John Locke’s Early Tolerationism: A Critique of the Conversion Narrative
Abstract
Abstract: Locke scholars generally agree that the Essay Concerning Toleration (1667) represents a recantation of his “intolerant” Tracts (1660–62). However, this conversion narrative is based on comparisons between the Tracts and Essay that fail to distinguish the different audiences and aims of these works. The Tracts and Essay are two separate appeals to the two parties of the political-theological conflict of Restoration England. The Tracts appeal to subjects in an attempt to persuade them to obey the sovereign in indifferent matters. The Essay appeals to the sovereign, advising him to widely tolerate religious worship in order to reduce political conflict.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Seventeenth-Century Political and Philosophical Thought
Reformation and Early Modern Christianity
Historical Philosophy and Science
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Journal of the History of Ideas
- Volume
- 87
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 31–62
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN