Bracia polscy a Oświecenie
The Polish Brethren and the Enlightenment

Summary/Abstract: The paper discusses the philosophical and theological ideas of the Polish Breth- ren, a nontrinitarian reformed church in 16th Century Poland. Due to religious persecu- tion, the Polish Brethren, also known as Socinians or Polish Arians, were forced to leave the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and seek refuge in other European countries. Their legacy had a significant impact on the development of Enlightenment thought in Europe and inspired legislators both in Europe and America. The ideas developed by the Polish Brethren had a significant impact on the formation of Enlightenment ideas and thought trends, such as rationalism and deism referring to rationalism, as well as tolerance, par- ticularly religious tolerance, and secularism manifesting in the separation of religious and secular institutions. Moreover, the ideas of Polish Arianism, which fascinated Enlight- enment thinkers, became part of the cultural mainstream and were reflected in modern Western state institutions.

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