Politics Quote by John Locke
““For the civil government can give no new right to the church, nor the church to the civil government. So that, whether the magistrate join himself to any church, or separate from it, the church remains always as it was before — a free and voluntary society. It neither requires the power of the sword by the magistrate’s coming to it, nor does it lose the right of instruction and excommunication by his going from it. This is the fundamental and immutable right of a spontaneous society — that it has power to remove any of its members who transgress the rules of its institution; but it cannot, by the accession of any new members, acquire any right of jurisdiction over those that are not joined with it.””
About This Quote
Source Treat: Second Treatise of Government, 1689
The passage argues that civil authority cannot claim power over the church, which remains a free, voluntary community with its own right to discipline members, but cannot extend jurisdiction over non‑members.
In simple terms: Church and state should stay separate; each governs its own members.
Key Takeaway
Protect institutional autonomy while respecting individual liberty.
Themes
separation of church and state
voluntary association
institutional autonomy
rights
governance
Mood
reflective
serious
critical
Type
philosophical
political
ethical
When to use this quote
- legislative drafting
- community governance
- religious organization policy
- civil rights advocacy
Key Concepts
social contract theory
natural rights
political philosophy
Questions to Reflect On
- What limits should exist on institutional power?
- How do voluntary societies handle dissent?
A Different Perspective
Balancing freedom with societal order can be complex.
![“Wherever, therefore, any number of men so unite into one society, as to quit everyone his executive power of the law of Nature, and to resign it to the public, there, and there only, is a political or civil society. […] Hence it is evident that absolute monarchy, which by some men [e.g., Hobbes]…” quote by John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/c35/john-locke-814_absolute-monarchy_wherever-therefore-any-number-of-men-so_2296731.jpg)
![“[M]an is not permitted without censure to follow his own thoughts in the search of truth, when they lead him ever so little out of the common road.” quote by John Locke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9bd/john-locke-814_censorship_m-an-is-not-permitted-without-censure-to_60175.jpg)
