Locke's a Letter Concerning Toleration

8/15/2019 Locke's a Letter Concerning Toleration

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1689

A LETTER CONCERNINGTOLERATION

by John Locke

translated by Wlla! "o##le

HONOURED SIR,

Since you are pleased to inquire what are my thoughts about the mutual

toleration o !hristians in their dierent proessions o religion, I must needs

answer you reely that I esteem that toleration to be the chie characteristic

mar" o the true !hurch# $or whatsoe%er some people boast o the antiquity o

places and names, or o the pomp o their outward worship& others, o the

reormation o their discipline& all, o the orthodo'y o their aith( or e%eryone

is orthodo' to himsel( these things, and all others o this nature, are much

rather mar"s o men stri%ing or power and empire o%er one another than o the

!hurch o !hrist# )et anyone ha%e ne%er so true a claim to all these things, yet

i he be destitute o charity, mee"ness, and good(will in general towards all

man"ind, e%en to those that are not !hristians, he is certainly yet short o being

a true !hristian himsel# *+he "ings o the entiles e'ercise leadership o%er

them,* said our Sa%iour to his disciples, *but ye shall not be so#*- +he business

o true religion is quite another thing# It is not instituted in order to the erecting

o an e'ternal pomp, nor to the obtaining o ecclesiastical dominion, nor to the

e'ercising o compulsi%e orce, but to the regulating o men.s li%es, according

to the rules o %irtue and piety# /hosoe%er will list himsel under the banner o

!hrist, must, in the irst place and abo%e all things, ma"e war upon his ownlusts and %ices# It is in %ain or any man to unsurp the name o !hristian,

without holiness o lie, purity o manners, benignity and mee"ness o spirit#

*)et e%eryone that nameth the name o !hrist, depart rom iniquity#*-012

*+hou, when thou art con%erted, strengthen thy brethren,* said our )ord to

3eter#-042 It would, indeed, be %ery hard or one that appears careless about his

own sal%ation to persuade me that he were e'tremely concerned or mine# $or it


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is impossible that those should sincerely and heartily apply themsel%es to ma"e

other people !hristians, who ha%e not really embraced the !hristian religion in

their own hearts# I the ospel and the apostles may be credited, no man can be

a !hristian without charity and without that aith which wor"s, not by orce,

but by lo%e# Now, I appeal to the consciences o those that persecute, torment,

destroy, and "ill other men upon pretence o religion, whether they do it out o

riendship and "indness towards them or no5 6nd I shall then indeed, and not

until then, belie%e they do so, when I shall see those iery 7ealots correcting, in

the same manner, their riends and amiliar acquaintance or the maniest sins

they commit against the precepts o the ospel& when I shall see them

persecute with ire and sword the members o their own communion that are

tainted with enormous %ices and without amendment are in danger o eternal

perdition& and when I shall see them thus e'press their lo%e and desire o the

sal%ation o their souls by the inliction o torments and e'ercise o all manner

o cruelties# $or i it be out o a principle o charity, as they pretend, and lo%e to

men.s souls that they depri%e them o their estates, maim them with corporal

punishments, star%e and torment them in noisome prisons, and in the end e%en

ta"e away their li%es( I say, i all this be done merely to ma"e men !hristians

and procure their sal%ation, why then do they suer whoredom, raud, malice,

and such(li"e enormities, which 0according to the apostle2-082 maniestly relish

o heathenish corruption, to predominate so much and abound amongst their

loc"s and people5 +hese, and such(li"e things, are certainly more contrary to

the glory o od, to the purity o the !hurch, and to the sal%ation o souls, than

any conscientious dissent rom ecclesiastical decisions, or separation rom

public worship, whilst accompanied with innocence o lie# /hy, then, doesthis burning 7eal or od, or the !hurch, and or the sal%ation o souls(

burning I say, literally, with ire and aggot( pass by those moral %ices and

wic"ednesses, without any chastisement, which are ac"nowledged by all men

to be diametrically opposite to the proession o !hristianity, and bend all its

ner%es either to the introducing o ceremonies, or to the establishment o

opinions, which or the most part are about nice and intricate matters, that

e'ceed the capacity o ordinary understandings5 /hich o the parties

contending about these things is in the right, which o them is guilty o schism

or heresy, whether those that domineer or those that suer, will then at last be

maniest when the causes o their separation comes to be 9udged o He,certainly, that ollows !hrist, embraces His doctrine, and bears His yo"e,

though he orsa"e both ather and mother, separate rom the public assemblies

and ceremonies o his country, or whomsoe%er or whatsoe%er else he

relinquishes, will not then be 9udged a heretic#


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(- )u"e 11# 1:#

(-012 II +im# 1# ;


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would tread in the steps and ollow the perect e'ample o that 3rince o 3eace,

who sent out His soldiers to the subduing o nations, and gathering them into

His !hurch, not armed with the sword, or other instruments o orce, but

prepared with the ospel o peace and with the e'emplary holiness o their

con%ersation# +his was His method# +hough i inidels were to be con%erted by

orce, i those that are either blind or obstinate were to be drawn o rom their

errors by armed soldiers, we "now %ery well that it was much more easy or

Him to do it with armies o hea%enly legions than or any son o the !hurch,

how potent soe%er, with all his dragoons#

((+he toleration o those that dier rom others in matters o religion is so

agreeable to the ospel o >esus !hrist, and to the genuine reason o man"ind,

that it seems monstrous or men to be so blind as not to percei%e the necessity

and ad%antage o it in so clear a light# I will not here ta' the pride and ambition

o some, the passion and uncharitable 7eal o others# +hese are aults rom

which human aairs can perhaps scarce e%er be perectly reed& but yet such as

nobody will bear the plain imputation o, without co%ering them with some

specious colour& and so pretend to commendation, whilst they are carried away

by their own irregular passions# =ut, howe%er, that some may not colour their

spirit o persecution and unchristian cruelty with a pretence o care o the

public weal and obser%ation o the laws& and that others, under pretence o

religion, may not see" impunity or their libertinism and licentiousness& in a

word, that none may impose either upon himsel or others, by the pretences o

loyalty and obedience to the prince, or o tenderness and sincerity in the

worship o od& I esteem it abo%e all things necessary to distinguish e'actly thebusiness o ci%il go%ernment rom that o religion and to settle the 9ust bounds

that lie between the one and the other# I this be not done, there can be no end

put to the contro%ersies that will be always arising between those that ha%e, or

at least pretend to ha%e, on the one side, a concernment or the interest o men.s

souls, and, on the other side, a care o the commonwealth#

((+he commonwealth seems to me to be a society o men constituted only or

the procuring, preser%ing, and ad%ancing their own ci%il interests#

((!i%il interests I call lie, liberty, health, and indolency o body& and thepossession o outward things, such as money, lands, houses, urniture, and the

li"e#

((It is the duty o the ci%il magistrate, by the impartial e'ecution o equal laws,

to secure unto all the people in general and to e%ery one o his sub9ects in

particular the 9ust possession o these things belonging to this lie# I anyone

presume to %iolate the laws o public 9ustice and equity, established or the


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preser%ation o those things, his presumption is to be chec"ed by the ear o

punishment, consisting o the depri%ation or diminution o those ci%il interests,

or goods, which otherwise he might and ought to en9oy# =ut seeing no man

does willingly suer himsel to be punished by the depri%ation o any part o

his goods, and much less o his liberty or lie, thereore, is the magistrate armed

with the orce and strength o all his sub9ects, in order to the punishment o

those that %iolate any other man.s rights#

((Now that the whole 9urisdiction o the magistrate reaches only to these ci%il

concernments, and that all ci%il power, right and dominion, is bounded and

conined to the only care o promoting these things& and that it neither can nor

ought in any manner to be e'tended to the sal%ation o souls, these ollowing

considerations seem unto me abundantly to demonstrate#

(($irst, because the care o souls is not committed to the ci%il magistrate, any

more than to other men# It is not committed unto him, I say, by od& because itappears not that od has e%er gi%en any such authority to one man o%er another

as to compel anyone to his religion# Nor can any such power be %ested in the

magistrate by the consent o the people, because no man can so ar abandon the

care o his own sal%ation as blindly to lea%e to the choice o any other, whether

prince or sub9ect, to prescribe to him what aith or worship he shall embrace#

$or no man can, i he would, conorm his aith to the dictates o another# 6ll

the lie and power o true religion consist in the inward and ull persuasion o

the mind& and aith is not aith without belie%ing# /hate%er proession we

ma"e, to whate%er outward worship we conorm, i we are not ully satisied in

our own mind that the one is true and the other well pleasing unto od, such

proession and such practice, ar rom being any urtherance, are indeed great

obstacles to our sal%ation# $or in this manner, instead o e'piating other sins by

the e'ercise o religion, I say, in oering thus unto od 6lmighty such a

worship as we esteem to be displeasing unto Him, we add unto the number o

our other sins those also o hypocrisy and contempt o His Di%ine ?a9esty#

((In the second place, the care o souls cannot belong to the ci%il magistrate,

because his power consists only in outward orce& but true and sa%ing religion

consists in the inward persuasion o the mind, without which nothing can beacceptable to od# 6nd such is the nature o the understanding, that it cannot

