The Discourse on Political Pluralism in Early Eighteenth-century England

Download or read book The Discourse on Political Pluralism in Early Eighteenth-century England written by Pasi Ihalainen and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pasi Ihalainen's book demonstrates that political pluralism was generally conceptualised through terminology derived from the traditionally dominant religious discourse, which contributed to continuity in critical attitudes towards political parties. Yet significant shifts also occurred in the application of religious terminology of pluralism. These shifts include the gradual secularisation of the vocabularies of the political and of party. There also occurred a decline in the frequency of religious terms, as politics and religion became understood as separate, though analogous, spheres. Terminologies of religious and political pluralism, became more distinct, which facilitated the expression of more positive attitudes towards political pluralism.