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The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke
Bibliography: pages 168-181.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Philosophy
2015
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| _version_ | 1867614045897490432 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Watkyns, Brian Richard William |
| author2 | Collins, Peter |
| author_browse | Collins, Peter Watkyns, Brian Richard William |
| author_facet | Collins, Peter Watkyns, Brian Richard William |
| author_sort | Watkyns, Brian Richard William |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Bibliography: pages 168-181. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15829 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:48.532Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Philosophy |
| publisherStr | Department of Philosophy |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15829 The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke Watkyns, Brian Richard William Collins, Peter Christianity and politics Bibliography: pages 168-181. Since 1945 the emphasis on rights has been an ever-increasing phenomenon while the influence of the church plays an ever-diminishing role in today's society. The irony of the situation is that rights have their source in religion. It is Locke who is credited with having put the question of rights into the mainstream of political thinking and it was Locke's faith in God that enabled him to put forward the political doctrine that will be considered in this thesis. The theme of this study is the reconciliation of traditional Christianity with humanist political theory's emphasis on rights in Locke's Political Philosophy which I have termed Theopolity. It traces Locke's thoughts, starting with his view on the creation of man which ultimately gives rise to natural and human rights. These rights, when violated by Government, legitimately result in revolution. Locke has three areas of thought, which when combined, give rise to his political doctrine. These areas are Epistemology, Theology, and Politics. He believed that after creation man was in the State of Nature. This state of Nature was controlled by the law of Nature which gave rise to, and preserved, Natural Rights. To ensure the protection of these Rights the individual entered into a Social Contract and so created a political society. Once society had been established, a Government was formed to ensure the protection of the individual by means of civil laws. These laws extended Natural Rights and these extended rights are known as Human Rights. This study concludes that John Locke's political thought is the most cogent political doctrine that can be adopted by rational individuals who share a strong sense of justice and morality in a Democratic Christian Society. It shows that Locke's pursuit of truth led to his basic, common-sense politics which was the embodiment of the true state of man in a society where the individual's God-given rights are respected. 2015-12-20T15:30:20Z 2015-12-20T15:30:20Z 1989 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15829 eng application/pdf Department of Philosophy Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Christianity and politics Watkyns, Brian Richard William The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| title_full | The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| title_short | The relationship between religion and rights in the writings of John Locke |
| title_sort | relationship between religion and rights in the writings of john locke |
| topic | Christianity and politics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15829 |
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