Mendelssohn’s "Jerusalem or On Religious Power and Judaism"

Judaism and Political Theology Moses Mendelssohn’s “Jerusalem or On Religious Power and Judaism Name Institution: Goucher College Date Mendelssohn argued that the Torah doctrines came directly from God in a way that is relevant to ethical conduct and not divinely created through human reasons and as such Judaism is the religion of reason. To Mendelssohn, Judaism has fewer dogmas than Christianity and focuses more on rational propositions . Mendelssohn highlights the secular and religious domains while differentiating the universal and communal obligations. The philosopher supports the separation of church and state and he believed that politics ought to balance the influence of religion and church in social life rather than simply determining the extent of the church-state separation . Mendelssohn looked at the nature of Christianity and Judaism, there relations with politics and the separation of church and state. Politics should neither disadvantage the church nor increase political control of churches. Religion and the state are two of the most important institutions, which influence the common good whereby the state governs relations among people. Mendelssohn focuses more on how institutions promote the common good and not the institution responsible for this. The church and state are necessary to uphold the common good, which then depends on human perfection and societal order. However, the state has power to reward and punish, highlighting the need to guarantee rights through social contracts . Mendelssohn’s philosophy focuses on Judaism being moral and relevant to morality, ethics and spirituality unlike those who focused on Jewish laws being coercive. In other words, Judaism is a divine religion, whose rights do not imply coercion, and is relevant since there is reason and persuasion (73). Even w...