Augustine and Luther on toleration and coercion

Abstract

Augustine of Hippo (354–430) and Martin Luther (1483–1546) both argued in favor of toleration and freedom of religion in their younger years, but both changed their policy toward dissenters as they grew older. They also adjusted their reading of the Parable of the Weeds (Matt 13) to varying situations. The older Augustine and Luther both called on the secular authorities to suppress their theologi- cal opponents, using the sword that God has given them (Rom 13) to protect both tables of the law: religion and morals. This article describes and explains their similar development in this regard.