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lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Brief über die Toleranz" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carta_sobre_la_tolerancia" title="Carta sobre la tolerancia – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Carta sobre la tolerancia" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration" title="A Letter Concerning Toleration – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="A Letter Concerning Toleration" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a 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data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Book by John Locke</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox vcard"><caption class="infobox-title" style="font-size:125%; font-style:italic; padding-bottom:0.2em;">A Letter Concerning Toleration <span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=A+Letter+Concerning+Toleration&rft.author=%5B%5BJohn+Locke%5D%5D"></span></caption><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg/250px-Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="325" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg/375px-Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg/500px-Letter_Concerning_Toleration.jpg 2x" data-file-width="796" data-file-height="1035" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Title page of the first edition.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Author</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/John_Locke" title="John Locke">John Locke</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Original title</th><td class="infobox-data"><span title="Chamorro-language text"><i lang="ch">Epistola de tolerantia</i></span></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Subject</th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/wiki/Liberalism" title="Liberalism">Liberalism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">Religion</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Published</th><td class="infobox-data">1689</td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline 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.sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886047488">.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks plainlist" style="width:18.0em;"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-top-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:John_Locke.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Portrait of John Locke by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1697)"><img alt="Portrait of John Locke by Sir Godfrey Kneller (1697)" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/John_Locke.jpg/100px-John_Locke.jpg" decoding="async" width="100" height="140" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/John_Locke.jpg/150px-John_Locke.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b8/John_Locke.jpg/200px-John_Locke.jpg 2x" data-file-width="727" data-file-height="1020" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle-with-top-image" style="background:#ccccff;padding:0.4em 0.25em 0;">Part of <a href="/wiki/Category:John_Locke" title="Category:John Locke">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="background:#ccccff;padding-top:0 0.25em 0.5em;font-size:175%;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/John_Locke" title="John Locke">John Locke</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.8em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Social_contract" title="Social contract">Social contract</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Limited_government" title="Limited government">Limited government</a></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Tabula_rasa" title="Tabula rasa">Tabula rasa</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/State_of_nature" title="State of nature">State of nature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Right_to_property#John_Locke_and_the_American_and_French_revolutions" title="Right to property">Right to property</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Labor_theory_of_property" title="Labor theory of property">Labor theory of property</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lockean_proviso" title="Lockean proviso">Lockean proviso</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Argument_from_consciousness" title="Argument from consciousness">Argument from consciousness</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> <div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Works<br /><span class="nobold"><span style="font-size:85%;">(listed chronologically)</span></span></div></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.8em;;font-style:italic;"> <ul><li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/Fundamental_Constitutions_of_Carolina" title="Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina">Fundamental Constitutions<br />of Carolina</a></div></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">A Letter Concerning Toleration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Two_Treatises_of_Government" title="Two Treatises of Government">Two Treatises of Government</a></li> <li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding" title="An Essay Concerning Human Understanding">An Essay Concerning<br />Human Understanding</a></div></li> <li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/Some_Thoughts_Concerning_Education" title="Some Thoughts Concerning Education">Some Thoughts<br />Concerning Education</a></div></li> <li><div style="display:inline-block; padding:0.2em 0.4em; line-height:1.2em;"><a href="/wiki/Of_the_Conduct_of_the_Understanding" title="Of the Conduct of the Understanding">Of the Conduct of<br />the Understanding</a></div></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> People</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.8em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Robert_Filmer" title="Robert Filmer">Robert Filmer</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes" title="Thomas Hobbes">Thomas