Piety and humanity

the long version

The nature of the relationship between early modern political philosophy and revealed religion has been much debated. The contributors to Piety and Humanity argue that this relationship is one of dissonance rather than concord. Early modern political philosophers found revealed religion - especially Christianity - to be a threat to the modern political project, and these philosophers therefore attempted to transform revealed religion so that it would be less of a threat, and possibly even an aid. Each essay is devoted to a single work by a political philosopher and is followed by a brief selected bibliography. The thinkers and works discussed include Machiavelli's Exhortation to Penitence, Francis Bacon's New Atlantis, Spinoza's Theologico-Political Treatise, and Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity. This book will be of great importance to philosophers, political theorists, and scholars of religion and early modern European history.