Religious Toleration Essay

In early Europe, many places established a strong sense of church. This was normally established by the ruler and how the ruler thought the land should practice. When the Protestant reformation came around, this boiled up many different controversies with toleration. The 16th to 18th centuries saw a lot of diverse arguments and practices concerning religious toleration. From different people all over, the ideas varied greatly with some people only wanting their religions to exist, others giving some leeway for other religions to live on, while some compromising for the good of their own people or followers. Toleration was accepted by some and rejected by others in Europe. William Prince of Orange wanted to ensure to keep his country safe so his proclamation to the people of the Netherlands stating that religious toleration was needed so Spain could not potentially harm them, therefore tolerance was a way to keep the peace inside their country (DOC 2). In 1649, the _Agreement of the Free People of England_ pamphlet wrote on how the anguish of persecution is caused by religious problems (Doc 6). Voltaire, a French writer and philosopher, writes about how if one religion was allowed in England the government could become heavily tyrannical therefore he states that religious toleration would bring peace and let people live happily (DOC 11). No toleration from the some of the Roman and French people was evident against the Protestants. King Louis XIV of France in 1685 forbids the subjects of Protestant religion in any place because of the evils, troubles, and confusion in his country, therefore he doesn’t believe Protestants should be allowed anywhere under any circumstances (DOC 8). Going completely against what Luther believes, Maria Theresa has her belief that if there is no subordination in the church, how will people live? Putting salvation at  stake when bringing other religions into the picture is what outraged many people in the sixteenth to eighteenth century (Doc 12). A French Catholic aristocrat, Paul Hay du Chastelet, wanted to give his opinion and pleas that the unity of one belief binds the men together and keeps all the men at the same altar who will rarely fight each other, therefore the princes are obligated to pick the religion of the region they are in charge of (DOC 7). The two most discussed topic in the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries would be the toleration and non-toleration of religions. Some people made compromises so there was no fighting or keeping the peace between people. Glabbais in 1691 opens up a new Catholic church and states that no offense between the Protestants and Catholics will happen when going to and from church. Also, there will be a specific meeting place for Catholics so no trouble is caused (Doc 9). Also, when King Henry IV of France wrote the famous Edict of Nantes, it permitted reformed religions to live in the places of his Kingdom. The Edict explains how the people of the reformed religion will keep everything contained (Doc 5). The other way the compromise was achieved was through keeping the religions separated. This meant that one religion would be observed quietly and peacefully in their home. This was mostly accommodated to the Lutherans and the Lutherans had to stay where their religion thrives (Doc 10). The religious toleration in the 16th through 18th centuries brought a lot of talk between the arguments and practices of religions. There were people who agreed that religion should all coexist together, have only one practice control everyone, or some with a compromise for the good of their own people. Religious tolerance was a term that was debated and capitalized on for most states and Kingdoms during the Protestant Reformation.