locke é conhecido, sobretudo, por ser um dos fundadores do liberalismo. No entanto, pesquisas recentes apontam para novas interpretações do pensador inglês. No caminho dessa tendência, o objetivo deste texto é analisar os elementos republicanos na "Carta sobre a tolerância" de Locke. John Locke is mainly known for being one of the founders of Liberalism. However, recent research points to new interpretations of the English thinker. On the way of this trend, the aim of this paper is to analyze (...) the republican elements in the "Letter on Toleration" of Locke. (shrink)

O objetivo deste texto é analisar o argumento da economia que justificaria a tolerância como um dos maiores fatores para o desenvolvimento dos povos, no século XVII, segundo a interpretação de Locke. Expressando de outro modo, este texto pretende responder a seguinte questão: qual o lugar da dimensão econômica na teoria lockiana sobre a tolerância?

O objetivo deste texto é analisar o argumento da economia que justificaria a tolerância como um dos maiores fatores para o desenvolvimento dos povos, no século XVII, segundo a interpretação de Locke. Expressando de outro modo, este texto pretende responder a seguinte questão: qual o lugar da dimensão econômica na teoria lockiana sobre a tolerância? The objective of this text is to analyze the economic argument that justifies tolerance as a major contributor to the development of peoples in the seventeenth (...) century, according to the interpretation of Locke. Put another way, this paper aims to answer the following question: What is the place of the economic dimension in the Lockean theory of tolerance? (shrink)

With the publication of Locke?s early manuscripts on toleration and the drafts for the Essay, it is possible to understand to what extent Locke?s ideas on religious toleration have developed. Although the important arguments for toleration can already be found in these early texts, Locke was confronted with a problem in his defence of toleration that he needed to solve. If faith, as a form of judgement, is involuntary, as Locke claims, how can one be held accountable for the faith (...) one has? In answer to this question reason comes to play a more prominent role in Locke?s notion of faith and in his defence of religious toleration, and in his philosophy in general. This notion of reason is not the reason we use for mathematical demonstrations. It is rather reason as we use it in discussion, and is thus fallible. It is precisely this kind of reason that played a central role in the Remonstrant religion to which Locke was closely connected at the time he developed a new argument for religious toleration when he was in the Netherlands. (shrink)

Classic theories of religious toleration from the 17th century regularly made exceptions for various categories of people such as Catholics and atheists who need not be tolerated. From a contemporary perspective these may be understood as blind spots because at least some of us would argue that these exceptions were not necessary. This essay explores the toleration theories of John Milton, Benedict de Spinoza, Denis Veiras, John Locke and Pierre Bayle in order to assess whether they actually called for such (...) exceptions and whether those exceptions were justifed or were in fact blind spots. It concludes with some reflections on what our own blind spots may be, and whether we can see around them. (shrink)

This essay disputes one of the central claims in Jeremy Waldron?s God, Locke, and Equality (2002), that being the claim that Locke?s arguments about species in An Essay Concerning Human Understanding undercut his assertions about the equality of the human species as a matter of natural law in Two Treatises of Government. It argues, firstly, and pace Waldron, that Locke?s view of natural law is foundational to his view of man, not vice versa, and, secondly, that Two Treatises is written (...) in an idiom different from Locke?s philosophical writings, such that directly transposing the ideas discussed in one idiom to the other is as confused as it is confusing. After providing a new account of the relationship between Locke?s philosophy and his views of morality, politics and religion, the essay concludes that Waldron fails to grasp the style and structure of Locke?s thinking, and so cumulatively misunderstands and distorts Locke?s views about moral identity, toleration, religion and politics alike. (shrink)

John Locke was considerably interested and actively involved in the promotion of Protestant Christianity among American Indians and African slaves, yet this fact goes largely unremarked in historical scholarship. The evidence of this interest and involvement deserves analysis—for it illuminates fascinating and understudied features of Locke's theory of toleration and his thinking on American Indians, African slaves, and English colonialism. These features include (1) the compatibility between toleration and Christian mission, (2) the interconnection between Christian mission and English geopolitics, (3) (...) the coexistence of ameliorative and exploitative strands within Locke's stance on African slavery, and (4) the spiritual imperialism of Locke's colonial vision. Analyzing evidence of Locke's interest and involvement in Christian mission, this article brings fully to light a dimension of Locke's career that has barely been noticed. In so doing, it also illustrates how the roots of toleration in the modern West were partly evangelical. (shrink)