be compelled to the belie o anything by outward orce# !oniscation o estate,

imprisonment, torments, nothing o that nature can ha%e any such eicacy as to

ma"e men change the inward 9udgement that they ha%e ramed o things#

((It may indeed be alleged that the magistrate may ma"e use o arguments, and,

thereby& draw the heterodo' into the way o truth, and procure their sal%ation# I


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grant it& but this is common to him with other men# In teaching, instructing, and

redressing the erroneous by reason, he may certainly do what becomes any

good man to do# ?agistracy does not oblige him to put o either humanity or

!hristianity& but it is one thing to persuade, another to command& one thing to

press with arguments, another with penalties# +his ci%il power alone has a right

to do& to the other, goodwill is authority enough# E%ery man has commission to

admonish, e'hort, con%ince another o error, and, by reasoning, to draw him

into truth& but to gi%e laws, recei%e obedience, and compel with the sword,

belongs to none but the magistrate# 6nd, upon this ground, I airm that the

magistrate.s power e'tends not to the establishing o any articles o aith, or

orms o worship, by the orce o his laws# $or laws are o no orce at all

without penalties, and penalties in this case are absolutely impertinent, because

they are not proper to con%ince the mind# Neither the proession o any articles

o aith, nor the conormity to any outward orm o worship 0as has been

already said2, can be a%ailable to the sal%ation o souls, unless the truth o the

one and the acceptableness o the other unto od be thoroughly belie%ed by

those that so proess and practise# =ut penalties are no way capable to produce

such belie# It is only light and e%idence that can wor" a change in men.s

opinions& which light can in no manner proceed rom corporal suerings, or

any other outward penalties#

((In the third place, the care o the sal%ation o men.s souls cannot belong to the

magistrate& because, though the rigour o laws and the orce o penalties were

capable to con%ince and change men.s minds, yet would not that help at all to

the sal%ation o their souls# $or there being but one truth, one way to hea%en,what hope is there that more men would be led into it i they had no rule but the

religion o the court and were put under the necessity to quit the light o their

own reason, and oppose the dictates o their own consciences, and blindly to

resign themsel%es up to the will o their go%ernors and to the religion which

either ignorance, ambition, or superstition had chanced to establish in the

countries where they were born5 In the %ariety and contradiction o opinions in

religion, wherein the princes o the world are as much di%ided as in their

secular interests, the narrow way would be much straitened& one country alone

would be in the right, and all the rest o the world put under an obligation o

ollowing their princes in the ways that lead to destruction& and that whichheightens the absurdity, and %ery ill suits the notion o a Deity, men would owe

their eternal happiness or misery to the places o their nati%ity#

((+hese considerations, to omit many others that might ha%e been urged to the

same purpose, seem unto me suicient to conclude that all the power o ci%il


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go%ernment relates only to men.s ci%il interests, is conined to the care o the

things o this world, and hath nothing to do with the world to come#

(()et us now consider what a church is# 6 church, then, I ta"e to be a %oluntary

society o men, 9oining themsel%es together o their own accord in order to the

public worshipping o od in such manner as they 9udge acceptable to Him,and eectual to the sal%ation o their souls#

((I say it is a ree and %oluntary society# Nobody is born a member o any

church& otherwise the religion o parents would descend unto children by the

same right o inheritance as their temporal estates, and e%eryone would hold his

aith by the same tenure he does his lands, than which nothing can be imagined

more absurd# +hus, thereore, that matter stands# No man by nature is bound

unto any particular church or sect, but e%eryone 9oins himsel %oluntarily to that

society in which he belie%es he has ound that proession and worship which is

truly acceptable to od# +he hope o sal%ation, as it was the only cause o hisentrance into that communion, so it can be the only reason o his stay there# $or

i aterwards he disco%er anything either erroneous in the doctrine or

incongruous in the worship o that society to which he has 9oined himsel, why

should it not be as ree or him to go out as it was to enter5 No member o a

religious society can be tied with any other bonds but what proceed rom the

certain e'pectation o eternal lie# 6 church, then, is a society o members

%oluntarily uniting to that end#

((It ollows now that we consider what is the power o this church and unto

what laws it is sub9ect#

(($orasmuch as no society, how ree soe%er, or upon whatsoe%er slight

occasion instituted, whether o philosophers or learning, o merchants or

commerce, or o men o leisure or mutual con%ersation and discourse, no

church or company, I say, can in the least subsist and hold together, but will

presently dissol%e and brea" in pieces, unless it be regulated by some laws, and

the members all consent to obser%e some order# 3lace and time o meeting must

be agreed on& rules or admitting and e'cluding members must be established&

distinction o oicers, and putting things into a regular course, and suchli"e,

cannot be omitted# =ut since the 9oining together o se%eral members into this

church(society, as has already been demonstrated, is absolutely ree and

spontaneous, it necessarily ollows that the right o ma"ing its laws can belong

to none but the society itsel& or, at least 0which is the same thing2, to those

whom the society by common consent has authorised thereunto#


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((Some, perhaps, may ob9ect that no such society can be said to be a true

church unless it ha%e in it a bishop or presbyter, with ruling authority deri%ed

rom the %ery apostles, and continued down to the present times by an

uninterrupted succession#

((+o these I answer@ In the irst place, let them show me the edict by which!hrist has imposed that law upon His !hurch# 6nd let not any man thin" me

impertinent, i in a thing o this consequence I require that the terms o that

edict be %ery e'press and positi%e& or the promise He has made us,- that

*wheresoe%er two or three are gathered together* in His name, He will be in the

midst o them, seems to imply the contrary# /hether such an assembly want

anything necessary to a true church, pray do you consider# !ertain I am that

nothing can be there wanting unto the sal%ation o souls, which is suicient to

our purpose#

(- ?att# ;A# 1B#

((Ne't, pray obser%e how great ha%e always been the di%isions amongst e%en

those who lay so much stress upon the Di%ine institution and continued

succession o a certain order o rulers in the !hurch# Now, their %ery dissension

una%oidably puts us upon a necessity o deliberating and, consequently, allows

a liberty o choosing that which upon consideration we preer#

((6nd, in the last place, I consent that these men ha%e a ruler in their church,

established by such a long series o succession as they 9udge necessary,

pro%ided I may ha%e liberty at the same time to 9oin mysel to that society inwhich I am persuaded those things are to be ound which are necessary to the

sal%ation o my soul# In this manner ecclesiastical liberty will be preser%ed on

all sides, and no man will ha%e a legislator imposed upon him but whom

himsel has chosen#

((=ut since men are so solicitous about the true church, I would only as" them

here, by the way, i it be not more agreeable to the !hurch o !hrist to ma"e

the conditions o her communion consist in such things, and such things only,

as the Holy Spirit has in the Holy Scriptures declared, in e'press words, to be

necessary to sal%ation& I as", I say, whether this be not more agreeable to the

!hurch o !hrist than or men to impose their own in%entions and

interpretations upon others as i they were o Di%ine authority, and to establish

by ecclesiastical laws, as absolutely necessary to the proession o !hristianity,

such things as the Holy Scriptures do either not mention, or at least not

e'pressly command5 /hosoe%er requires those things in order to ecclesiastical

communion, which !hrist does not require in order to lie eternal, he may,


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perhaps, indeed constitute a society accommodated to his own opinion and his

own ad%antage& but how that can be called the !hurch o !hrist which is

established upon laws that are not His, and which e'cludes such persons rom

its communion as He will one day recei%e into the Cingdom o Hea%en, I

understand not# =ut this being not a proper place to inquire into the mar"s o

the true church, I will only mind those that contend so earnestly or the decrees

o their own society, and that cry out continually, *+he !hurch the !hurch*

with as much noise, and perhaps upon the same principle, as the Ephesian

sil%ersmiths did or their Diana& this, I say, I desire to mind them o, that the

ospel requently declares that the true disciples o !hrist must suer

persecution& but that the !hurch o !hrist should persecute others, and orce

others by ire and sword to embrace her aith and doctrine, I could ne%er yet

ind in any o the boo"s o the New +estament#

((+he end o a religious society 0as has already been said2 is the public worship

o od and, by means thereo, the acquisition o eternal lie# 6ll discipline

ought, thereore, to tend to that end, and all ecclesiastical laws to be thereunto

conined# Nothing ought nor can be transacted in this society relating to the

possession o ci%il and worldly goods# No orce is here to be made use o upon

any occasion whatsoe%er# $or orce belongs wholly to the ci%il magistrate, and

the possession o all outward goods is sub9ect to his 9urisdiction#

((=ut, it may be as"ed, by what means then shall ecclesiastical laws be

established, i they must be thus destitute o all compulsi%e power5 I answer@

+hey must be established by means suitable to the nature o such things,

whereo the e'ternal proession and obser%ation( i not proceeding rom a

thorough con%iction and approbation o the mind( is altogether useless and

unproitable# +he arms by which the members o this society are to be "ept

within their duty are e'hortations, admonitions, and ad%ices# I by these means

the oenders will not be reclaimed, and the erroneous con%inced, there remains

nothing urther to be done but that such stubborn and obstinate persons, who

gi%e no ground to hope or their reormation, should be cast out and separated

rom the society# +his is the last and utmost orce o ecclesiastical authority# No

other punishment can thereby be inlicted than that, the relation ceasing

between the body and the member which is cut o# +he person so condemnedceases to be a part o that church#