Hobbes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anthony_Ashley_Cooper,_1st_Earl_of_Shaftesbury" title="Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury">1st Earl of Shaftesbury</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/David_Hume" title="David Hume">David Hume</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jean-Jacques_Rousseau" title="Jean-Jacques Rousseau">Jean-Jacques Rousseau</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Adam_Smith" title="Adam Smith">Adam Smith</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Immanuel_Kant" title="Immanuel Kant">Immanuel Kant</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Thomas_Jefferson" title="Thomas Jefferson">Thomas Jefferson</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="background:#ddddff;"> Related topics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content" style="padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.8em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Empiricism" title="Empiricism">Empiricism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classical_liberalism" title="Classical liberalism">Classical liberalism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Polish_Brethren" title="Polish Brethren">Polish Brethren</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:John_Locke" title="Template:John Locke"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:John_Locke" title="Template talk:John Locke"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:John_Locke" title="Special:EditPage/Template:John Locke"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><b>A Letter Concerning Toleration (Epistola de tolerantia)</b></i> by <a href="/wiki/John_Locke" title="John Locke">John Locke</a> was originally published in 1689. Its initial publication was in <a href="/wiki/Latin" title="Latin">Latin</a>, and it was immediately translated into other languages. Locke's work appeared amidst a fear that <a href="/wiki/Catholicism" class="mw-redirect" title="Catholicism">Catholicism</a> might be taking over <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a> and responds to the problem of religion and government by proposing <a href="/wiki/Religious_toleration" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious toleration">religious toleration</a> as the answer. This "letter" is addressed to an anonymous "Honored Sir": this was Locke's close friend <a href="/wiki/Philipp_van_Limborch" title="Philipp van Limborch">Philipp van Limborch</a>, who published it without Locke's knowledge.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Background">Background</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Background"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the wake of the discovery of the <a href="/wiki/Rye_House_Plot" title="Rye House Plot">Rye House Plot</a> and <a href="/wiki/Charles_II_of_England" title="Charles II of England">Charles II</a>'s persecution of the <a href="/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)" title="Whigs (British political party)">Whigs</a>, Locke fled England to Amsterdam in the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Republic" title="Dutch Republic">Dutch Republic</a> in September 1683.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Throughout his life, Locke was interested in the debate about <a href="/wiki/Religious_toleration" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious toleration">religious toleration</a>. The question was much debated in <a href="/wiki/Holland" title="Holland">Holland</a> during Locke's stay, and in October 1685, <a href="/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France" class="mw-redirect" title="Louis XIV of France">Louis XIV of France</a> <a href="/wiki/Edict_of_Fontainebleau" title="Edict of Fontainebleau">revoked</a> the <a href="/wiki/Edict_of_Nantes" title="Edict of Nantes">Edict of Nantes</a> that had guaranteed religious toleration for <a href="/wiki/French_Protestants" class="mw-redirect" title="French Protestants">French Protestants</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the <a href="/wiki/Dutch_Republic" title="Dutch Republic">Dutch Republic</a>, Locke met <a href="/wiki/Philipp_van_Limborch" title="Philipp van Limborch">Philipp van Limborch</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Divinity_(academic_discipline)" title="Divinity (academic discipline)">Professor of Divinity</a>. It was to be a discussion with Limborch that persuaded Locke to temporarily put aside his work on <i><a href="/wiki/An_Essay_Concerning_Human_Understanding" title="An Essay Concerning Human Understanding">An Essay Concerning Human Understanding</a></i> and put forth his ideas on toleration. Locke wrote the <i>Letter</i> during the winter of 1685–86.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Argument_of_the_Letter">Argument of the <i>Letter</i></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Argument of the Letter"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>One of the founders of <a href="/wiki/Empiricism" title="Empiricism">Empiricism</a>, Locke develops a <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a> that is contrary to the one expressed by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes" title="Thomas Hobbes">Thomas Hobbes</a> in <i><a href="/wiki/Leviathan_(Hobbes_book)" title="Leviathan (Hobbes book)">Leviathan</a></i>, in supporting toleration for various <a href="/wiki/Christianity" title="Christianity">Christian</a> denominations. Hobbes did allow individuals to maintain their own religious beliefs as long as they outwardly expressed those of the state, however, and it has been argued that Locke's rejection of Catholic Imperialism was the ultimate basis for his rejection of the government's interest in spiritual salvation.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>"That church can have no right to be tolerated by the magistrate," Locke argued, "which is so constituted that all who enter it <i>ipso facto</i> pass into the allegiance and service of another prince".<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> If this were to be tolerated, "the magistrate would make room for a foreign jurisdiction in his territory and...allow for his people to be enlisted as soldiers against his government".