Resumo : Os escritos de John Locke e Pierre Bayle sobre a tolerância contribuíram decisivamente para a formaçáo do discurso filosófico sobre aquele conceito, que será amplamente divulgado no século XVIII. A doutrina de Locke afirma que o indivíduo tem certos direitos, que estáo intrinsecamente relacionados com a sua liberdade e devem ser respeitados pelo Estado. Bayle também foi um defensor da tolerância, exaltando a liberdade de consciência do indivíduo. No entanto há divergências entre estes dois pensadores: Locke propõe limites (...) à tolerância, enquanto Bayle é tido como um tolerante exagerado. A proposta é investigar os principais argumentos utilizados nas suas respectivas defesas da tolerância, e a partir daí analisar algumas divergências entre os dois autores, especialmente as diferentes medidas da tolerância adotadas por cada um deles. Palavras-chave : Igualdade; Liberdade; Poder político; Tolerância. (shrink)

Os escritos de John Locke e Pierre Bayle sobre a tolerância contribuíramdecisivamente para a formação do discurso filosófico sobre aquele conceito,que será amplamente divulgado no século XVIII. a doutrina de locke afirmaque o indivíduo tem certos direitos, que estão intrinsecamente relacionadoscom a sua liberdade e devem ser respeitados pelo Estado. Bayle também foium defensor da tolerância, exaltando a liberdade de consciência do indivíduo.No entanto há divergências entre estes dois pensadores: Locke propõe limitesà tolerância, enquanto Bayle é tido como um tolerante (...) exagerado. a proposta éinvestigar os principais argumentos utilizados nas suas respectivas defesas datolerância, e a partir daí analisar algumas divergências entre os dois autores,especialmente as diferentes medidas da tolerância adotadas por cada um deles.The writings of John Locke and Pierre Bayle on tolerance contributeddecisively to the formation of philosophical discourse on that concept, whichwas widely disseminated in the eighteenth century. Locke’s doctrine claimsthat the individual has certain rights, which are intrinsically related to theirliberties and should be respected by the state. Bayle was also an advocateof tolerance, praising the liberty of conscience of the individual. However,there are differences between these two thinkers: Locke proposes limits totolerance, while Bayle is seen as excessively tolerant. The aim of this paperis to investigate the main arguments used in defense of tolerance, and look atsome differences between the two authors, especially the different measuresof tolerance adopted by each of them. (shrink)

En 1974, Robert Nozick publicó *Anarquía, Estado y Utopía*, una obra que, por primera vez, otorgaba estatus teórico a una de las corrientes del pensamiento neoliberal: el libertarianismo. En buena medida, el texto de Nozick se reclama como una relectura en clave de filosofía analítica de la teoría política de John Locke. En este artículo se ofrecen algunos argumentos para mostrar que, aunque la perspectiva de Nozick presenta ciertas similitudes retóricas con la obra del filósofo inglés, en cada uno de (...) los puntos fundamentales (como por ejemplo la idea de derecho, la noción de persona, el papel de la política y los conceptos de justicia y bien público) Nozick se aparta claramente de las premisas lockeanas. Como conclusión, se sostiene que al alejarse de la concepción lockeana, Nozick defiende una sociedad en la que la política está ausente y en la que el Estado aparece, paradójicamente, menos limitado que en las concepciones liberales clásicas. (shrink)

This article challenges the claim that John Locke’s arguments for toleration are fundamentally at odds with any we might now associate with the liberal tradition. By showing how this perspective fundamentally misreads Locke on toleration, it seeks to defend Locke’s own status as one of the founding fathers of the liberal tradition.

