On John Locke's Political Theory

"It's important to remember that John Locke is a cradle Calvinist. He learned basic Calvinistic theory as part of his basic upbringing. He spent time in the Netherlands, a haven of Calvinism among other faiths. And he spent time in coffee houses learning about what toleration means, about what social contract means, about what natural rights mean, about what the rights of nature entail. And I dare say that a number of his basic [political] ideas are simply genetic reflexes or in of his Puritan heritage part of those ingenious repositioning of those Calvinistic ideas so that they would become palatable to an Anglican and Royalist community."

 - John Witte Jr., Jonas Robitscher Professor of Law, Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University.