About Hooker

b. 1554 CE - d. 1600 CE

Richard Hooker was an English theologican whose seminal work, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie, defined the core distinctives of Anglican theology. He emphasized the importance of scripture, church tradition and humanity’s ability to reason. Influenced by the writing of Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas, Hooker took a more moderate view compared to his Puritan contemporaries in Elizabethan England and disputed their beliefs connected to both theology and governance. Hooker’s political ideas deeply influenced later thinkers such as John Locke and the authors of the American Constitution. His contributions to religion, philosophy and government can be seen as a bridge from medieveal thought to more modern conceptions of natural law.