The work argues over the definition and nature of heresy and free thought, and Milton tries to convince the new English Parliament to further his cause.
A Treatise of Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes was published in February 1659 after Richard Cromwell established a new Parliament.
[3] Milton believed that an individual's conscience was more important than any external factors or forces.
[6] He uses heresy in a neutral manner in order to place the concept as an obligation of true Christians.
[9] Conversely, Kevin Hart wrote in First Things, "His powerful attack against the idea of a state church remains one of the most pungent pieces of prose in the language.