((+hese things being thus determined, let us inquire, in the ne't place@ How ar

the duty o toleration e'tends, and what is required rom e%eryone by it5

((6nd, irst, I hold that no church is bound, by the duty o toleration, to retain

any such person in her bosom as, ater admonition, continues obstinately to


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oend against the laws o the society# $or, these being the condition o

communion and the bond o the society, i the breach o them were permitted

without any animad%ersion the society would immediately be thereby

dissol%ed# =ut, ne%ertheless, in all such cases care is to be ta"en that the

sentence o e'communication, and the e'ecution thereo, carry with it no rough

usage o word or action whereby the e9ected person may any wise be damniied

in body or estate# $or all orce 0as has oten been said2 belongs only to the

magistrate, nor ought any pri%ate persons at any time to use orce, unless it be

in sel(deence against un9ust %iolence# E'communication neither does, nor can,

depri%e the e'communicated person o any o those ci%il goods that he

ormerly possessed# 6ll those things belong to the ci%il go%ernment and are

under the magistrate.s protection# +he whole orce o e'communication

consists only in this@ that, the resolution o the society in that respect being

declared, the union that was between the body and some member comes

thereby to be dissol%ed& and, that relation ceasing, the participation o some

certain things which the society communicated to its members, and unto which

no man has any ci%il right, comes also to cease# $or there is no ci%il in9ury done

unto the e'communicated person by the church minister.s reusing him that

bread and wine, in the celebration o the )ord.s Supper, which was not bought

with his but other men.s money#

((Secondly, no pri%ate person has any right in any manner to pre9udice another

person in his ci%il en9oyments because he is o another church or religion# 6ll

the rights and ranchises that belong to him as a man, or as a deni7en, are

in%iolably to be preser%ed to him# +hese are not the business o religion# No%iolence nor in9ury is to be oered him, whether he be !hristian or 3agan# Nay,

we must not content oursel%es with the narrow measures o bare 9ustice&

charity, bounty, and liberality must be added to it# +his the ospel en9oins, this

reason directs, and this that natural ellowship we are born into requires o us#

I any man err rom the right way, it is his own misortune, no in9ury to thee&

nor thereore art thou to punish him in the things o this lie because thou

supposest he will be miserable in that which is to come#

((/hat I say concerning the mutual toleration o pri%ate persons diering rom

one another in religion, I understand also o particular churches which stand, asit were, in the same relation to each other as pri%ate persons among themsel%es@

nor has any one o them any manner o 9urisdiction o%er any other& no, not e%en

when the ci%il magistrate 0as it sometimes happens2 comes to be o this or the

other communion# $or the ci%il go%ernment can gi%e no new right to the

church, nor the church to the ci%il go%ernment# So that, whether the magistrate

9oin himsel to any church, or separate rom it, the church remains always as it


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was beore( a ree and %oluntary society# It neither requires the power o the

sword by the magistrate.s coming to it, nor does it lose the right o instruction

and e'communication by his going rom it# +his is the undamental and

immutable right o a spontaneous society( that it has power to remo%e any o its

members who transgress the rules o its institution& but it cannot, by the

accession o any new members, acquire any right o 9urisdiction o%er those that

are not 9oined with it# 6nd thereore peace, equity, and riendship are always

mutually to be obser%ed by particular churches, in the same manner as by

pri%ate persons, without any pretence o superiority or 9urisdiction o%er one

another#

((@+hat the thing may be made clearer by an e'ample, let us suppose two

churches (( the one o 6rminians, the other o !al%inists( residing in the city o

!onstantinople# /ill anyone say that either o these churches has right to

depri%e the members o the other o their estates and liberty 0as we see

practised elsewhere2 because o their diering rom it in some doctrines and

ceremonies, whilst the +ur"s, in the meanwhile, silently stand by and laugh to

see with what inhuman cruelty !hristians thus rage against !hristians5 =ut i

one o these churches hath this power o treating the other ill, I as" which o

them it is to whom that power belongs, and by what right5 It will be answered,

undoubtedly, that it is the orthodo' church which has the right o authority o%er

the erroneous or heretical# +his is, in great and specious words, to say 9ust

nothing at all# $or e%ery church is orthodo' to itsel& to others, erroneous or

heretical# $or whatsoe%er any church belie%es, it belie%es to be true and the

contrary unto those things it pronounce& to be error# So that the contro%ersybetween these churches about the truth o their doctrines and the purity o their

worship is on both sides equal& nor is there any 9udge, either at !onstantinople

or elsewhere upon earth, by whose sentence it can be determined# +he decision

o that question belongs only to the Supreme 9udge o all men, to whom also

alone belongs the punishment o the erroneous# In the meanwhile, let those men

consider how heinously they sin, who, adding in9ustice, i not to their error, yet

certainly to their pride, do rashly and arrogantly ta"e upon them to misuse the

ser%ants o another master, who are not at all accountable to them#

((Nay, urther@ i it could be maniest which o these two dissenting churcheswere in the right, there would not accrue thereby unto the orthodo' any right o

destroying the other# $or churches ha%e neither any 9urisdiction in worldly

matters, nor are ire and sword any proper instruments wherewith to con%ince

men.s minds o error, and inorm them o the truth# )et us suppose,

ne%ertheless, that the ci%il magistrate inclined to a%our one o them and to put

his sword into their hands that 0by his consent2 they might chastise the


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dissenters as they pleased# /ill any man say that any right can be deri%ed unto

a !hristian church o%er its brethren rom a +ur"ish emperor5 6n inidel, who

has himsel no authority to punish !hristians or the articles o their aith,

cannot coner such an authority upon any society o !hristians, nor gi%e unto

them a right which he has not himsel# +his would be the case at

!onstantinople& and the reason o the thing is the same in any !hristian

"ingdom# +he ci%il power is the same in e%ery place# Nor can that power, in the

hands o a !hristian prince, coner any greater authority upon the !hurch than

in the hands o a heathen& which is to say, 9ust none at all#

((Ne%ertheless, it is worthy to be obser%ed and lamented that the most %iolent

o these deenders o the truth, the opposers o errors, the e'claimers against

schism do hardly e%er let loose this their 7eal or od, with which they are so

warmed and inlamed, unless where they ha%e the ci%il magistrate on their side#

=ut so soon as e%er court a%our has gi%en them the better end o the sta, and

they begin to eel themsel%es the stronger, then presently peace and charity are

to be laid aside# Otherwise they are religiously to be obser%ed# /here they ha%e

not the power to carry on persecution and to become masters, there they desire

to li%e upon air terms and preach up toleration# /hen they are not

strengthened with the ci%il power, then they can bear most patiently and

unmo%edly the contagion o idolatry, superstition, and heresy in their

neighbourhood& o which on other occasions the interest o religion ma"es them

to be e'tremely apprehensi%e# +hey do not orwardly attac" those errors which

are in ashion at court or are countenanced by the go%ernment# Here they can

be content to spare their arguments& which yet 0with their lea%e2 is the onlyright method o propagating truth, which has no such way o pre%ailing as

when strong arguments and good reason are 9oined with the sotness o ci%ility

and good usage#

((Nobody, thereore, in ine, neither single persons nor churches, nay, nor e%en

commonwealths, ha%e any 9ust title to in%ade the ci%il rights and worldly goods

o each other upon pretence o religion# +hose that are o another opinion

would do well to consider with themsel%es how pernicious a seed o discord

and war, how powerul a pro%ocation to endless hatreds, rapines, and slaughters

they thereby urnish unto man"ind# No peace and security, no, not so much ascommon riendship, can e%er be established or preser%ed amongst men so long

as this opinion pre%ails, that dominion is ounded in grace and that religion is to

be propagated by orce o arms#

((In the third place, let us see what the duty o toleration requires rom those

who are distinguished rom the rest o man"ind 0rom the laity, as they please


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to call us2 by some ecclesiastical character and oice& whether they be bishops,

priests, presbyters, ministers, or howe%er else digniied or distinguished# It is

not my business to inquire here into the original o the power or dignity o the

clergy# +his only I say, that, whencesoe%er their authority be sprung, since it is

