Worlds Of Difference

Toleration has become a keystone of liberal political philosophy, but with liberalism under attack today as inadequate for dealing with all the problems of a pluralistic world, other resources are needed. Cary Nederman directs our attention to the creative thinking about toleration that preceded the rise of liberalism and canvasses the diverse ideas proposed then within Christianity as a response to religious, cultural, national, and ethnic differences.

Toleration has become a keystone of liberal political philosophy, but with liberalism under attack today as inadequate for dealing with all the problems of a pluralistic world, other resources are needed. Cary Nederman directs our attention to the creative thinking about toleration that preceded the rise of liberalism and canvasses the diverse ideas proposed then within Christianity as a response to religious, cultural, national, and ethnic differences.

Booknews

Nederman (political science, Texas A&M U.) challenges the conventional wisdom that theories of religious toleration are a product of modern Western thought, arguing that tolerance received reasoned defense from a number of quarters in Latin Christendom long before the Reformation. Today, toleration has become a keystone of liberal political philosophy, but liberalism is under attack as inadequate for dealing with all the problems of a pluralistic world. Nederman's analysis brings attention to the creative thinking about toleration that preceded the rise of liberalism and canvasses the diverse ideas proposed then within Christianity as a response to religious, cultural, national, and ethnic differences. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Cary J. Nederman is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona. His most recent books include Three Tracts on Empire: Engelbert of Admont, Aeneas Silvius Piccolomini, and Juan de Torquemada (co-edited and co-translated with T. M. Izbicki) (1999) and Beyond the Persecuting Society: Religious Toleration Before the Enlightenment (co-edited with J. C. Laursen) (1998).