
Contents
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Patterning a Whole Commonwealth Patterning a Whole Commonwealth
-
Forms of Worship Forms of Worship
-
Toleration and Heresy Toleration and Heresy
-
Prayer, Suicide, and the Commonwealth Prayer, Suicide, and the Commonwealth
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
4 The Religions of the Utopians: Sin and Salvation in Thomas More’s Utopia
Get accessDavid Harris Sacks is Richard F. Scholz Professor of History and Humanities, Emeritus at Reed College, Oregon. He has published widely on topics including the early English Atlantic, urban and national citizenship, travel writing, and religion, and edited Ralph Robinson’s translation of Utopia (St Martin’s Press, 1999).
-
Published:18 December 2023
Cite
Abstract
In describing the diverse religions of the Utopians, Hythloday, More’s protagonist in Utopia, emphasized that in founding the island’s regime, Utopus had ‘prescribed that everyone may cultivate the religion of his choice’, and decreed against the use of coercion to impose religious uniformity. However, More’s later attacks on heretics as Lord Chancellor appear contrary to Utopian toleration. Did the Utopian rule ‘that no one should suffer for his religion’ represent More’s own view in 1516? Did he later change his mind? Or does Hythloday’s description already imply the existence of religious error among the Utopians and the possibility of sanctioning it? If the latter, on what grounds? This chapter, analysing More’s account of Utopian religions, reveals them to have been theologically flawed and sets strict limits to the toleration they could be afforded once Christianity was introduced among the Utopians.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
December 2023 | 5 |
January 2024 | 5 |
February 2024 | 1 |
March 2024 | 1 |
April 2024 | 13 |
May 2024 | 3 |
June 2024 | 16 |
July 2024 | 1 |
August 2024 | 1 |
September 2024 | 6 |
October 2024 | 8 |
November 2024 | 5 |
December 2024 | 1 |
January 2025 | 15 |
February 2025 | 28 |
March 2025 | 11 |
April 2025 | 8 |
May 2025 | 2 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.