Locke on Religious Toleration by Mark Goldie - Online.
In John Locke: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding He also wrote his first Letter on Toleration, published anonymously in Latin in 1689, and completed An Essay Concerning Human Understanding.
The Essay concerning Toleration was written in 1667, shortly after Locke had taken up residence in the household of his patron Lord Ashley, subsequently Earl of Shaftesbury.
Locke's first published essays were on the subject of toleration, specifically on the question of whether the magistrate had the right to regulate the behavior of citizens in ecclesiastical matters about which the Bible does not directly speak, such as whether to use the book of common prayer, the proper physical position for taking communion, the wearing of surplices, and so on.
A Letter Concerning Toleration Honoured Sir, Since you are pleased to inquire what are my thoughts about the mutual toleration of Christians in their different professions of religion, I must needs answer you freely that I esteem that toleration to be the chief characteristic mark of the true Church.
The questioning of Locke on toleration derives clearly from these double doctrines, political and religious. Thus, Locke thinks that any man belongs to two societies, the civil society where, as a citizen, he preserve by his obedience of the laws, his life, his freedom and the safety of his person and his goods.
This experience may have challenged his ideas about the necessity of state-appointed religion and led to the later writing of his Letters Concerning Toleration (1689). Locke held on to his deep-seated Christianity throughout his life and was disappointed in the public response to his essay, The Reasonableness of Christianity (1695).
Ruth Grant offers a comprehensive discussion of Locke's views on women and the family, and Shapiro contributes an essay on the democratic elements of Locke's political theory. Taken together, the texts and essays in this volume offer invaluable insights into the history of ideas and the enduring influence of Locke's political thought.