On Richard Hooker's Political Thought

Richard Hooker is an influential Anglican theologist. People regard Hooker as one of the initiator of Anglican theology thoughts. In Anglicanism, Hooker's status is important and cannot change, just like Luther in Lutheranism, Calvin in Calvinism, Wesley in Methodism. Hooker tried to unify the belief, reason and tradition in thought. He not only inherited political philosophy of the middle ages and ancient Greek, but also combined England own tradition and practice. So Hooker became the pioneer of early modern political philosophy. The paper is based on the material which author has collected and author's own analysis and reflection. It chooses Hooker's theology political thought as study object and discusses the origin of Hooker's theology thought. Also, the paper emphasizes to expound Hooker's law thought and the idea about Church and State. Finally, author elucidates the influence of Hooker's political thought.The first chapter introduces Hooker's life and the background he lived in. Hooker denoted meekness and piety to God and people in all his life. Although his lifetime was no long, he wrote a composing to the England Church——Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. The works had great influence to later people. Of course, the Age of Reformation was just like the delivery room that made the works born. Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity was born in the course of debate between Hooker and Puritan. It was a production that Hooker thought about tenet and ceremony of the England Church.The second chapter discusses two origins of Hooker's theology thought. They are Thomas Aquinas's and Calvin's theology thought. Thomas Aquinas expounded almost all scholasticism ideas. Calvin was one of important representations of Protestant in the Age of Reformation. Hooker absorbed the useful nutrition from them and combined the tradition and practice. So Hooker clarified his different opinion to Scripture and Reason. Hooker's political thought was based on his theology thought.The third chapter analyses Hooker's law idea. Hooker's divine law and natural law idea obeyed the Catholic tradition. He insisted on that the God is creator of law. Hooker thought the positive law could change, because it was a makeshift that people made it adapt to the actual condition. Hooker discussed in turn the change of divine law, ecclesiastic polity law, church's everyday behavior and testify the rationality of change. Hooker thought the change of law was accorded with the England fact. His law idea provided a theory proof to the behavior of Elizabethan's government and England Church. People constituted law to serve the fact. In Hooker's opinion, law was the expression of order.The forth chapter illuminate Hooker's political thought. It is the main part in the paper. The relation between Church and State is all along a focus problem from the middle ages to the early modern. Hooker's State theory consisted of two basic opinions: natural idea and contract idea. He narrated people needed some rules to bind themselves from nature to government ruled. Hooker adhered to the social contract theory and expounded that the social contract should follow consent rule. Meanwhile, Hooker agreed limited sovereign. Furthermore, author analyses Hooker's opinion about Church and discusses the definition of Church, the organizing form of Church. He opposed the separate State from Church.The fifth chapter sets forth the influence of Hooker's political thought. Author emphases the influence to Hobbes and Locke. They all assimilated the available element from Hooker's thought. It includes three aspects: nature, contract and religion tolerance. We can see Hooker was a pioneer in political theory.