Letter Concerning Toleration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter Concerning Toleration - Essay Example According to John Locke in his Letter Concerning Tolerance, the state and the church are perfectly distinct and infinitely different entities (Locke 24). In his opinion, the magistrate has no role in matters of religion. The main functions of the state are to protect life, people’s liberty, and their properties. Every entity in the society is limited to its functions and protection of souls is not one of the states functions but rather the function of the church. Therefore, by creating laws to criminalize the use the hallucinogenic mushroom, the stipulations describing how the drug is not fit for consumption and what makes it criminal should apply to all individual citizens of the state in the bid to uphold democracy and protection of peoples lives and liberty. Allowing some religions to use the drug while restricting others is a true description of what Locke refers to as intolerance. It is a definite case of a state showing coercion of citizens to convert to certain religion s. This is because conversion to the exempted religion would allow those people with the urge to use the drug a right to the drug. The American flag and patriotism Reciting the pledge of allegiance while facing the American flag as a show of patriotism is not wrong even in Locke’s point of view. This is because Locke is precise and categorical about the extend to which the state can make wrong moves in controlling religious practices and the main factor of consideration is the essence of everything that the state implements as a rule for every citizen. The only wrong move that the state could take in such a case is to connect the reciting of the pledge of allegiance while facing the American flag to matters of religion. In this case, the state has not made connections of religious beliefs to the aspect of reciting the pledge of allegiance while facing the American flag. In addition to this, the state makes itself clean in this case by ensuring that this aspect is practiced by all citizens of America regardless of their religious affiliations as a show of patriotism to the state. It is for the parents to these children to differentiate matters of religion from undertaking universal activities that are meant to show patriotism to the state. The state never intended to connect the action of reciting the pledge of allegiance while facing the American flag with matters of the soul. Nonetheless, subscribing as a citizen of a certain state or nation means that one has made the choice of being patriotic to the particular state. The Christian minister The case of the Christian minister presents a very controversial aspect in consideration of Locke’s views in the letter concerning tolerance. The controversy is presented in the fact that both the state and the Christian minister would agree and disagree with Locke’s ideas at some point. In Locke’s view, there should be religious tolerance among churches as a factor that would foster peace in t he society. The minister was not wrong to criticize another religious sect in the congregation of his religious sect in order to persuade his people to choose his religion but he had no right to threaten to burn the Koran as it would be fostering a totalitarian ideology that Locke is against. He is correct in Locke’