THE LEGACY OF TOLERATION: J. G. HERDER AND MOSES MENDELSSOHN'S DEFENCE OF PLURALISM

Abstract

Moses Mendelssohn's ‘Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism’ (1783) was a milestone in the promotion of religious toleration – a principle that is constitutive for human rights in their contemporary conception. This article argues that ‘Jerusalem’ borrows from a surprising source: Johann Gottfried Herder's world history, which is entrenched in Protestant theology. Herder's world history presents a non-hierarchical consideration of peoples. In this framework, Herder called to revalorise oral cultures, previously considered as primitive, as assets for humankind. The article argues that Mendelssohn's promotion of religious toleration employs the logic of Herder's cultural pluralism. Similarly to Herder, Mendelssohn contends that traditional cultures foster a longstanding contribution to humankind. In this vein, Mendelssohn portrays Jewish ritual as exemplary of the vitality of orality. Tracing Herder's cultural pluralism in ‘Jerusalem’ resolves a major tension in Mendelssohn's promotion of toleration: the presentation of Judaism as a superior culture coincides with his call for a non-hierarchical understanding of cultures.