ecclesiastical, it ought to be conined within the bounds o the !hurch, nor can

it in any manner be e'tended to ci%il aairs, because the !hurch itsel is a thing

absolutely separate and distinct rom the commonwealth# +he boundaries on

both sides are i'ed and immo%able# He 9umbles hea%en and earth together, the

things most remote and opposite, who mi'es these two societies, which are in

their original, end, business, and in e%erything perectly distinct and ininitely

dierent rom each other# No man, thereore, with whatsoe%er ecclesiastical

oice he be digniied, can depri%e another man that is not o his church and

aith either o liberty or o any part o his worldly goods upon the account o

that dierence between them in religion# $or whatsoe%er is not lawul to the

whole !hurch cannot by any ecclesiastical right become lawul to any o its

members#

((=ut this is not all# It is not enough that ecclesiastical men abstain rom

%iolence and rapine and all manner o persecution# He that pretends to be a

successor o the apostles, and ta"es upon him the oice o teaching, is obliged

also to admonish his hearers o the duties o peace and goodwill towards all

men, as well towards the erroneous as the orthodo'& towards those that dier

rom them in aith and worship as well as towards those that agree with them

therein# 6nd he ought industriously to e'hort all men, whether pri%ate persons

or magistrates 0i any such there be in his church2, to charity, mee"ness, andtoleration, and diligently endea%our to ally and temper all that heat and

unreasonable a%erseness o mind which either any man.s iery 7eal or his own

sect or the crat o others has "indled against dissenters# I will not underta"e to

represent how happy and how great would be the ruit, both in !hurch and

State, i the pulpits e%erywhere sounded with this doctrine o peace and

toleration, lest I should seem to relect too se%erely upon those men whose

dignity I desire not to detract rom, nor would ha%e it diminished either by

others or themsel%es# =ut this I say, that thus it ought to be# 6nd i anyone that

proesses himsel to be a minister o the /ord o od, a preacher o the gospel

o peace, teach otherwise, he either understands not or neglects the business ohis calling and shall one day gi%e account thereo unto the 3rince o 3eace# I

!hristians are to be admonished that they abstain rom all manner o re%enge,

e%en ater repeated pro%ocations and multiplied in9uries, how much more ought

they who suer nothing, who ha%e had no harm done them, orbear %iolence

and abstain rom all manner o ill(usage towards those rom whom they ha%e

recei%ed none +his caution and temper they ought certainly to use towards


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those# who mind only their own business and are solicitous or nothing but that

0whate%er men thin" o them2 they may worship od in that manner which

they are persuaded is acceptable to Him and in which they ha%e the strongest

hopes o eternal sal%ation# In pri%ate domestic aairs, in the management o

estates, in the conser%ation o bodily health, e%ery man may consider what suits

his own con%enience and ollow what course he li"es best# No man complains

o the ill(management o his neighbour.s aairs# No man is angry with another

or an error committed in sowing his land or in marrying his daughter# Nobody

corrects a spendthrit or consuming his substance in ta%erns# )et any man pull

down, or build, or ma"e whatsoe%er e'penses he pleases, nobody murmurs,

nobody controls him& he has his liberty# =ut i any man do not requent the

church, i he do not there conorm his beha%iour e'actly to the accustomed

ceremonies, or i he brings not his children to be initiated in the sacred

mysteries o this or the other congregation, this immediately causes an uproar#

+he neighbourhood is illed with noise and clamour# E%eryone is ready to be

the a%enger o so great a crime, and the 7ealots hardly ha%e the patience to

rerain rom %iolence and rapine so long till the cause be heard and the poor

man be, according to orm, condemned to the loss o liberty, goods, or lie# Oh,

that our ecclesiastical orators o e%ery sect would apply themsel%es with all the

strength o arguments that they are able to the conounding o men.s errors =ut

let them spare their persons# )et them not supply their want o reasons with the

instruments o orce, which belong to another 9urisdiction and do ill become a

!hurchman.s hands# )et them not call in the magistrate.s authority to the aid o

their eloquence or learning, lest perhaps, whilst they pretend only lo%e or the

truth, this their intemperate 7eal, breathing nothing but ire and sword, betraytheir ambition and show that what they desire is temporal dominion# $or it will

be %ery diicult to persuade men o sense that he who with dry eyes and

satisaction o mind can deli%er his brother to the e'ecutioner to be burnt ali%e,

does sincerely and heartily concern himsel to sa%e that brother rom the lames

o hell in the world to come#

((In the last place, let us now consider what is the magistrate.s duty in the

business o toleration, which certainly is %ery considerable#

((/e ha%e already pro%ed that the care o souls does not belong to themagistrate# Not a magisterial care, I mean 0i I may so call it2, which consists in

prescribing by laws and compelling by punishments# =ut a charitable care,

which consists in teaching, admonishing, and persuading, cannot be denied

unto any man# +he care, thereore, o e%ery man.s soul belongs unto himsel

and is to be let unto himsel# =ut what i he neglect the care o his soul5 I

answer@ /hat i he neglect the care o his health or o his estate, which things


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are nearlier related to the go%ernment o the magistrate than the other5 /ill the

magistrate pro%ide by an e'press law that such a one shall not become poor or

sic"5 )aws pro%ide, as much as is possible, that the goods and health o

sub9ects be not in9ured by the raud and %iolence o others& they do not guard

them rom the negligence or ill(husbandry o the possessors themsel%es# No

man can be orced to be rich or healthul whether he will or no# Nay, od

Himsel will not sa%e men against their wills# )et us suppose, howe%er, that

some prince were desirous to orce his sub9ects to accumulate riches, or to

preser%e the health and strength o their bodies# Shall it be pro%ided by law that

they must consult none but Roman physicians, and shall e%eryone be bound to

li%e according to their prescriptions5 /hat, shall no potion, no broth, be ta"en,

but what is prepared either in the atican, suppose, or in a ene%a shop5 Or, to

ma"e these sub9ects rich, shall they all be obliged by law to become merchants

or musicians5 Or, shall e%eryone turn %ictualler, or smith, because there are

some that maintain their amilies plentiully and grow rich in those

proessions5 =ut, it may be said, there are a thousand ways to wealth, but one

only way to hea%en# It is well said, indeed, especially by those that plead or

compelling men into this or the other way# $or i there were se%eral ways that

led thither, there would not be so much as a pretence let or compulsion# =ut

now, i I be marching on with my utmost %igour in that way which, according

to the sacred geography, leads straight to >erusalem, why am I beaten and ill(

used by others because, perhaps, I wear not bus"ins& because my hair is not o

the right cut& because, perhaps, I ha%e not been dipped in the right ashion&

because I eat lesh upon the road, or some other ood which agrees with my

stomach& because I a%oid certain by(ways, which seem unto me to lead intobriars or precipices& because, amongst the se%eral paths that are in the same

road, I choose that to wal" in which seems to be the straightest and cleanest&

because I a%oid to "eep company with some tra%ellers that are less gra%e and

others that are more sour than they ought to be& or, in ine, because I ollow a

guide that either is, or is not, clothed in white, or crowned with a mitre5

!ertainly, i we consider right, we shall ind that, or the most part, they are

such ri%olous things as these that 0without any pre9udice to religion or the

sal%ation o souls, i not accompanied with superstition or hypocrisy2 might

either be obser%ed or omitted# I say they are such(li"e things as these which

breed implacable enmities amongst !hristian brethren, who are all agreed in thesubstantial and truly undamental part o religion#

((=ut let us grant unto these 7ealots, who condemn all things that are not o

their mode, that rom these circumstances are dierent ends# /hat shall we

conclude rom thence5 +here is only one o these which is the true way to

eternal happiness@ but in this great %ariety o ways that men ollow, it is still


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doubted which is the right one# Now, neither the care o the commonwealth,

nor the right enacting o laws, does disco%er this way that leads to hea%en more

certainly to the magistrate than e%ery pri%ate man.s search and study disco%ers

it unto himsel# I ha%e a wea" body, sun" under a languishing disease, or

which 0I suppose2 there is one only remedy, but that un"nown# Does it

thereore belong unto the magistrate to prescribe me a remedy, because there is

but one, and because it is un"nown5 =ecause there is but one way or me to

escape death, will it thereore be sae or me to do whatsoe%er the magistrate

ordains5 +hose things that e%ery man ought sincerely to inquire into himsel,

and by meditation, study, search, and his own endea%ours, attain the "nowledge

o, cannot be loo"ed upon as the peculiar possession o any sort o men#

3rinces, indeed, are born superior unto other men in power, but in nature equal#

Neither the right nor the art o ruling does necessarily carry along with it the

certain "nowledge o other things, and least o all o true religion# $or i it were

so, how could it come to pass that the lords o the earth should dier so %astly

as they do in religious matters5 =ut let us grant that it is probable the way to

eternal lie may be better "nown by a prince than by his sub9ects, or at least that

in this incertitude o things the saest and most commodious way or pri%ate

persons is to ollow his dictates# Fou will say@ */hat then5* I he should bid

you ollow merchandise or your li%elihood, would you decline that course or

ear it should not succeed5 I answer@ I would turn merchant upon the prince.s

command, because, in case I should ha%e ill(success in trade, he is abundantly

able to ma"e up my loss some other way# I it be true, as he pretends, that he

desires I should thri%e and grow rich, he can set me up again when

unsuccessul %oyages ha%e bro"en me# =ut this is not the case in the things thatregard the lie to come& i there I ta"e a wrong course, i in that respect I am

