How did John Locke’s early Two Tracts on Government differ from his later political ideas?

John Locke’s early work, Two Tracts on Government (1660), reflects a significantly more conservative political stance than his later, more famous writings. Composed in the wake of the English Civil Wars, the Tracts were driven by a desire for stability and a fear of the anarchy caused by religious sectarianism. In this early work, Locke argued that a government is justified in legislating on any religious matter that is not strictly essential to the core beliefs of Christianity.1

This position is diametrically opposed to the views he later expounded in his Two Treatises of Government (1689) and A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689). In his mature political philosophy, Locke championed the rule of law, the separation of powers, and the necessity of religious toleration. He eventually argued that the state’s authority is limited to protecting "civil interests"—such as life, liberty, and property—and that it has no legitimate power to interfere in the private religious conscience of individuals.231