A Letter Concerning Toleration

Letter Concerning Toleration

A Letter Concerning Toleration was originally published in 1689. In this “letter” addressed to an anonymous “Honored Sir,” Locke argues for a new understanding of the relationship between religion and government. Deeply influenced by Empiricism, Locke develops a philosophy that is contrary to the one expressed by Hobbes in Leviathan (book), 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 this is a result of the fact that confrontation is caused by attempting 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” (18). He makes use of extensive argument from analogy to accomplish his goal, and relies on several key points. For Locke, the only way a Church should be allowed to gain converts is through persuasion and not through violence. This relates to the central fact that the government should not be concerned over souls for three main reasons: (1) individuals, according to Locke, cannot alienate control over their souls, (2) force cannot create the change necessary for salvation, and (3) even if coercion could, there is no certainty that the religion doing the oppressing is the true (Christian) religion.

Toleration is central to Locke’s philosophy. Consequently, only churches that teach toleration are to be allowed in his society. At first then, Locke’s view on the difficulty of knowing the one true religion may suggest that religion is not personally important to Locke. After all, he is a British empiricist who takes practical considerations into account, such as how the peace of civil society will be affected by religious toleration.