Ein Brief über Toleranz

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A Letter Concerning Toleration is the most important of four letters by the renowned 17th-century English thinker John Locke on a topic that continues to engage politicians, philosophers, and general readers. Written in response to the religious and political intolerance of his time (1689), it retains its urgency today. In this work, Locke combines an empirical view of human society with a belief in the existence of a natural law that God has embedded in the order of the world, enabling people to live in a rational community. However, such a community must be practically secured. Locke presents the groundbreaking idea that it is essential to strictly separate public interest from private interest. Faith and various forms of religion, along with their practical expressions in the form of individual churches and sects, represent private interests that the state must not interfere with. Conversely, churches must not, under any pretext, intervene in public affairs.