Tolerancia, verdad y libertad de conciencia en el siglo XVIII

Abstract

The 18th century defense of tolerance rests upon two lines of argument; lines that we can observe in thinkers such as Montesquieu and Rousseau, Diderot, Romilly and Voltaire. The first deconstructs the concept of absolute truth as it applies not only to the (orthodox) doctrine itself, as revealed by God, but also to the Catholic Church insofar as it is taken to be the only institution where truth resides uniquely. The second line of argument would run as follows: Once we acknowledge the rights of consciousness to every single religion, how can we possibly avoid a circular justification of intolerance? Romilly and Voltaire defend, without renouncing to the rights of consciousness (which are the base of individual liberties), the Lockean thesis of the separation Church-State. However, they assign to the State the ius circa sacra. It is only upon this foundation that the idea and the practice of tolerance, both religiously as well as universally and multiculturally speaking, can be constructed.