| Sumario: | The main focus of this study is the complex and contested nature of liberty of conscience in liberal political thought, as explored through the intellectual history of seventeenth-century thinkers John Milton, Thomas Hobbes, Baruch Spinoza, and Pierre Bayle. The author argues that these foundational theorists recognized liberty of conscience as inherently contentious and subject to limits, balancing individual conscience against the demands of law and political order. While Milton and Bayle emphasize the cultivation and protection of conscience and toleration, Hobbes and Spinoza express ambivalence due to concerns about social stability and sovereign authority. The book also highlights Bayle’s more radical inclusivity in toleration and deliberately excludes John Locke to challenge his dominant position in discussions of early liberal toleration. The concluding chapter connects these historical debates to contemporary political controversies over conscience claims, noting their association with diverse ideological perspectives.
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