Enlightenment Toleration: Rereading Pierre Bayle’s Criticism of Religious Persecution in Commentaire philosophique

Abstract

This article focuses on the debate concerning the justification and scope of tolerating differing religious beliefs in the work of the Radical Enlightenment philosopher Pierre Bayle and discusses his potential contribution to deprovincialising Critical Theory. It firstly analyses Bayle’s project of reciprocal toleration for reconciling the tension between moral universalism and cultural particularity in Commentaire philosophique. Next, it examines Bayle’s critical analysis of the China Mission so as to argue that the principle of reciprocity can be applied to cultural/religious groups. Finally, it argues that Bayle develops the model of intercultural self-critique in the European Enlightenment to counteract the threat of being blinded by cultural provincialism. In offering an extensive discussion of Bayle’s criticism of persecution, the article highlights the need to reveal a certain epistemic humility that is manifested in processes of testing the prejudices and value commitments in a cultural or religious group.