Castellio's plea for religious tolerance and his refusal of prosecution of dissenters are as relevant today as they had been in 1554 when Michel Servet's burning at the stake occasioned Castellio's protest. The articles analyze Castellio's anonymous treaty De haereticis an sint persequendi (in Roland H. Bainton's translation: Concerning heretics) in the original context and the world of religious dissent around Basel. Castellio instigated debates about tolerance which proved to be crucial for the self-fashioning of protestantism and the claim for a reformatio continua. Castellio's lesser known writings also argue for religious ideas and basic moral norms about which agreement can reached beyond confessional controversies. His vision of various religious communities which peacefully interact under the roof of a neutral government still inspires interreligious discourse today. When Spinoza is praised for the idea of a society where liberty of conscience is granted as a prerequisite for prosperity and peace, Castellio and his allies provided him the tools for such a modern vision of how a neutral state may enhance individual enterprise and pursuit of happiness.
Über den Autor Barbara (Hrsg.) Mahlmann-Bauer
Barbara Mahlmann-Bauer (geb. 1954) war nach ihrer Ausbildung in Göttingen und München Professorin für neuere deutsche Literatur an den Universitäten in Marburg und Bern. Ihre Forschungsgebiete sind Humanismus, Reformation und Barock, die Literatur der Aufklärung und des deutschen Exils. Sie schreibt über Jeremias Gotthelf, Hermann Broch und die Wiener Moderne, die Nietzsche-Rezeption und Holocaust-Erinnerungsbücher.Paul Michael Luetzeler (geb. 1943), lehrt als Rosa May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities an der Washington University in St. Louis. Preise: DAAD-Preis der German Studies Association (1986), Österreichisches Ehrenkreuz für Kunst und Wissenschaft Erster Klasse (1987), Goethe Medaille des Goethe Instituts (2004), Friedrich Gundolf Preis der Deutschen Akademie für Sprache und Dichtung (2019).