Spinoza publishes the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus anonymously in 1670: Scripture read as a historical document, prophecy as imagination, and the freedom to philosophize defended as the condition of a peaceful republic. Banned within four years, the book lays the tracks of biblical criticism and the secular state.
Tagged: Freethought Secular and Non-Theistic Secularism
The Event
- Date
- 1670 (exact)
- Also called
- Theological-Political Treatise
- Era
- The Enlightenment Settlement; Standard periodization of secular and non-religious history
- Location
- Amsterdam; today Netherlands
- Traditions
- Secular
- Streams
- Secularism, Freethought
- Key figures
- Baruch Spinoza
- Key texts
- Tractatus Theologico-Politicus
Primary Sources
- Spinoza, Tractatus Theologico-Politicus.
Secondary Sources
- Gottlieb, Anthony. The Dream of Enlightenment: The Rise of Modern Philosophy. New York: Liveright, 2016.
- Jacoby, Susan. Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004.
- Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007.
- Zuckerman, Phil, ed. Atheism and Secularity. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2010.
Provenance: HIST-1306; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-28.
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