A Letter Concerning Toleration

A Letter Concerning Toleration is a foundational Enlightenment text advocating for the separation of church and state and the protection of individual conscience. In this influential essay, Locke argues that civil government should not wield power over spiritual matters and that true faith cannot be compelled by force. His vision of religious freedom and mutual respect helped shape modern liberal democracies and remains a cornerstone of political thought on liberty and pluralism.John Locke (1632-1704), widely known as the Father of Classical Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. His writings influenced Voltaire and Rousseau, many Scottish Enlightenment thinkers, and the American Founding Fathers, as reflected in the United States Declaration of Independence.