Persecution or Toleration An Explication of the Locke-Proast Quarrel, 1689-1704

This book traces, in detail, the complex contours of the Locke-Proast debate over the question of toleration-revealing the radical case John Locke made on behalf of toleration. Arguing against the pro-persecution arguments of Jonas Proast, Locke developed a broadly humanistic case for toleration rooted in liberal notions of consent, human dependency, and skepticism. Locke's theory would extend to a wide range of religious believers and even atheists. However, at the same time, according to Locke, toleration requires an overcoming of the religious worldview, rather than an emergence out of theological assumptions, as many scholars argue.