Abstract

This essay analyses Leibniz’s criticism of Thomasius’s work Is Heresy a Punishable Crime (1697) which at first glance could be seen as an argument against the inclusion of Leibniz in the history of toleration - a much-discussed topic in the Leibniz literature. Through close examination of Thomasius’s reasons in support of the decriminalization of heresy and Leibniz’s replies to them, I aim to demonstrate that Leibniz’s criticism towards Thomasius was more concerned with the foundation of religious truth than the extent of toleration, which, for Leibniz as well as for Thomasius, should characterise public and, especially, intellectual life.