The Sovereignty of Reason

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Focusing on the rule of faith controversy in seventeenth-century England, this work explores how reason emerged as the dominant standard of truth in both religion and politics. Frederick Beiser highlights the challenges posed by the Church of England's Protestant theology, which threatened the authority of reason more than dissident groups did. He argues that the rise of rationalism stemmed from a departure from traditional Protestant views on salvation and ecclesiastical governance. The early rationalists, despite their limitations, formulated a moral and pragmatic defense of reason that remains relevant today.