Abstracts
Abstract
This article offers a comprehensive account of Théodore de Bèze’s views on the punishment of heretics and a reflection on their broader significance. The core of its analysis focuses on Bèze’s earliest political work, the Anti-Bellius. It provides an assessment of five aspects of Bèze’s discussion: the legal basis for the punishment of heresy; the respective roles of civil and ecclesiastical authorities in disciplining heretics; the definition of heresy; the consensus of all relevant authorities on the matter; and the possibility of grounding justifications for coercion on absolute claims to religious truth. The concluding section examines the enduring role played by these ideas both in Bèze’s own later writings and in subsequent Reformed discussions of the subject. The historical import of Bèze’s formulations is shown to lie in their lasting influence and in the deeper reflections on the nature of political authority on which these formulations rested.
Keywords:
- Théodore de Bèze,
- heresy,
- religious coercion,
- Reformed political thought,
- Sebastian Castellio
Résumé
Cet article propose une étude détaillée des positions de Théodore de Bèze concernant la punition des hérétiques et fournit des pistes de réflexion sur leur portée globale. Le cœur de cette analyse porte sur la première œuvre politique de Bèze, l’Anti-Bellius. Elle évalue cinq problématiques sur lesquelles Bèze s’interroge, à savoir les fondements légaux de la punition de l’hérésie ; les rôles respectifs des autorités civiles et ecclésiastiques au sein de l’action punitive contre les hérétiques ; la définition de l’hérésie ; le consensus rassemblant toutes les autorités présidant à la question ; et la possibilité d’ancrer les justifications de la coercition dans une revendication inconditionnelle de vérité religieuse. La dernière partie de l’article examine le rôle que ces idées ont joué à long terme, à la fois dans les écrits ultérieurs de Bèze et dans les discussions qui ont émergé dans les années d’après à propos de ces problématiques au sein du protestantisme réformé. Il y est démontré que la portée historique des thèses de Bèze réside dans leur influence durable et dans les réflexions plus profondes sur la nature de l’autorité politique sur lesquelles elles reposent.
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Appendices
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