Religion Introduction
Religion was a major throughline in European life throughout the 14th-18th centuries and played a vastly important role in shaping individual’s political, social, and personal lives. In the 14th and 15th Centuries, life in most European towns revolved around the Church; one Church would be the place of the baptism, wedding, and funeral of almost everyone in town. Religion functioned in tandem with government, as political leaders often held positions within the Church. “Secular” political power and religious authority were deeply connected, which reinforced the generally accepted notion that the sovereignty of monarchs came from God, which gave the monarchies of nations such as Italy and England a religious significance. In contrast, some countries experienced less direct influence from Church authority; in France, for example, the formally established “Gallican Liberties” gave the monarch the ability to elect bishops and other clergymen, a power normally reserved to the Pope.
The Protestant Reformation, which began in 1517 in Wittenberg through the theological writings of Martin Luther, was a massive change to the religious landscape of the period. Luther contended that the Church had grown into a money and power-hungry machine, distant from its origins and purpose. Protestantism gained immense popularity over a short period and quickly became a viable alternative for state powers looking to separate themselves from the Catholic Church. Different Protestant groups had a variety of beliefs about salvation and the liturgy, but all agreed that the Church was in desperate need of change. As Protestantism spread, Catholic nations like Spain and parts of Italy resisted the movement, leading to conflict between the two groups. These persisted throughout the latter half of the 16th century, as more governments acted to repress Protestantism or Catholicism, whichever they had not made the state religion. The conflicts often led to enduring violence and were addressed to varying degrees of success by policies such as the Edict of Nantes.
Religious tolerance between Catholics, Protestants, and other groups was rare; in Spain, for example, Catholicism was the state religion, and Protestants, Jews, and Muslims experienced stark oppression and even expulsions. State-led movements such as the Spanish Inquisition, beginning at the end of the 15th century, forced non-Catholics to convert or leave Spanish territory within three months. Even after forced conversions and expulsions, Spanish monarchs imprisoned or executed recently converted Jews and Muslims who were suspected of continuing to practice their previous religion. Spain’s religious imposition was not limited to their land; as they began to explore the New World, they fiercely imposed Catholicism on all they found, believing themselves to be saving the Indigenous people of the Americas. This practice was also common among other European nations establishing colonies in the 17th century, and when Indigenous populations refused to convert, they were often brutally murdered or enslaved.
Religion was a central aspect of life during the Early Modern Era in that it encompassed and impacted all aspects of life. State power, labor systems, individual relationships, military conflict, and of course people’s religious practices were all affected by the changes in the religious landscape of the period.
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