Ebraismo e religione razionale : Mendelssohn e il Trattato teologico-politico

This article explores an often overlooked Spinozian component ofMendelssohn's thought: the influence of the Tractatus theologicopoliticus on his conception of rational religion, the relationship between church and state, and Judaism.Mendelssohn embraced and utilized the Tractatus theologicopoliticus to formulatesome of the central positions of his political philosophy and religion. He read and interpreted the Tractatus theologicopoliticus from a particular perspective, linked to hisidentity as a believing Jew: his primary objective was to defend the civil emancipationof Jews, affirming their freedom of worship. From this perspective, his bookJerusalem oder über religiöse Macht und Judentum (1783) constitutes a genuine confrontation with Spinozian positions on the role of religion within the state and themeaning of Judaism. This article analyzes and compares Jerusalem and the Tractatustheologicopoliticus, highlighting, despite all their differences, the profound and fundamental similarities between the two

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