From a variety of perspectives, the essays presented here explore the profound interdependence of natural philosophy and rational religion in the `long seventeenth century' that begins with the burning of Bruno in 1600 and ends with the Enlightenment in the early Eighteenth century. From the writings of Grotius on natural law and natural religion, and the speculative, libertin novels of Cyrano de Bergerac, to the better-known works of Descartes, Malebranche, Cudworth, Leibniz, Boyle, Spinoza, Newton, and Locke, an increasing emphasis was placed on the rational relationship between religious doctrine, natural law, and a personal divine providence. While evidence for this intrinsic relationship was to be located in different places - in the ideas already present in the mind, in the observations and experiments of the natural philosophers, and even in the history, present experience, and prophesied future of mankind - the result enabled and shaped the broader intellectual and scientific discourses of the Enlightenment.

This fascinating study looks at how the seemingly incompatible forces of science, magic, and religion came together in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries to form the foundations of modern culture. As Religion, Magic, and Science in Early Modern Europe and America makes clear, the early modern period was one of stark contrasts: witch burnings and the brilliant mathematical physics of Isaac Newton; John Locke's plea for tolerance and the palpable lack of it; the richness of intellectual and artistic life, and the poverty of material existence for all but a tiny percentage of the population. Yet, for all the poverty, insecurity, and superstition, the period produced a stunning galaxy of writers, artists, philosophers, and scientists. This book looks at the conditions that fomented the emergence of such outstanding talent, innovation, and invention in the period 1450 to 1800. It examines the interaction between religion, magic, and science during that time, the impossibility of clearly differentiating between the three, and the impact of these forces on the geniuses who laid the foundation for modern science and culture.

The interplay between knowledge and religion forms a pivotal component of how early modern individuals and societies understood themselves and their surroundings. Knowledge of the self in pursuit of salvation, humanistic knowledge within a confessional education, as well as inherently subversive knowledge acquired about religion(s) offer instructive instances of this interplay. To these are added essays on medical knowledge in its religious and social contexts, the changing role of imagination in scientific thought, the philosophical and political problems of representation, and attempts to counter Enlightenment criteria of knowledge at the end of the period, serving here as multifaceted studies of the dynamics and shifts in sensitivity and stress in the interplay between knowledge and religion within evolving early modern contexts.

From 22-25 May, 2002, the University of Groningen hosted an international conference on 'The Book of Nature. Continuity and change in European and American attitudes towards the natural world'. From Antiquity down to our own time, theologians, philosophers and scientists have often compared nature to a book, which might, under the right circumstances, be read and interpreted in order to come closer to the 'Author' of nature, God. The 'reading' of this book was not regarded as mere idle curiosity, but it was seen as leading to a deeper understanding of God's wisdom and power, and it culturally legitimated and promoted a positive attitude towards nature and its study. A selection of the papers which were delivered at the conference has been edited in two volumes. The first book was published as The Book of Nature in Antiquity and the Middle Ages; this second volume is devoted to the history of that concept after the Middle Ages.

This book reveals how, in confrontation with secularity, various new forms of Christianity evolved during the time of Europe's crisis of modernisation. Rudolf Schlögl provides a comprehensive overview of the development of religious institutions and piety in Protestant and Catholic Europe between 1750 and 1850; at the same time, he offers a detailed exposition of contemporary philosophical, theological and socio-theoretical thought on the nature and function of religion. This allows us to understand the importance of religion in the self-defining of European society during a period of great change and upheaval. Religion and Society at the Dawn of Modern Europe is a pivotal work – translated into English here for the first time – for all scholars and students of European society in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Faith-based and secular approaches to politics and foreign policy have often been involved in a kind of uneasy and adversarial 'contest.' However, the world produced by the 1648 Treaty of Westphalia, in conjunctions with the (often radical) Enlightenment, the impact of the French Revolution and the advent during the 20th century of popular an secular mass ideologies, strongly suggested that a modern 'winner' had emerged; especially in the West, most faith-related tensions on various issues appeared to have been primarily resolved on the basis of non-religious considerations and choices. There can be little doubt, though, that the 21st century is witnessing a global resurgence of religion that has manifested itself both peacefully and violently. This 'return of faith' has implications for International Relations theory and also poses significant challenges for statesmanship and the pursuit of the national interest. At a minimum, religious beliefs have to be treated with the utmost seriousness. Furthermore, significant questions are inevitably raised about the scope, issues and manner in which personal faith ought to influence domestic and foreign policy. The last time that similar questions were posed with a comparable intensity in the West was during early modern European history. The era's often savage and religiously-inspired conflicts produced profound intellectual efforts aiming to guide statesmanship through these challenges. The result was the development of raison d'deat thinking and philosophy. By focusing on the relevant works of Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, Givovanni Botero and Justus Lipsius, this book presents the concept's roots, evolution and arguments. The focus in this book is then turned to the career of Cardinal Richelieu, (perhaps the era's most successful statesman) and the key role that reason of state thinking played in his actions is analysed. This book tries to ascertain to what extent, and in what ways, issues of faith and religion formed part of Richelieu's attempts to define and pursue the national interest of seventeenth century France.