ABSTRACT
John Locke, one of the earliest champions of religious freedom, was careful to exclude atheists from its protection: atheists, he said, should not be allowed rights of citizens. These striking facts certainly help to explain the birth of the idea of religious freedom and its rapid growth in popularity: why people in seventeenth-century Europe, for instance, sensed its pressing importance in securing peace. Government is required to protect people only from fears it believes realistic, and it cannot declare a fear of hell realistic unless it endorses a particular set of religious beliefs, which the right to religious freedom is generally thought to prohibit. Godly religions impose serious duties and responsibilities, including not just duties of worship and diet but also social responsibilities.
