A belief system is a set of principles that form the base of a religion, philosophy or moral code. Over the course of human history, many historical figures, most who are philosophers, have emerged with their different ideas and expressing them in numerous ways. Eventually, these ideas pervaded and as a result, influenced belief systems. Many of these theories have shaped and affected how we see the modern world today. One historical figure who was said to be one of the most influential people was John Locke, an English philosopher and Enlightenment thinker. John Locke is one of the founding fathers of liberalism, a concept that supports limited government and individual rights. Locke goes in depth with this philosophy with one of his most powerful writings, “Two Treatises of Government.” In this political work, he made two phenomenal points as a democrat. The first point that he made were that human rights are natural and belonged to everyone. In addition, he …show more content…
He was raised in a religious household which has affected how his views of religion. Moreover, John Locke was living in an age full of religious passion and partisanship. In another one of his treatise, “Letters Concerning Toleration,” he suggested that the government must have religious tolerance, unless the beliefs are a threat to public order. This is a political breakthrough because having religious tolerance shows that the political system is flexible and is accepting of what the people believe and practice in. He based his religious beliefs on government saying that “a government of men should model the government of their Heavenly Father.” (Wardle 295) This statement means that since God’s purpose is to promote the goodwill of people, then the government’s purpose should emulate that. This concept of freedom of religion can also be found in the Bill of