John Locke, the early Lockeans, and priestcraft

The term "priestcraft" became fashionable in the 1690s. This essay explores its use among the anti-clericals in John Locke's circle and examines the critique of priestcraft in his own Reasonableness of Christianity (1695). The commentaries and church histories, in correspondence and p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIntellectual history review Vol. 28; no. 1; pp. 125 - 144
Main Author Goldie, Mark
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 02.01.2018
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
17th century
anti-clericalism
Christianity
Church of England
civil religion
Clergy
ecclesiology
English literature
Locke
Locke, John (1632-1704)
priestcraft
Reasonableness of Christianity
Religious history
sacred history
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Summary:The term "priestcraft" became fashionable in the 1690s. This essay explores its use among the anti-clericals in John Locke's circle and examines the critique of priestcraft in his own Reasonableness of Christianity (1695). The commentaries and church histories, in correspondence and published treatises, of Benjamin Furly, William Popple, Damaris Masham, William Stephens, and Sir Robert Howard are examined. The Lockean circle remained committed to Christian revelation and, for the most part, to a reformed Church of England, and it is argued that it is a mistake to identify the critique of priestcraft exclusively with deism and the subversion of Christianity. The polemical critique of the priestly deformations of Christianity, though often scabrously hostile to clergies, served equally the ecclesiastical and political causes of post-Revolution latitudinarian Anglicanism. The Lockean circle was committed to constructing a Church Whig ecclesiology.
ISSN:1749-6977
1749-6985
DOI:10.1080/17496977.2018.1402444