A Critique of Hobbes’s Critique of Biblical and Natural Religion in Leviathan

While Thomas Hobbes is generally recognized as a preeminent political philosopher, he is, to say the least, much less regarded as a theologian or religious thinker.1 Yet it suffices to inspect the frontispieces and tables of contents of Hobbes's greatest works, De Cive and Leviathan, to see that Hobbes proclaimed theology to be a central part of political philosophy. What is more, Hobbes esteemed himself as having provided the first successful, rational resolution of the most fundamental issues in religion as well as in politics and morals.

Thomas L. Pangle

Thomas Lee Pangle is an American political scientist. He currently holds the Joe R. Long Chair in Democratic Studies in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also taught at the University of Toronto and Yale University. He is a student of Leo Strauss.

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