once undone, it is not in the magistrate.s power to repair my loss, to ease my

suering, nor to restore me in any measure, much less entirely, to a good estate#

/hat security can be gi%en or the Cingdom o Hea%en5

((3erhaps some will say that they do not suppose this inallible 9udgement, that

all men are bound to ollow in the aairs o religion, to be in the ci%il

magistrate, but in the !hurch# /hat the !hurch has determined, that the ci%il

magistrate orders to be obser%ed& and he pro%ides by his authority that nobody

shall either act or belie%e in the business o religion otherwise than the !hurchteaches# So that the 9udgement o those things is in the !hurch& the magistrate

himsel yields obedience thereunto and requires the li"e obedience rom others#

I answer@ /ho sees not how requently the name o the !hurch, which was

%enerable in time o the apostles, has been made use o to throw dust in the

people.s eyes in the ollowing ages5 =ut, howe%er, in the present case it helps

us not# +he one only narrow way which leads to hea%en is not better "nown to


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the magistrate than to pri%ate persons, and thereore I cannot saely ta"e him

or my guide, who may probably be as ignorant o the way as mysel, and who

certainly is less concerned or my sal%ation than I mysel am# 6mongst so

many "ings o the >ews, how many o them were there whom any Israelite, thus

blindly ollowing, had not allen into idolatry and thereby into destruction5 Fet,

ne%ertheless, you bid me be o good courage and tell me that all is now sae

and secure, because the magistrate does not now en9oin the obser%ance o his

own decrees in matters o religion, but only the decrees o the !hurch# O what

!hurch, I beseech you5 o that, certainly, which li"es him best# 6s i he that

compels me by laws and penalties to enter into this or the other !hurch, did not

interpose his own 9udgement in the matter# /hat dierence is there whether he

lead me himsel, or deli%er me o%er to be led by others5 I depend both ways

upon his will, and it is he that determines both ways o my eternal state# /ould

an Israelite that had worshipped =aal upon the command o his "ing ha%e been

in any better condition because somebody had told him that the "ing ordered

nothing in religion upon his own head, nor commanded anything to be done by

his sub9ects in di%ine worship but what was appro%ed by the counsel o priests,

and declared to be o di%ine right by the doctors o their !hurch5 I the religion

o any !hurch become, thereore, true and sa%ing, because the head o that sect,

the prelates and priests, and those o that tribe, do all o them, with all their

might, e'tol and praise it, what religion can e%er be accounted erroneous, alse,

and destructi%e5 I am doubtul concerning the doctrine o the Socinians, I am

suspicious o the way o worship practised by the 3apists, or )utherans& will it

be e%er a 9ot saer or me to 9oin either unto the one or the other o those

!hurches, upon the magistrate.s command, because he commands nothing inreligion but by the authority and counsel o the doctors o that !hurch5

((=ut, to spea" the truth, we must ac"nowledge that the !hurch 0i a con%ention

o clergymen, ma"ing canons, must be called by that name2 is or the most part

more apt to be inluenced by the !ourt than the !ourt by the !hurch# How the

!hurch was under the %icissitude o orthodo' and 6rian emperors is %ery well

"nown# Or i those things be too remote, our modern English history aords us

resh e'amples in the reigns o Henry III, Edward I, ?ary, and Eli7abeth,

how easily and smoothly the clergy changed their decrees, their articles o aith,

their orm o worship, e%erything according to the inclination o those "ingsand queens# Fet were those "ings and queens o such dierent minds in point

o religion, and en9oined thereupon such dierent things, that no man in his

wits 0I had almost said none but an atheist2 will presume to say that any sincere

and upright worshipper o od could, with a sae conscience, obey their se%eral

decrees# +o conclude, it is the same thing whether a "ing that prescribes laws to

another man.s religion pretend to do it by his own 9udgement, or by the


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ecclesiastical authority and ad%ice o others# +he decisions o churchmen,

whose dierences and disputes are suiciently "nown, cannot be any sounder

or saer than his& nor can all their surages 9oined together add a new strength

to the ci%il power# +hough this also must be ta"en notice o( that princes

seldom ha%e any regard to the surages o ecclesiastics that are not a%ourers

o their own aith and way o worship#

((=ut, ater all, the principal consideration, and which absolutely determines

this contro%ersy, is this@ 6lthough the magistrate.s opinion in religion be sound,

and the way that he appoints be truly E%angelical, yet, i I be not thoroughly

persuaded thereo in my own mind, there will be no saety or me in ollowing

it# No way whatsoe%er that I shall wal" in against the dictates o my conscience

will e%er bring me to the mansions o the blessed# I may grow rich by an art

that I ta"e not delight in& I may be cured o some disease by remedies that I

ha%e not aith in& but I cannot be sa%ed by a religion that I distrust and by a

worship that I abhor# It is in %ain or an unbelie%er to ta"e up the outward show

o another man.s proession# $aith only and inward sincerity are the things that

procure acceptance with od# +he most li"ely and most appro%ed remedy can

ha%e no eect upon the patient, i his stomach re9ect it as soon as ta"en& and

you will in %ain cram a medicine down a sic" man.s throat, which his particular

constitution will be sure to turn into poison# In a word, whatsoe%er may be

doubtul in religion, yet this at least is certain, that no religion which I belie%e

not to be true can be either true or proitable unto me# In %ain, thereore, do

princes compel their sub9ects to come into their !hurch communion, under

pretence o sa%ing their souls# I they belie%e, they will come o their ownaccord, i they belie%e not, their coming will nothing a%ail them# How great

soe%er, in ine, may be the pretence o good(will and charity, and concern or

the sal%ation o men.s souls, men cannot be orced to be sa%ed whether they

will or no# 6nd thereore, when all is done, they must be let to their own

consciences#

((Ha%ing thus at length reed men rom all dominion o%er one another in

matters o religion, let us now consider what they are to do# 6ll men "now and

ac"nowledge that od ought to be publicly worshipped& why otherwise do they

compel one another unto the public assemblies5 ?en, thereore, constituted inthis liberty are to enter into some religious society, that they meet together, not

only or mutual ediication, but to own to the world that they worship od and

oer unto His Di%ine ?a9esty such ser%ice as they themsel%es are not ashamed

o and such as they thin" not unworthy o Him, nor unacceptable to Him& and,

inally, that by the purity o doctrine, holiness o lie, and decent orm o


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worship, they may draw others unto the lo%e o the true religion, and perorm

such other things in religion as cannot be done by each pri%ate man apart#

((+hese religious societies I call !hurches& and these, I say, the magistrate

ought to tolerate, or the business o these assemblies o the people is nothing

but what is lawul or e%ery man in particular to ta"e care o( I mean thesal%ation o their souls& nor in this case is there any dierence between the

National !hurch and other separated congregations#

((=ut as in e%ery !hurch there are two things especially to be considered( the

outward orm and rites o worship, and the doctrines and articles o things must

be handled each distinctly that so the whole matter o toleration may the more

clearly be understood#

((!oncerning outward worship, I say, in the irst place, that the magistrate has

no power to enorce by law, either in his own !hurch, or much less in another,the use o any rites or ceremonies whatsoe%er in the worship o od# 6nd this,

not only because these !hurches are ree societies, but because whatsoe%er is

practised in the worship o od is only so ar 9ustiiable as it is belie%ed by

those that practise it to be acceptable unto Him# /hatsoe%er is not done with

that assurance o aith is neither well in itsel, nor can it be acceptable to od#

+o impose such things, thereore, upon any people, contrary to their own

9udgment, is in eect to command them to oend od, which, considering that

the end o all religion is to please Him, and that liberty is essentially necessary

to that end, appears to be absurd beyond e'pression#

((=ut perhaps it may be concluded rom hence that I deny unto the magistrate

all manner o power about indierent things, which, i it be not granted, the

whole sub9ect(matter o law(ma"ing is ta"en away# No, I readily grant that

indierent things, and perhaps none but such, are sub9ected to the legislati%e

power# =ut it does not thereore ollow that the magistrate may ordain

whatsoe%er he pleases concerning anything that is indierent# +he public good

is the rule and measure o all law(ma"ing# I a thing be not useul to the

commonwealth, though it be ne%er so indierent, it may not presently be

established by law#

((6nd urther, things ne%er so indierent in their own nature, when they are

brought into the !hurch and worship o od, are remo%ed out o the reach o

the magistrate.s 9urisdiction, because in that use they ha%e no connection at all

with ci%il aairs# +he only business o the !hurch is the sal%ation o souls, and

it no way concerns the commonwealth, or any member o it, that this or the

other ceremony be there made use o# Neither the use nor the omission o any


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ceremonies in those religious assemblies does either ad%antage or pre9udice the

