The ‘Opinions of Religion and Divine Worship’ in the Seventeenth Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from an English and Scottish Perspective

Abstract

The ‘Opinions of Religion and Divine Worship’ in the Seventeenth Century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from an English and Scottish Perspective The article analyses English and Scottish travellers’ accounts of interdenominational relations, and specifically religious toleration, as observed in the seventeenth century Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. It traces the changing British perception of these matters over time, from when toleration was a subject of admiration until it began to be seen as a sign of anarchic religious liberty, a weakness; something to be, as Gilbert instigated, ‘abolished and removed from the body and the bounds’ of the English monarchy.