Baruch Spinoza: The Beginning of Freedom of Religious Thought within Judaism

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Modern day Judaism is split into several different fractions whose looks and values are very different. Though this has become the accepted standard in Judaism, it was not always that way. Freedom of religious thought in Judaism was looked at as an evil, and preaching these ideas could lead to excommunication from the community. This was the fate of one of the most relevant 17th century philosophers in today’s world, Baruch Spinoza. Though it is impossible to say if Spinoza would have been in support of one of the more liberal and free thinking sects of modern Judaism, this paper will argue that Spinoza changed the course of Jewish theology with his preachings and creation of the idea of the necessity of freedom of religious thought with his works the Theological-Political Treatise.

To understand the impact of Spinoza’s teachings it is important to first understand his place in the history of Judaism as well as the history of philosophy. Baruch Spinoza was born in 1632 in Amsterdam, where he grew up in a Portuguese-Jewish community. He excelled as a student and was being groomed to be a Rabbi, but was unable to finish his studies because he was needed to help run the family business. At the time when Spinoza was a student, a knowledgeable majority controlled the theology of religious Judaism, their rulings were final and their control was absolute. Those who would openly speak out against these rulings and accepted beliefs would receive the harshest punishments in Jewish circles, the writ of Cherem or excommunication, and that was exactly what happened to Spinoza in 1656. Though the “abominable heresies” for which he was excommunicated are unknown, the reasons are likely tied to the radical ideas he presents in his philosophi...

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... century and beyond. The Theological-Political Treatise is responsible for laying the foundation for which more liberal sects of Judaism stand on, even though Spinoza himself was not a secular Jew. Without Spinoza it is impossible to know if the Jewish world ever would have broken free from the shackles of singular religious authority.

Works Cited

Halper, Edward C. “Spinoza on the Political Value of Freedom of Religion.” History of Philosophy Quarterly (2004): 167-182. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27744984 (accessed November 5, 2011).

Mason, Richard. “Spinoza on Religious Choice.” Philosophy (1994): 443-458. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3751365?seq=1 (accessed November 5, 2011).

Nadler, Steven, "Baruch Spinoza", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2011 Edition), http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2011/entries/spinoza/ (accessed November 7, 2011).

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