Tolerance, Society, and Sovereignty: The Retreat from Pluralism in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Abstract

The Polish Brethren were fervent advocates of religious tolerance. Johann Crell's “Vindiciae pro Religionis Libertate” (1637) is prominent among their works, because of its far-reaching and progressive arguments for freedom of religion. This article outlines the historical and intellectual context of this pamphlet, and its reception in seventeenth-century Europe. Despite being familiar with a historical situation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth where toleration was practiced on a societal level, Crell strongly argued that freedom of religion had to be enacted through a public law. Only in this way could freedom of religion be truly effective and guarantee safety for all citizens.