Abstract
This article aims to offer an overview of the evolution of Luther’s political thought concerning religious tolerance. Our hypothesis is that a tolerantist political theory, i.e., one which affirms the illegitimacy of religious coercion, makes appearance in the young Luther, especially in his little tract On secular authority (1523), before being abandoned in the course of Reformation. As a second step, we try to situate this change in the broader political thinking of the Reformer and in the changing winds of the Reformation.
Keywords:
Luther; Reformation; Tolerance; Freedom; Authority