Locke based his ethical theories upon belief in the natural
goodness of humanity. The inevitable pursuit of happiness and
pleasure, when conducted rationally, leads to cooperation, and
in the long run private happiness and the general welfare
coincide. Immediate pleasures must give way to a prudent regard
for ultimate good, including reward in the afterlife. He argued
for broad religious freedom in three separate essays on
toleration but excepted atheism and Roman Catholicism, which he
felt should be legislated against as inimical to religion and
the state. In his essay The Reasonableness of Christianity
(1695), he emphasized the ethical aspect of Christianity against
dogma. Sections in this article: The Columbia Electronic
Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University
Press. All rights reserved.