The golden legend of Protestantism. Biblical hermeneutics, freedom of conscience and political freedom

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3989/hs.2018.014

Keywords:

Protestant Reformation, Calvin, Bayle, Freedom of conscience, Political freedom

Abstract


It is usually assumed that political modernity and the Reformation go hand in hand. Authors such as Hegel, Tocqueville, Jellinek or Martha Nussbaum find in the Protestant Reformation the origin of ideas such as political freedom or freedom of conscience. In this paper, I will try to analyze the relationship between these two concepts in two fundamental characters in the Calvinist tradition. John Calvin, its founding father, on the one hand, and, on the other, Pierre Bayle, the Rotterdam philosopher who pushed Calvinism to its most heterodox forms in the XVII century. I will show how they both understand the interpretation of the Bible and the political arrangements that they defended for their close context.

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Published

2018-06-30

How to Cite

García-Alonso, M. (2018). The golden legend of Protestantism. Biblical hermeneutics, freedom of conscience and political freedom. Hispania Sacra, 70(141), 147–156. https://doi.org/10.3989/hs.2018.014

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