lie, liberty, or estate o any man# $or e'ample, let it be granted that the

washing o an inant with water is in itsel an indierent thing, let it be granted

also that the magistrate understand such washing to be proitable to the curing

or pre%enting o any disease the children are sub9ect unto, and esteem the

matter weighty enough to be ta"en care o by a law# In that case he may order it

to be done# =ut will any one thereore say that a magistrate has the same right

to ordain by law that all children shall be baptised by priests in the sacred ont

in order to the puriication o their souls5 +he e'treme dierence o these two

cases is %isible to e%ery one at irst sight# Or let us apply the last case to the

child o a >ew, and the thing spea"s itsel# $or what hinders but a !hristian

magistrate may ha%e sub9ects that are >ews5 Now, i we ac"nowledge that such

an in9ury may not be done unto a >ew as to compel him, against his own

opinion, to practise in his religion a thing that is in its nature indierent, how

can we maintain that anything o this "ind may be done to a !hristian5

((6gain, things in their own nature indierent cannot, by any human authority,

be made any part o the worship o od( or this %ery reason@ because they are

indierent# $or, since indierent things are not capable, by any %irtue o their

own, to propitiate the Deity, no human power or authority can coner on them

so much dignity and e'cellency as to enable them to do it# In the common

aairs o lie that use o indierent things which od has not orbidden is ree

and lawul, and thereore in those things human authority has place# =ut it is

not so in matters o religion# +hings indierent are not otherwise lawul in the

worship o od than as they are instituted by od Himsel and as He, by somepositi%e command, has ordained them to be made a part o that worship which

He will %ouchsae to accept at the hands o poor sinul men# Nor, when an

incensed Deity shall as" us, */ho has required these, or such(li"e things at

your hands5* will it be enough to answer Him that the magistrate commanded

them# I ci%il 9urisdiction e'tend thus ar, what might not lawully be

introduced into religion5 /hat hodgepodge o ceremonies, what superstitious

in%entions, built upon the magistrate.s authority, might not 0against conscience2

be imposed upon the worshippers o od5 $or the greatest part o these

ceremonies and superstitions consists in the religious use o such things as are

in their own nature indierent& nor are they sinul upon any other account thanbecause od is not the author o them# +he sprin"ling o water and the use o

bread and wine are both in their own nature and in the ordinary occasions o

lie altogether indierent# /ill any man, thereore, say that these things could

ha%e been introduced into religion and made a part o di%ine worship i not by

di%ine institution5 I any human authority or ci%il power could ha%e done this,

why might it not also en9oin the eating o ish and drin"ing o ale in the holy


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banquet as a part o di%ine worship5 /hy not the sprin"ling o the blood o

beasts in churches, and e'piations by water or ire, and abundance more o this

"ind5 =ut these things, how indierent soe%er they be in common uses, when

they come to be anne'ed unto di%ine worship, without di%ine authority, they

are as abominable to od as the sacriice o a dog# 6nd why is a dog so

abominable5 /hat dierence is there between a dog and a goat, in respect o

the di%ine nature, equally and ininitely distant rom all ainity with matter,

unless it be that od required the use o one in His worship and not o the

other5 /e see, thereore, that indierent things, how much soe%er they be

under the power o the ci%il magistrate, yet cannot, upon that pretence, be

introduced into religion and imposed upon religious assemblies, because, in the

worship o od, they wholly cease to be indierent# He that worships od does

it with design to please Him and procure His a%our# =ut that cannot be done by

him who, upon the command o another, oers unto od that which he "nows

will be displeasing to Him, because not commanded by Himsel# +his is not to

please od, or appease his wrath, but willingly and "nowingly to pro%o"e Him

by a maniest contempt, which is a thing absolutely repugnant to the nature and

end o worship#

((=ut it will be here as"ed@ *I nothing belonging to di%ine worship be let to

human discretion, how is it then that !hurches themsel%es ha%e the power o

ordering anything about the time and place o worship and the li"e5* +o this I

answer that in religious worship we must distinguish between what is part o

the worship itsel and what is but a circumstance# +hat is a part o the worship

which is belie%ed to be appointed by od and to be well(pleasing to Him, andthereore that is necessary# !ircumstances are such things which, though in

general they cannot be separated rom worship, yet the particular instances or

modiications o them are not determined, and thereore they are indierent# O

this sort are the time and place o worship, habit and posture o him that

worships# +hese are circumstances, and perectly indierent, where od has

not gi%en any e'press command about them# $or e'ample@ amongst the >ews

the time and place o their worship and the habits o those that oiciated in it

were not mere circumstances, but a part o the worship itsel, in which, i

anything were deecti%e, or dierent rom the institution, they could not hope

that it would be accepted by od# =ut these, to !hristians under the liberty othe ospel, are mere circumstances o worship, which the prudence o e%ery

!hurch may bring into such use as shall be 9udged most subser%ient to the end

o order, decency, and ediication# =ut, e%en under the ospel, those who

belie%e the irst or the se%enth day to be set apart by od, and consecrated still

to His worship, to them that portion o time is not a simple circumstance, but a

real part o Di%ine worship, which can neither be changed nor neglected#


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((In the ne't place@ 6s the magistrate has no power to impose by his laws the

use o any rites and ceremonies in any !hurch, so neither has he any power to

orbid the use o such rites and ceremonies as are already recei%ed, appro%ed,

and practised by any !hurch& because, i he did so, he would destroy the

!hurch itsel@ the end o whose institution is only to worship od with reedom

ater its own manner#

((Fou will say, by this rule, i some congregations should ha%e a mind to

sacriice inants, or 0as the primiti%e !hristians were alsely accused2 lustully

pollute themsel%es in promiscuous uncleanness, or practise any other such

heinous enormities, is the magistrate obliged to tolerate them, because they are

committed in a religious assembly5 I answer@ No# +hese things are not lawul in

the ordinary course o lie, nor in any pri%ate house& and thereore neither are

they so in the worship o od, or in any religious meeting# =ut, indeed, i any

people congregated upon account o religion should be desirous to sacriice a

cal, I deny that that ought to be prohibited by a law# ?eliboeus, whose cal it

is, may lawully "ill his cal at home, and burn any part o it that he thin"s it#

$or no in9ury is thereby done to any one, no pre9udice to another man.s goods#

6nd or the same reason he may "ill his cal also in a religious meeting#

/hether the doing so be well(pleasing to od or no, it is their part to consider

that do it# +he part o the magistrate is only to ta"e care that the commonwealth

recei%e no pre9udice, and that there be no in9ury done to any man, either in lie

or estate# 6nd thus what may be spent on a east may be spent on a sacriice#

=ut i perad%enture such were the state o things that the interest o the

commonwealth required all slaughter o beasts should be orborne or somewhile, in order to the increasing o the stoc" o cattle that had been destroyed

by some e'traordinary murrain, who sees not that the magistrate, in such a case,

may orbid all his sub9ects to "ill any cal%es or any use whatsoe%er5 Only it is

to be obser%ed that, in this case, the law is not made about a religious, but a

political matter& nor is the sacriice, but the slaughter o cal%es, thereby

prohibited#

((=y this we see what dierence there is between the !hurch and the

!ommonwealth# /hatsoe%er is lawul in the !ommonwealth cannot be

prohibited by the magistrate in the !hurch# /hatsoe%er is permitted unto anyo his sub9ects or their ordinary use, neither can nor ought to be orbidden by

him to any sect o people or their religious uses# I any man may lawully ta"e

bread or wine, either sitting or "neeling in his own house, the law ought not to

abridge him o the same liberty in his religious worship& though in the !hurch

the use o bread and wine be %ery dierent and be there applied to the

mysteries o aith and rites o Di%ine worship# =ut those things that are


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pre9udicial to the commonweal o a people in their ordinary use and are,

thereore, orbidden by laws, those things ought not to be permitted to

!hurches in their sacred rites# Only the magistrate ought always to be %ery

careul that he do not misuse his authority to the oppression o any !hurch,

under pretence o public good#

((It may be said@ */hat i a !hurch be idolatrous, is that also to be tolerated by

the magistrate5* I answer@ /hat power can be gi%en to the magistrate or the

suppression o an idolatrous !hurch, which may not in time and place be made

use o to the ruin o an orthodo' one5 $or it must be remembered that the ci%il

power is the same e%erywhere, and the religion o e%ery prince is orthodo' to

himsel# I, thereore, such a power be granted unto the ci%il magistrate in

spirituals as that at ene%a, or e'ample, he may e'tirpate, by %iolence and

blood, the religion which is there reputed idolatrous, by the same rule another

magistrate, in some neighbouring country, may oppress the reormed religion

and, in India, the !hristian# +he ci%il power can either change e%erything in

religion, according to the prince.s pleasure, or it can change nothing# I it be

once permitted to introduce anything into religion by the means o laws and

penalties, there can be no bounds put to it& but it will in the same manner be

lawul to alter e%erything, according to that rule o truth which the magistrate

has ramed unto himsel# No man whatsoe%er ought, thereore, to be depri%ed

o his terrestrial en9oyments upon account o his religion# Not e%en 6mericans,

sub9ected unto a !hristian prince, are to be punished either in body or goods or

not embracing our aith and worship# I they are persuaded that they please od

in obser%ing the rites o their own country and that they shall obtain happinessby that means, they are to be let unto od and themsel%es# )et us trace this

