Research: Leibniz’s Examination of the Christian Religion
A new critical translation of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz’s Examen religionis Christianae, featuring previously unpublished passages and comments.
Summary
Research summary
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2018 to 2022
Prof Lloyd Strickland has produced a new critical edition of Examen religionis Christianae, one of the most important theological writings by the German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz.
The new edition includes previously unpublished material drawn from the Leibniz’s drafts as well as the reaction of a near-contemporary scholar.
Written in 1686, Examination of the Christian Religion explores topics such as the love of God, sin and evil, and the afterlife. But more importantly it focuses on issues contested by the Catholics and Protestants of Leibniz’s day, such as divorce, the sacraments, and purgatory.
Although a lifelong Lutheran, Leibniz often takes up a recognizably Catholic stance in Examen - prompting debate among scholars about his intentions. Is the document a personal statement of faith? Or could it serve some other purpose, such as contributing to church union efforts with which Leibniz was involved?
Prof Strickland compiled the new translation working from Leibniz’s unfinished, handwritten draft and the original Latin manuscript, and it includes passages the author deleted.
Also included for the first time is commentary by eighteenth century historian Johann Daniel Gruber. Previously unpublished, Gruber’s marginal comments made on a fair copy of Examen are the first critical response to the text, almost a century before it was published, and capture the concerns of an orthodox Lutheran.
Outputs
Research outputs
Publications
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Strickland, L (2022) Leibniz’s Examination of the Christian ReligionOxford: Oxford University Press.
Researcher
Funding
With funding from
The British Academy
Contact
Contact us
For general enquiries about the Religion, Race, Ethnicity and Community research group, please contact its leads, Dr Andrew Crome and Dr Rachel Lichtenstein.
