Book Cover of A Letter Concerning Toleration

A Letter Concerning Toleration

by John Locke

Letter Concerning Toleration by John Locke was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in Latin, though it was immediately translated into other languages. In this "letter" addressed to an anonymous "Honored Sir" (actually Locke's close friend Philip von Limborch, who published it without Locke's knowledge) Locke argues for a new understanding of the relationship between religion and government. One of the founders of Empiricism, Locke develops a philosophy that is contrary to the one expressed by Thomas Hobbes in Leviathan, primarily because it supports toleration for various Christian denominations. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that Catholicism might be taking over England, and responds to the problem of religion and government by proposing toleration as the answer. Unlike Hobbes, who saw uniformity of religion as the key to a well-functioning civil society, Locke argues that more religious groups actually prevent civil unrest. Locke argues that civil unrest results from confrontations caused by any magistrate's attempt to prevent different religions from being practiced, rather than tolerating their proliferation. Locke's primary goal is to "distinguish exactly the business of civil government from that of religion." He makes use of extensive argument from analogy to accomplish his goal, and relies on several key points. The thing that he wants to persuade the reader of is that government is instituted to promote external interests, relating to life, liberty, and the general welfare, while the church exists to promote internal interests, i.e., salvation. The two serve separate functions, and so, must be considered to be separate institutions.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1689

Author

John Locke image

John Locke

England

John Locke was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "Father of Liberalism". Considered one of the fi...

More on John Locke

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America Cover image

The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Founding Fathers of the United States

The United States Declaration of Independence is the pronouncement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, o...

A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw  Cover image

A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw by Ukawsaw Gronniosaw

Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, also known as James Albert, (born ca. 1705 - 1775) was a freed slave and autobiographer. His autobiography is considered the first...

Winds of Doctrine: Studies in Contemporary Opinion  Cover image

Winds of Doctrine: Studies in Contemporary Opinion by George Santayana

Even before the Great War turned the world upside down, Western civilization was being revolutionized at all levels: intellectually, philosophically,...

Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Addresses  Cover image

Abraham Lincoln's Inaugural Addresses by Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln's first inaugural address was delivered on March 4th, 1861, as the North and South were sliding towards separation and Civil War. His second i...

The Light of Egypt, Volume II Cover image

The Light of Egypt, Volume II by Thomas Burgoyne

"The Light of Egypt" will be found to be an Occult library in itself, a textbook of esoteric knowledge, setting forth the "wisdom Religion" of life, a...

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad Cover image

Brihadaranyaka Upanishad by Anonymous

The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad is one of the Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various sc...

The Life of Reason Cover image

The Life of Reason by George Santayana

The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress is a book published in five volumes from 1905 to 1906, by Spanish-born American philosopher George Sa...

The Riddle of the Universe Cover image

The Riddle of the Universe by Ernst Haeckel

The Riddle of the Universe is the philosophical work of Ernst Haeckel, eminent biologist, in which he explores the meaning of life, the nature of real...

The History of England, from the Accession of James II - (Volume 3, Chapter 16) Cover image

The History of England, from the Accession of James II - (Volume 3, Chapter 16) by Thomas Babington Macaulay

The History of England from the Accession of James the Second (1848) is the full title of the five-volume work by Lord Macaulay (1800–1859) more gener...

Democracy in America, Volume 1 Cover image

Democracy in America, Volume 1 by Alexis de Tocqueville

De La Démocratie en Amérique published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840) is a classic French text by Alexis de Tocqueville. It...

Reviews for A Letter Concerning Toleration

No reviews posted or approved, yet...