# Separating the Church and State, Marsilius of Padua

**URL:** <https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/portraits-of-liberty/separating-the-church-and-state-marsilius-of-padua>

**By** Paul Meany

**Published:** April 9, 2020

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In Marsilius's mind, the main disturber of the peace of his day was the papacy.

Discussions of monarchy and hierarchy usually dominate medieval political thought. The 14-century thinker Marsilius of Padua breaks with his contemporaries arguing the church and state should be separate entities and that laws should be based on the consent and common good of all. Despite being a medieval mind, Marsilius has a distinctly modern voice.

## Related Content:

[Marsilius Was a Radical Medieval Thinker](https://www.libertarianism.org/columns/marsilius-radical-medieval-thinker), written by Paul Meany

[Separation of Church and State](https://www.libertarianism.org/encyclopedia/separation-church-state) from the Encyclopedia of Libertarianism