matter to the bottom# +hus it is@ 6n inconsiderable and wea" number o

!hristians, destitute o e%erything, arri%e in a 3agan country& these oreigners

beseech the inhabitants, by the bowels o humanity, that they would succour

them with the necessaries o lie& those necessaries are gi%en them, habitations

are granted, and they all 9oin together, and grow up into one body o people#

+he !hristian religion by this means ta"es root in that country and spreads

itsel, but does not suddenly grow the strongest# /hile things are in this

condition peace, riendship, aith, and equal 9ustice are preser%ed amongst

them# 6t length the magistrate becomes a !hristian, and by that means theirparty becomes the most powerul# +hen immediately all compacts are to be

bro"en, all ci%il rights to be %iolated, that idolatry may be e'tirpated& and

unless these innocent 3agans, strict obser%ers o the rules o equity and the law

o Nature and no ways oending against the laws o the society, I say, unless

they will orsa"e their ancient religion and embrace a new and strange one, they

are to be turned out o the lands and possessions o their oreathers and


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perhaps depri%ed o lie itsel# +hen, at last, it appears what 7eal or the !hurch,

9oined with the desire o dominion, is capable to produce, and how easily the

pretence o religion, and o the care o souls, ser%es or a cloa" to co%etousness,

rapine, and ambition#

((Now whosoe%er maintains that idolatry is to be rooted out o any place bylaws, punishments, ire, and sword, may apply this story to himsel# $or the

reason o the thing is equal, both in 6merica and Europe# 6nd neither 3agans

there, nor any dissenting !hristians here, can, with any right, be depri%ed o

their worldly goods by the predominating action o a court(church& nor are any

ci%il rights to be either changed or %iolated upon account o religion in one

place more than another#

((=ut idolatry, say some, is a sin and thereore not to be tolerated# I they said it

were thereore to be a%oided, the inerence were good# =ut it does not ollow

that because it is a sin it ought thereore to be punished by the magistrate# $or itdoes not belong unto the magistrate to ma"e use o his sword in punishing

e%erything, indierently, that he ta"es to be a sin against od# !o%etousness,

uncharitableness, idleness, and many other things are sins by the consent o

men, which yet no man e%er said were to be punished by the magistrate# +he

reason is because they are not pre9udicial to other men.s rights, nor do they

brea" the public peace o societies# Nay, e%en the sins o lying and per9ury are

nowhere punishable by laws& unless, in certain cases, in which the real

turpitude o the thing and the oence against od are not considered, but only

the in9ury done unto men.s neighbours and to the commonwealth# 6nd what i

in another country, to a ?ahometan or a 3agan prince, the !hristian religion

seem alse and oensi%e to od& may not the !hristians or the same reason,

and ater the same manner, be e'tirpated there5

((=ut it may be urged arther that, by the law o ?oses, idolaters were to be

rooted out# +rue, indeed, by the law o ?oses& but that is not obligatory to us

!hristians# Nobody pretends that e%erything generally en9oined by the law o

?oses ought to be practised by !hristians& but there is nothing more ri%olous

than that common distinction o moral, 9udicial, and ceremonial law, which

men ordinarily ma"e use o# $or no positi%e law whatsoe%er can oblige anypeople but those to whom it is gi%en# *Hear, O Israel,* suiciently restrains the

obligations o the law o ?oses only to that people# 6nd this consideration

alone is answer enough unto those that urge the authority o the law o ?oses

or the inlicting o capital punishment upon idolaters# =ut, howe%er, I will

e'amine this argument a little more particularly#


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((+he case o idolaters, in respect o the >ewish commonwealth, alls under a

double consideration# +he irst is o those who, being initiated in the ?osaical

rites, and made citi7ens o that commonwealth, did aterwards apostatise rom

the worship o the od o Israel# +hese were proceeded against as traitors and

rebels, guilty o no less than high treason# $or the commonwealth o the >ews,

dierent in that rom all others, was an absolute theocracy& nor was there, or

could there be, any dierence between that commonwealth and the !hurch#

+he laws established there concerning the worship o One In%isible Deity were

the ci%il laws o that people and a part o their political go%ernment, in which

od Himsel was the legislator# Now, i any one can shew me where there is a

commonwealth at this time, constituted upon that oundation, I will

ac"nowledge that the ecclesiastical laws do there una%oidably become a part o

the ci%il, and that the sub9ects o that go%ernment both may and ought to be

"ept in strict conormity with that !hurch by the ci%il power# =ut there is

absolutely no such thing under the ospel as a !hristian commonwealth# +here

are, indeed, many cities and "ingdoms that ha%e embraced the aith o !hrist,

but they ha%e retained their ancient orm o go%ernment, with which the law o

!hrist hath not at all meddled# He, indeed, hath taught men how, by aith and

good wor"s, they may obtain eternal lie& but He instituted no commonwealth#

He prescribed unto His ollowers no new and peculiar orm o go%ernment, nor

put He the sword into any magistrate.s hand, with commission to ma"e use o it

in orcing men to orsa"e their ormer religion and recei%e His#

((Secondly, oreigners and such as were strangers to the commonwealth o

Israel were not compelled by orce to obser%e the rites o the ?osaical law& but,on the contrary, in the %ery same place where it is ordered that an Israelite that

was an idolater should be put to death,- there it is pro%ided that strangers

should not be %e'ed nor oppressed# I coness that the se%en nations that

possessed the land which was promised to the Israelites were utterly to be cut

o& but this was not singly because they were idolaters# $or i that had been the

reason, why were the ?oabites and other nations to be spared5 No@ the reason

is this# od being in a peculiar manner the Cing o the >ews, He could not

suer the adoration o any other deity 0which was properly an act o high

treason against Himsel2 in the land o !anaan, which was His "ingdom# $or

such a maniest re%olt could no ways consist with His dominion, which wasperectly political in that country# 6ll idolatry was, thereore, to be rooted out

o the bounds o His "ingdom because it was an ac"nowledgment o another

god, that is say, another "ing, against the laws o Empire# +he inhabitants were

also to be dri%en out, that the entire possession o the land might be gi%en to the

Israelites# 6nd or the li"e reason the Emims and the Horims were dri%en out o

their countries by the children o Esau and )ot& and their lands, upon the same


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grounds, gi%en by od to the in%aders#-012 =ut, though all idolatry was thus

rooted out o the land o !anaan, yet e%ery idolater was not brought to

e'ecution# +he whole amily o Rahab, the whole nation o the ibeonites,

articled with >oshua, and were allowed by treaty& and there were many capti%es

amongst the >ews who were idolaters# Da%id and Solomon subdued many

countries without the conines o the )and o 3romise and carried their

conquests as ar as Euphrates# 6mongst so many capti%es ta"en, so many

nations reduced under their obedience, we ind not one man orced into the

>ewish religion and the worship o the true od and punished or idolatry,

though all o them were certainly guilty o it# I any one, indeed, becoming a

proselyte, desired to be made a deni7en o their commonwealth, he was obliged

to submit to their laws& that is, to embrace their religion# =ut this he did

willingly, on his own accord, not by constraint# He did not unwillingly submit,

to show his obedience, but he sought and solicited or it as a pri%ilege# 6nd, as

soon as he was admitted, he became sub9ect to the laws o the commonwealth,

by which all idolatry was orbidden within the borders o the land o !anaan#

=ut that law 0as I ha%e said2 did not reach to any o those regions, howe%er

sub9ected unto the >ews, that were situated without those bounds#

(- E'od# 11, 1B, 1;#

(-012 Deut# 1#

((+hus ar concerning outward worship# )et us now consider articles o aith#

((+he articles o religion are some o them practical and some speculati%e#

Now, though both sorts consist in the "nowledge o truth, yet these terminate

simply in the understanding, those inluence the will and manners# Speculati%e

opinions, thereore, and articles o aith 0as they are called2 which are required

only to be belie%ed, cannot be imposed on any !hurch by the law o the land#

$or it is absurd that things should be en9oined by laws which are not in men.s

power to perorm# 6nd to belie%e this or that to be true does not depend upon

our will# =ut o this enough has been said already# *=ut#* will some say& *let

men at least proess that they belie%e#* 6 sweet religion, indeed, that obliges

men to dissemble and tell lies, both to od and man, or the sal%ation o theirsouls I the magistrate thin"s to sa%e men thus, he seems to understand little o

the way o sal%ation# 6nd i he does it not in order to sa%e them, why is he so

solicitous about the articles o aith as to enact them by a law5

(($urther, the magistrate ought not to orbid the preaching or proessing o any

speculati%e opinions in any !hurch because they ha%e no manner o relation to

the ci%il rights o the sub9ects# I a Roman !atholic belie%e that to be really the