<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This has been interpreted by historians as a reference to the Catholic Church, with the Pope being the prince to whom Catholics owed allegiance.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>However, more recently, scholars have challenged the idea that Locke opposed tolerating Catholics in all circumstances.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Mark_Goldie" title="Mark Goldie">Mark Goldie</a> argues that the traditional interpretation of Locke's position on Catholics "needs finessing, since he did not exclude the theoretical possibility of tolerating Catholics...if Catholics could discard their uncivil beliefs, they could then be tolerated".<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Goldie asserts that Locke was opposed not to Catholicism as such but <a href="/wiki/Antinomianism" title="Antinomianism">antinomianism</a>, the belief that ordinary moral laws are superseded by religious truth.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Scott_Sowerby" title="Scott Sowerby">Scott Sowerby</a> also claims that Locke left open the possibility that Catholics could be tolerated if they adopted tolerant principles and rejected political allegiance to the Pope.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/John_Marshall_(historian)" title="John Marshall (historian)">John Marshall</a> has argued that several passages in the <i>Letter</i> demonstrate that Locke believed that Catholics "in their terms of worship and religious speculative beliefs...deserved their worship to be free".<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Marshall also notes that "The combination of Locke’s comments in the Letter suggests that during [its] composition ... Locke was once again struggling over how to discriminate between the series of associated political principles which for him made Catholics intolerable, and the religious worship and other religious beliefs of Catholics which deserved toleration."<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A confirmation of these positions seems to come from a 2019 discovery of a previously unknown manuscript, dated 1667–8, titled <i>Reason for tolerating Papists equally with others</i>, in which Locke makes his earliest arguments for religious toleration.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In one of the last paragraphs, Locke argued against <a href="/wiki/Atheism" title="Atheism">atheists</a>: "Lastly, those are not at all to be tolerated who deny the being of a God. Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist. The taking away of God, though but even in thought, dissolves all; besides also, those that by their atheism undermine and destroy all religion, can have no pretence of religion whereupon to challenge the privilege of a toleration. As for other practical opinions, though not absolutely free from all error, if they do not tend to establish domination over others or civil impunity to the Church in which they are taught, there can be no reason why they should not be tolerated."<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This critique excluded all atheistic varieties of philosophy and all attempts to deduce ethics and <a href="/wiki/Natural_law" title="Natural law">natural law</a> from purely <a href="/wiki/Secularity" title="Secularity">secular</a> premises.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> There exists also a passage added in a later edition of the <i><a href="/wiki/Essay_concerning_Human_Understanding" class="mw-redirect" title="Essay concerning Human Understanding">Essay concerning Human Understanding</a></i>, where Locke perhaps questioned "whether 'atheism' was necessarily inimical to political obedience."<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Toleration" title="Toleration">Toleration</a> is central to Locke's political philosophy. Consequently, only churches that teach tolerance are allowed in his society. Locke's view on the difficulty of knowing the <a href="/wiki/One_true_religion" class="mw-redirect" title="One true religion">one true religion</a> may suggest that religion is not personally important to Locke. Still, it also may point to the deep uncertainties surrounding religious belief in a time of political and intellectual conflict. In contrast, Locke's view on atheism suggests that he was far from considering religion unimportant. As an empiricist, he considered practical considerations, such as how the peace of civil society would be affected by religious toleration. Closely reading the text also reveals that Locke relies on <a href="/wiki/Bible" title="Bible">Biblical</a> analysis at several key points in his argument. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Reception">Reception</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Reception"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>There were immediate responses from the <a href="/wiki/High_Church" class="mw-redirect" title="High Church">High Church</a> Anglican clergy, published by <a href="/wiki/Thomas_Long_(writer)" title="Thomas Long (writer)">Thomas Long</a> and <a href="/wiki/Jonas_Proast" title="Jonas Proast">Jonas Proast</a>. Long believed the letter represented an atheistically disguised Jesuit plot for the Roman Catholic Church to gain dominance by bringing chaos and ruin to the English Church and State. Proast attacked the Letter and defended the view that the government has the right to use force to cause dissenters to reflect on the merits of Anglicanism, the True Religion. Locke's reply to Proast developed into an extended, controversial exchange. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">A Letter Concerning Toleration by Locke, John; Tully, James H.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Raymond Klibansky, 'Preface', in Klibansky and J. W. Gough (eds.), <i>Epistola de Tolerantia/A Letter on Toleration</i> (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968), p. vii.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Maurice Cranston, <i>John Locke: A Biography</i> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985), pp. 227–230.