ABSTRACT
This chapter approaches the relationship between liberalism and toleration from an historical perspective, and seeks to broaden the scholarly conversation beyond its often narrow emphasis on Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration. It does so by exploring the career of Locke’s contemporary, William Penn (1644–1718), who both theorized liberty of conscience in England and, when granted the opportunity, attempted to implement a tolerationist regime in Pennsylvania. This brief consideration of Penn’s career and its context(s) focuses particularly on Penn’s Great Case of Liberty of Conscience (1670) and Perswasive to Moderation (1685), and provides a window into the complex historical relationship between theory and practice as they pertain to liberalism and toleration.