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!hristian# 6ny one may employ as many e'hortations and arguments as he

pleases, towards the promoting o another man.s sal%ation# =ut all orce and

compulsion are to be orborne# Nothing is to be done imperiously# Nobody is

obliged in that matter to yield obedience unto the admonitions or in9unctions o

another, urther than he himsel is persuaded# E%ery man in that has the

supreme and absolute authority o 9udging or himsel# 6nd the reason is

because nobody else is concerned in it, nor can recei%e any pre9udice rom his

conduct therein#

((=ut besides their souls, which are immortal, men ha%e also their temporal

li%es here upon earth& the state whereo being rail and leeting, and the

duration uncertain, they ha%e need o se%eral outward con%eniences to the

support thereo, which are to be procured or preser%ed by pains and industry#

$or those things that are necessary to the comortable support o our li%es are

not the spontaneous products o nature, nor do oer themsel%es it and

prepared or our use# +his part, thereore, draws on another care and necessarily

gi%es another employment# =ut the pra%ity o man"ind being such that they had

rather in9uriously prey upon the ruits o other men.s labours than ta"e pains to

pro%ide or themsel%es, the necessity o preser%ing men in the possession o

what honest industry has already acquired and also o preser%ing their liberty

and strength, whereby they may acquire what they arther want, obliges men to

enter into society with one another, that by mutual assistance and 9oint orce

they may secure unto each other their properties, in the things that contribute to

the comort and happiness o this lie, lea%ing in the meanwhile to e%ery man

the care o his own eternal happiness, the attainment whereo can neither beacilitated by another man.s industry, nor can the loss o it turn to another man.s

pre9udice, nor the hope o it be orced rom him by any e'ternal %iolence# =ut,

orasmuch as men thus entering into societies, grounded upon their mutual

compacts o assistance or the deence o their temporal goods, may,

ne%ertheless, be depri%ed o them, either by the rapine and raud o their ellow

citi7ens, or by the hostile %iolence o oreigners, the remedy o this e%il consists

in arms, riches, and multitude o citi7ens& the remedy o the other in laws& and

the care o all things relating both to one and the other is committed by the

society to the ci%il magistrate# +his is the original, this is the use, and these are

the bounds o the legislati%e 0which is the supreme2 power in e%erycommonwealth# I mean that pro%ision may be made or the security o each

man.s pri%ate possessions& or the peace, riches, and public commodities o the

whole people& and, as much as possible, or the increase o their inward

strength against oreign in%asions#


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((+hese things being thus e'plained, it is easy to understand to what end the

legislati%e power ought to be directed and by what measures regulated& and that

is the temporal good and outward prosperity o the society& which is the sole

reason o men.s entering into society, and the only thing they see" and aim at in

it# 6nd it is also e%ident what liberty remains to men in reerence to their

eternal sal%ation, and that is that e%ery one should do what he in his conscience

is persuaded to be acceptable to the 6lmighty, on whose good pleasure and

acceptance depends their eternal happiness# $or obedience is due, in the irst

place, to od and, aterwards to the laws#

((=ut some may as"@ */hat i the magistrate should en9oin anything by his

authority that appears unlawul to the conscience o a pri%ate person5* I answer

that, i go%ernment be aithully administered and the counsels o the

magistrates be indeed directed to the public good, this will seldom happen# =ut

i, perhaps, it do so all out, I say, that such a pri%ate person is to abstain rom

the action that he 9udges unlawul, and he is to undergo the punishment which

it is not unlawul or him to bear# $or the pri%ate 9udgement o any person

concerning a law enacted in political matters, or the public good, does not ta"e

away the obligation o that law, nor deser%e a dispensation# =ut i the law,

indeed, be concerning things that lie not within the %erge o the magistrate.s

authority 0as, or e'ample, that the people, or any party amongst them, should

be compelled to embrace a strange religion, and 9oin in the worship and

ceremonies o another !hurch2, men are not in these cases obliged by that law,

against their consciences# $or the political society is instituted or no other end,

but only to secure e%ery man.s possession o the things o this lie# +he care oeach man.s soul and o the things o hea%en, which neither does belong to the

commonwealth nor can be sub9ected to it, is let entirely to e%ery man.s sel#

+hus the saeguard o men.s li%es and o the things that belong unto this lie is

the business o the commonwealth& and the preser%ing o those things unto their

owners is the duty o the magistrate# 6nd thereore the magistrate cannot ta"e

away these worldly things rom this man or party and gi%e them to that& nor

change propriety amongst ellow sub9ects 0no not e%en by a law2, or a cause

that has no relation to the end o ci%il go%ernment, I mean or their religion,

which whether it be true or alse does no pre9udice to the worldly concerns o

their ellow sub9ects, which are the things that only belong unto the care o thecommonwealth#

((=ut what i the magistrate belie%e such a law as this to be or the public good5

I answer@ 6s the pri%ate 9udgement o any particular person, i erroneous, does

not e'empt him rom the obligation o law, so the pri%ate 9udgement 0as I may

call it2 o the magistrate does not gi%e him any new right o imposing laws


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upon his sub9ects, which neither was in the constitution o the go%ernment

granted him, nor e%er was in the power o the people to grant, much less i he

ma"e it his business to enrich and ad%ance his ollowers and ellow(sectaries

with the spoils o others# =ut what i the magistrate belie%e that he has a right

to ma"e such laws and that they are or the public good, and his sub9ects

belie%e the contrary5 /ho shall be 9udge between them5 I answer@ od alone#

$or there is no 9udge upon earth between the supreme magistrate and the

people# od, I say, is the only 9udge in this case, who will retribute unto e%ery

one at the last day according to his deserts& that is, according to his sincerity

and uprightness in endea%ouring to promote piety, and the public weal, and

peace o man"ind# =ut /hat shall be done in the meanwhile5 I answer@ +he

principal and chie care o e%ery one ought to be o his own soul irst, and, in

the ne't place, o the public peace& though yet there are %ery ew will thin" it is

peace there, where they see all laid waste#

((+here are two sorts o contests amongst men, the one managed by law, the

other by orce& and these are o that nature that where the one ends, the other

always begins# =ut it is not my business to inquire into the power o the

magistrate in the dierent constitutions o nations# I only "now what usually

happens where contro%ersies arise without a 9udge to determine them# Fou will

say, then, the magistrate being the stronger will ha%e his will and carry his

point# /ithout doubt& but the question is not here concerning the doubtulness

o the e%ent, but the rule o right#

((=ut to come to particulars# I say, irst, no opinions contrary to human society,

or to those moral rules which are necessary to the preser%ation o ci%il society,

are to be tolerated by the magistrate# =ut o these, indeed, e'amples in any

!hurch are rare# $or no sect can easily arri%e to such a degree o madness as

that it should thin" it to teach, or doctrines o religion, such things as

maniestly undermine the oundations o society and are, thereore, condemned

by the 9udgement o all man"ind& because their own interest, peace, reputation,

e%erything would be thereby endangered#

((6nother more secret e%il, but more dangerous to the commonwealth, is when

men arrogate to themsel%es, and to those o their own sect, some peculiarprerogati%e co%ered o%er with a specious show o deceitul words, but in eect

opposite to the ci%il right o the community# $or e'ample@ we cannot ind any

sect that teaches, e'pressly and openly, that men are not obliged to "eep their

promise& that princes may be dethroned by those that dier rom them in

religion& or that the dominion o all things belongs only to themsel%es# $or

these things, proposed thus na"edly and plainly, would soon draw on them the


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eye and hand o the magistrate and awa"en all the care o the commonwealth to

a watchulness against the spreading o so dangerous an e%il# =ut, ne%ertheless,

we ind those that say the same things in other words# /hat else do they mean

who teach that aith is not to be "ept with heretics5 +heir meaning, orsooth, is

that the pri%ilege o brea"ing aith belongs unto themsel%es& or they declare all

that are not o their communion to be heretics, or at least may declare them so

whensoe%er they thin" it# /hat can be the meaning o their asserting that "ings

e'communicated oreit their crowns and "ingdoms5 It is e%ident that they

thereby arrogate unto themsel%es the power o deposing "ings, because they

challenge the power o e'communication, as the peculiar right o their

hierarchy# +hat dominion is ounded in grace is also an assertion by which

those that maintain it do plainly lay claim to the possession o all things# $or

they are not so wanting to themsel%es as not to belie%e, or at least as not to

proess themsel%es to be the truly pious and aithul# +hese, thereore, and the

li"e, who attribute unto the aithul, religious, and orthodo', that is, in plain

terms, unto themsel%es, any peculiar pri%ilege or power abo%e other mortals, in

ci%il concernments& or who upon pretence o religion do challenge any manner

o authority o%er such as are not associated with them in their ecclesiastical

communion, I say these ha%e no right to be tolerated by the magistrate& as

neither those that will not own and teach the duty o tolerating all men in

matters o mere religion# $or what do all these and the li"e doctrines signiy,

but that they may and are ready upon any occasion to sei7e the o%ernment and

Locke's a Letter Concerning Toleration

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