6.1: Prelude to Religious Wars
- Page ID
- 172900
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The idea of “live and let live” was almost nonexistent in early-modern Europe. What tolerance had existed in the early decades of the Reformation era tended to fade away. A few exceptions did exist, especially in the Holy Roman Empire, but beliefs had hardened by the end of the 16th Century.
While the Catholic Inquisition is an iconic institution in the history of persecution, most Protestants were equally hostile to Catholics. This polarity was especially true among Huguenots in France, who aggressively proselytized and imposed harsh social and, if they could, legal controls of behavior in their areas of influence. In addition, while actual wars between Protestant sects were rare (the English Civil War being an exception), different Protestant groups usually detested one another.
Why was religion so divisive in the early modern period?
- Religion was “owned” by princes. A given territory’s religion was deeply connected to the faith of its leader. Princes often held some authority in church lands, and priests had always served as important royal officials.
- Numerous ecclesiastical territories, especially in the Holy Roman Empire, were wholly controlled by “princes of the church.”
- Only states had the resources to reform whole institutions, replacing seminaries, universities, libraries, and so on with new material in the case of Protestant states. This necessitated an even closer relationship between church and state. Someone following a rival branch of Christianity was, from the perspective of a ruler, not just a religious dissenter, but a political rebel.
At the same time, hardened doctrines of belief were nailed down by the competing confessions. The Lutherans define their specific creed known as the Augsburg Confession in 1530. In the next decade, the Catholic Council of Trent defined Catholic doctrine. Thus, a hardening of beliefs as ambiguities occurred, and points of common agreement were eliminated.