John Locke, Tolerance, The Glorious Revolution, and the Orange Order

"We should do well to commiserate our mutual ignorance, and endeavour to remove it in all the gentle and fair ways of information, and not instantly treat others ill as obstinate and perverse because they will not renounce their own and receive our opinions, or at least those we would force upon them, when it is more than probable that we are no less obstinate in not embracing some of theirs. For where is the man that has uncontestable evidence of the truth of all that he holds, or for the falsehood of all he condemns; or can say that he has examined to the bottom all his own or other men's opinions? The necessity of believing without knowledge, nay, often upon very slight grounds, in this fleeting state of action and blindness we are in, should make us more busy and careful to inform ourselves than to restrain others... There is reason to think, that if men were better instructed themselves, they would be less imposing on others [emphasis mine]."

- John Locke Essay Concerning Human Understanding Book IV, Ch. XVI, Sec. 4

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 does not get the credit it deserves for introducing religious tolerance to England. The tone and substance of Locke's thought is self-explanatory. In fact, these ideas were those which the American Founding Fathers piggy-backed on to create our Constitution. In England, this religious tolerance brought about by William of Orange and John Locke resulted in the following observation by Bertrand Russell. - DOB

"The Act of Toleration, while leaving Catholics and Nonconformists subject to various disabilities, put an end to actual persecution."

- Bertrand Russell A History of Western Philosophy Ch. XII

This is why I and many like-minded friends associate ourselves with the Orange Order. It is the last remaining vestige of faith that consciously carries on the remarkable and (relative to previous wars) bloodless revolution that put Western Civilization on a new course of tolerance. The ideals and spirit behind the Order's mantra, Civil and Religious Liberty, are something I wish to be associated with. - DOB