Hooker, Richard (1554?-1600), was an English scholar, theologian, and clergyman. His most famous and influential book was Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, which appeared in eight volumes. The first four were published in 1594, the fifth in 1597, and the last three in the mid-1600’s, after his death.
In his book, Hooker defended the Church of England as a “middle way” between Roman Catholicism and Puritanism. Hooker denied the Puritan argument that the Bible should be used as a strict rulebook for church government, or polity. Instead, he argued that God had provided a “natural law” to guide the church in addition to the Bible. Hooker’s ideas influenced such later political thinkers as the English philosopher John Locke. Hooker was born in Heavitree, near Exeter.