Recently, scholars have disputed whether Locke's political theory should be read as the groundwork of secular liberalism or as a Protestant political theology. Focusing on Locke's mature theory of toleration, the article raises a central question: What if these two readings are compatible? That is, what would be the consequences if Locke's political philosophy has theological foundations, but has also given shape to secular liberalism? Examining Locke's theory in the Letter Concerning Toleration, the article argues that this is indeed the (...) case. The liberal model of toleration is a secularization of the theology of Christian liberty and its division of society into a temporal political kingdom and the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Therefore, when liberal toleration travels beyond the boundaries of the Christian West or when western societies become multicultural, it threatens to lose its intelligibility. (shrink)

Recently, scholars have disputed whether Locke's political theory should be read as the groundwork of secular liberalism or as a Protestant political theology. Focusing on Locke's mature theory of toleration, the article raises a central question: What if these two readings are compatible? That is, what would be the consequences if Locke's political philosophy has theological foundations, but has also given shape to secular liberalism? Examining Locke's theory in the Letter Concerning Toleration , the article argues that this is indeed (...) the case. The liberal model of toleration is a secularization of the theology of Christian liberty and its division of society into a temporal political kingdom and the spiritual kingdom of Christ. Therefore, when liberal toleration travels beyond the boundaries of the Christian West or when western societies become multicultural, it threatens to lose its intelligibility. (shrink)

As the product of liberalism's first encounter with the theoretical problems posed by legal discrimination and unequal treatment of minority groups, Locke's argument for religious toleration foreshadowed contemporary democratic theory's emphasis on non-coercive discussion of diverse rights claims and broadly inclusive public deliberations. This study tries to illuminate the democratic dimension of Locke's toleration theory by focusing on his crucial account of the church as a voluntary association. Here Locke presented discursive possibilities for the articulation of diverse beliefs and interests (...) that he believed would not only benefit both society as a whole and the minority religious groups contained in it, but also weave principles of contestation and deliberation into the very fabric of the liberal polity. (shrink)

This book is a major intellectual and cultural history of intolerance and toleration in early modern and early Enlightenment Europe. John Marshall offers an extensive study of late seventeenth-century practices of religious intolerance and toleration in England, Ireland, France, Piedmont and the Netherlands and the arguments that John Locke and his associates made in defence of 'universal religious toleration'. He analyses early modern and early Enlightenment discussions of toleration, debates over toleration for Jews and Muslims as well as for Christians, (...) the limits of toleration for the intolerant, atheists, 'libertines' and 'sodomites', and the complex relationships between intolerance and resistance theories including Locke's own Treatises. This study is a significant contribution to the history of the 'republic of letters' of the 1680s and the development of early Enlightenment culture and is essential reading for scholars of early modern European history, religion, political science and philosophy. (shrink)

John Locke's theory of toleration has been criticized as having little relevance for politics today because it rests on controversial theological foundations. Although there have been some recent attempts to develop secular; or publicly accessible, arguments out of Locke's writings, these tend to obscure and distort the religious arguments that Locke used to defend toleration. More importantly, these efforts ignore the role that religious arguments may play in supporting the development of a normative consensus on the legitimacy of liberal political (...) principles. Bracketing the search for publicly accessible justifications makes it possible to appreciate the continued relevance of Locke's religious arguments for toleration. (shrink)

