diff --git a/config b/config
index 43a9254..d724a88 100644
--- a/config
+++ b/config
@@ -125,8 +125,9 @@
 
 [logging]
 
-# Set the logging level to debug
-#debug = False
+# Threshold for the logger
+# Value: debug | info | warning | error | critical
+#level = warning
 
 # Don't include passwords in logs
 #mask_passwords = True
diff --git a/radicale/__init__.py b/radicale/__init__.py
index 4f5af76..71373e5 100644
--- a/radicale/__init__.py
+++ b/radicale/__init__.py
@@ -850,7 +850,7 @@ def _init_application(config_path, wsgi_errors):
             _application_config_path = config_path
             configuration = config.load([config_path] if config_path else [],
                                         ignore_missing_paths=False)
-            log.set_debug(configuration.getboolean("logging", "debug"))
+            log.set_level(configuration.get("logging", "level"))
             _application = Application(configuration)
 
 
diff --git a/radicale/__main__.py b/radicale/__main__.py
index ba7ee71..43654a9 100644
--- a/radicale/__main__.py
+++ b/radicale/__main__.py
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ def run():
                         help="check the storage for errors and exit")
     parser.add_argument(
         "-C", "--config", help="use a specific configuration file")
+    parser.add_argument("-D", "--debug", action="store_true",
+                        help="print debug information")
 
     groups = {}
     for section, values in config.INITIAL_CONFIG.items():
@@ -76,7 +78,10 @@ def run():
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
     # Preliminary configure logging
-    log.set_debug(args.logging_debug)
+    if args.debug:
+        args.logging_level = "debug"
+    if args.logging_level is not None:
+        log.set_level(args.logging_level)
 
     if args.config is not None:
         config_paths = [args.config] if args.config else []
@@ -103,7 +108,7 @@ def run():
                 configuration.set(section, action.split('_', 1)[1], value)
 
     # Configure logging
-    log.set_debug(configuration.getboolean("logging", "debug"))
+    log.set_level(configuration.get("logging", "level"))
 
     if args.verify_storage:
         logger.info("Verifying storage")
diff --git a/radicale/config.py b/radicale/config.py
index fd3b208..d9378d3 100644
--- a/radicale/config.py
+++ b/radicale/config.py
@@ -49,6 +49,12 @@ def positive_float(value):
     return value
 
 
+def logging_level(value):
+    if value not in ("debug", "info", "warning", "error", "critical"):
+        raise ValueError("unsupported level: %s" % value)
+    return value
+
+
 # Default configuration
 INITIAL_CONFIG = OrderedDict([
     ("server", OrderedDict([
@@ -173,11 +179,10 @@ INITIAL_CONFIG = OrderedDict([
             "type": str,
             "internal": web.INTERNAL_TYPES})])),
     ("logging", OrderedDict([
-        ("debug", {
-            "value": "False",
-            "help": "print debug information",
-            "aliases": ["-D", "--debug"],
-            "type": bool}),
+        ("level", {
+            "value": "warning",
+            "help": "threshold for the logger",
+            "type": logging_level}),
         ("mask_passwords", {
             "value": "True",
             "help": "mask passwords in logs",
diff --git a/radicale/log.py b/radicale/log.py
index 7617ce0..0304131 100644
--- a/radicale/log.py
+++ b/radicale/log.py
@@ -116,16 +116,16 @@ def setup():
     handler = ThreadStreamsHandler(sys.stderr, get_default_handler())
     logging.basicConfig(format=LOGGER_FORMAT, handlers=[handler])
     register_stream = handler.register_stream
-    set_debug(True)
+    set_level(logging.DEBUG)
 
 
-def set_debug(debug):
-    """Set debug mode for global logger."""
-    if debug:
-        root_logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
-        logger.setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
+def set_level(level):
+    """Set logging level for global logger."""
+    if isinstance(level, str):
+        level = getattr(logging, level.upper())
+    root_logger.setLevel(level)
+    logger.setLevel(level)
+    if level == logging.DEBUG:
         logger.removeFilter(removeTracebackFilter)
     else:
-        root_logger.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
-        logger.setLevel(logging.WARNING)
         logger.addFilter(removeTracebackFilter)