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Klibansky, p. x, pp. xvi–xvii.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Klibansky, pp. viii–ix, p. x, pp. xvi–xvii.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">E. C. Graf, 2007: <i>Cervantes and Modernity: Four Essays on Modernity</i>, Bucknell University Press, pp. 141–55.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Klibansky and Gough, p. 133.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Klibansky and Gough, p. 133.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Cranston, p. 260.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Klibansky, p. xxxiv.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">J. W. Gough, 'Introduction', in Klibansky and Gough, pp. 3–4.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">J. W. Gough, <i>John Locke's Political Philosophy: Eight Studies</i> (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973), p. 197.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Scott Sowerby, <i>Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution</i> (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013), p. 256.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marshall, pp. 690–694.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Mark Goldie, 'Introduction', in Goldie (ed.), <i>A Letter Concerning Toleration and Other Writings</i>, p. xix.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sowerby, p. 256.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldie, p. xix.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Goldie, p. xix.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sowerby, p. 256.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marshall, p. 691.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marshall, p. 692.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>The Guardian</i>, 'Unknown text by John Locke reveals roots of foundational democratic ideas', 3 September 2019.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFLocke1689" class="citation web cs1">Locke, John (1689). <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration">"A Letter Concerning Toleration"</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">7 June</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=A+Letter+Concerning+Toleration&rft.date=1689&rft.aulast=Locke&rft.aufirst=John&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikisource.org%2Fwiki%2FA_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AA+Letter+Concerning+Toleration" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFWaldron2002" class="citation book cs1">Waldron, Jeremy (2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/559294152"><i>God, Locke, and equality : Christian foundations of John Locke's political thought</i></a>. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 13. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-511-05786-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-511-05786-5"><bdi>0-511-05786-5</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/559294152">559294152</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=God%2C+Locke%2C+and+equality+%3A+Christian+foundations+of+John+Locke%27s+political+thought&rft.place=Cambridge&rft.pages=13&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=2002&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F559294152&rft.isbn=0-511-05786-5&rft.aulast=Waldron&rft.aufirst=Jeremy&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldcat.org%2Foclc%2F559294152&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AA+Letter+Concerning+Toleration" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marshall, p. 680.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Maurice Cranston, <i>John Locke: A Biography</i> (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985).</li> <li>Mark Goldie (ed.), <i>A Letter Concerning Toleration and Other Writings</i> (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010).</li> <li>J. W. Gough, <i>John Locke's Political Philosophy: Eight Studies</i> (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973).</li> <li>Raymond Klibansky and J. W. Gough (eds.), <i>Epistola de Tolerantia/A Letter on Toleration</i> (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968).</li> <li>John Marshall, <i>John Locke, Toleration and Early Enlightenment Culture</i> (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006).</li> <li>Scott Sowerby, <i>Making Toleration: The Repealers and the Glorious Revolution</i> (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2013).</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Wikisource-logo.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/15px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/23px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/30px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="410" data-file-height="430" /></a></span> Works related to <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Letter_Concerning_Toleration" class="extiw" title="wikisource:A Letter Concerning Toleration"><i>A Letter Concerning Toleration</i></a> at Wikisource</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.constitution.org/jl/tolerati.htm">Full text</a></li> <li><span class="skin-invert-image" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/15px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png" decoding="async" width="15" height="15" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/23px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/30px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="500" /></span></span> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://librivox.org/search?title=A+Letter+Concerning+Toleration&author=Locke&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced"><i>A Letter Concerning Toleration</i></a> public domain audiobook at <a href="/wiki/LibriVox" title="LibriVox">LibriVox</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.earlymoderntexts.com">Contains <i>A Letter Concerning Toleration</i>, slightly modified for easier reading</a></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=0" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; 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