The Importance of Non-Christian Religions in the Philosophy of Pierre: edited by Marta Garcia-Alonso and John Christian Laursen, International Archives of the History of Ideas, Volume 251, Switzerland, Springer, 2024, USD 129.99 (hardcover), USD 39.99 (softcover), https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-64865-6#aboutthis-book

This volume, *The Importance of Non-Christian Religions in the Philosophy of Pierre Bayle*, examines how non-Christian religious traditions significantly influenced the development of Bayle’s thought, challenging the predominant focus on Christianity in Bayle scholarship. The collected essays reveal...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of European Ideas Vol. 52; no. 4; pp. 876 - 883
Main Author: Hickson, Michael W.
Format: Book Review
Published: Taylor & Francis Ltd Jun2026
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=194673770&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: hlh
    uiTerm: 194673770
    longDbName: Humanities International Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        01916599
        HEI
      jtl: History of European Ideas
      issn: 01916599
      maglogo: N
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jun2026
      vid: 52
      iid: 4
      pid: 377
      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
    artinfo:
      ui:
        194673770
        10.1080/01916599.2025.2579388
      ppf: 876
      ppct: 7
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: The Importance of Non-Christian Religions in the Philosophy of Pierre: edited by Marta Garcia-Alonso and John Christian Laursen, International Archives of the History of Ideas, Volume 251, Switzerland, Springer, 2024, USD 129.99 (hardcover), USD 39.99 (softcover), https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-64865-6#aboutthis-book
      aug:
        au: Hickson, Michael W.
        affil: Trent University, Peterborough, Canada
      su:
        Religions
        Modern philosophy
        Sociocultural factors
        Religious tolerance
        Judaism
        Philosophers
        Islam
        Confucianism
      sug:
        subj:
          Religions
          Modern philosophy
          Sociocultural factors
          Religious tolerance
          Judaism
          Philosophers
          Islam
          Confucianism
      ab: This volume, *The Importance of Non-Christian Religions in the Philosophy of Pierre Bayle*, examines how non-Christian religious traditions significantly influenced the development of Bayle’s thought, challenging the predominant focus on Christianity in Bayle scholarship. The collected essays reveal Bayle’s extensive engagement with Judaism, Islam, Chinese Confucianism, Japanese Buddhism, Greco-Roman religion, Zoroastrianism, Manicheism, and the religions of the Americas and Africa, often using these traditions as intellectual tools to advance his philosophical arguments rather than to faithfully represent their beliefs. While Bayle demonstrated scholarly interest and critique of these religions, his primary philosophical commitments, such as his views on conscience, toleration, and the problem of evil, shaped his use of non-Christian religions rather than the reverse. The volume thus provides an indispensable resource for understanding Bayle’s complex method and broadens perspectives on early modern philosophy by decentering Christianity in its intellectual history.
      pubtype: Review
      doctype: Book Review
      src: R
    language: English
    refInfo:
    copyright:
      @attributes:
        flag: Y
      dt:
        @attributes:
          year: 2026
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N