This paper intends a comparative analysis of freedom of thought and toleration,as these concepts appear by the end of the 17th century in Locke's Epistola de Tolerantia and Bayle's Commentaire Philosophique. Nowadays we think that an open society implies freedom of thought as one of its pillars, and so an unlimited toleration, except in case others were injured. For Locke, things were different: freedom of thought was, for him, obedience to natural law, the basis of human society, and this purported (...) that those who did not recognize the law were excluded. Bayle, on the other hand, showed that the only truth subsistent in issues concerning religious matters was a relative, "putative truth", something that catholics, mahometans and atheists pretended to possess. There was no reason, therefore, to exclude those groups from human society. In his book, Bayle is sometimes against himself. On the contrary, Locke's theory is clear and well founded. But, and this is our conclusion, not always attentive to practical life contingencies.Este trabajo se propone un análisis comparativo de la libertad de pensamiento y tolerancia, tal como estos conceptos aparecen hacia fines del siglo XVII en la Epistola de Tolerantia de Locke y en el Commentaire Philosophique de Bayle. Actualmente pensamos que una sociedad abierta implica libertad de pensamiento como uno de sus pilares, y así una tolerancia ilimitada, excepto en caso que otros resultaran dañados. Para Locke, las cosas eran diferentes: libertad de pensamiento era para él obediencia a la ley natural , base de la sociedad humana, y ello implicaba que aquellos quienes no reconocieran la ley serían excluidos. Bayle, por el contrario, mostró que la única verdad subsistente en las cuestiones concernientes a temas religiosos era una verdad relativa, una "verdad putativa", algo que católicos, mahometanos y ateos pretendían poseer. No había, en consecuencia, razón para excluir a tales grupos de la sociedad humana. En este libro, Bayle estaba a veces contra sí mismo. Por el contrario, la teoría de Locke es clara y bien fundamentada. Pero -y ésta es nuestra conclusión-, no siempre atenta a las contingencias de la vida práctica. (shrink)

In the following paper I attempt to show how in Locke''s liberalthought the individual is subject to a complex operation involvingliberation and subjugation. In A Letter on Toleration (1685),Locke argues that the individual''s inward beliefs should be freed fromthe coercion of Church and State. To ensure liberty of conscience, theindividual''s soul should be constituted in practice – notstructured by violence but negotiated by rational persuasion. However,as I suggest, the authority of reason is not established without anelement of violence. In his (...) writings on education, Locke maintains thatthe right to care for one''s soul should be enjoyed only after rigorousmoral training. Thus, the individual''s conscience is to be freed fromoutward violence of ecclesiastic and civil powers only after first, inyouth, being subject to the moral discipline of esteem, disgrace, andshame, the inward violence of which discloses limits in Locke''sdiscourse on toleration. (shrink)

En este trabajo quiero examinar la "Carta sobre la tolerancia" de John Locke, con el propósito de considerar los diferentes tipos de argumentos que propone para justificar la tolerancia en materia de religión y valorar su relevancia para el lector actual. Aunque la línea argumental principal de la "Carta" es insatisfactoria, cabe encontrar una justificación alternativa, mucho más afín con la defensa que el liberalismo contemporáneo hace de la libertad de conciencia.

En este trabajo quiero examinar la "Carta sobre la tolerancia" de John Locke, con el propósito de considerar los diferentes tipos de argumentos que propone para justificar la tolerancia en materia de religión y valorar su relevancia para el lector actual. Aunque la línea argumental principal de la "Carta" es insatisfactoria, cabe encontrar una justificación alternativa, mucho más afín con la defensa que el liberalismo contemporáneo hace de la libertad de conciencia.

It is a noteworthy achievement of Western liberal democracies that they have largely relinquished the use of force against citizens whose lifestyles offend their members’ sensibilities, or alternatively which violate their members’ sense of truth. Toleration has become a central virtue in our public institutions. Powerful majorities are given over to restraint. They do not, by and large, expect the state to crush eccentrics, nonconformists, and other uncongenial minorities in their midst. What precipitated this remarkable evolution in our political culture?The (...) road to toleration originates in the debates provoked by religious dissent in the early modem period. This road was paved in part by a grudging appreciation of the necessity for pragmaticaccommodation. The wars of religion that had devastated the Continent educated the political classes about the costs of persecution. A policy of state-imposed religious intolerance was widely understood to be imprudent.In the early modem period there occurs, however, a shift in the arguments adduced in support of the duty of toleration. (shrink)

John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration is one of the canonical English-language texts in the history of the idea of toleration. Its publication in 1689 sparked a heated debate with Anglican cleric Jonas Proast, and in recent years the Locke-Proast controversy has attracted more attention than ever before. Richard Vernon provides a timely examination of John Locke's arguments in defence of A Letter Concerning Toleration and of their significance for modern political thought.