Freedom of religion

====Religious intolerance====
[[File:CONGRESS COLUMN-BRUSSELS-Dr. Murali Mohan Gurram (13).jpg|thumb|right|Nineteenth century allegorical statue on the [[Congress Column]] in Belgium depicting religious freedom]]
Most Roman Catholic kingdoms kept a tight rein on religious expression throughout the [[Middle Ages]]. Jews were alternately tolerated and persecuted, the most notable examples of the latter being the expulsion of all [[History of the Jews in Spain|Jews]] from Spain in 1492. Some of those who remained and converted were tried as heretics in the [[Inquisition]] for allegedly practicing Judaism in secret. Despite the persecution of Jews, they were the most tolerated non-Catholic faith in Europe.

However, the latter was in part a reaction to the growing movement that became the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]]. As early as 1380, [[John Wycliffe]] in England denied [[transubstantiation]] and began his translation of the Bible into English. He was condemned in a [[papal bull]] in 1410, and all his books were burned.

In 1414, [[Jan Hus]], a [[Bohemia]]n preacher of reformation, was given a safe conduct by the Holy Roman Emperor to attend the [[Council of Constance]]. Not entirely trusting in his safety, he made his will before he left. His forebodings proved accurate, and he was burned at the stake on 6 July 1415. The Council also decreed that Wycliffe's remains be disinterred and cast out. This decree was not carried out until 1429.

After the fall of the city of [[Granada]], Spain, in 1492, the Muslim population was promised religious freedom by the [[Treaty of Granada]], but that promise was short-lived. In 1501, Granada's Muslims were given an ultimatum to either convert to Christianity or to emigrate. The majority converted, but only superficially, continuing to dress and speak as they had before and to secretly practice Islam. The [[Morisco]]s (converts to Christianity) were ultimately expelled from Spain between 1609 (Castile) and 1614 (rest of Spain), by [[Philip III of Spain#Expulsion of the Moors (1609–1610)|Philip III]].

[[Martin Luther]] published his famous 95 Theses in [[Wittenberg]] on 31 October 1517. His major aim was theological, summed up in the three basic dogmas of Protestantism:
* The Bible only is infallible.
* Every Christian can interpret it.
* Human sins are so wrongful that no deed or merit, only God's grace, can lead to salvation.

In consequence, Luther hoped to stop the sale of [[indulgence]]s and to reform the Church from within. In 1521, he was given the chance to recant at the [[Diet of Worms]] before [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor]]. After he refused to recant, he was declared heretic. Partly for his own protection, he was sequestered on the [[Wartburg]] in the possessions of [[Frederick III, Elector of Saxony]], where he translated the [[New Testament]] into German. He was excommunicated by papal bull in 1521.

However, the movement continued to gain ground in his absence and spread to Switzerland. [[Huldrych Zwingli]] preached reform in [[Zürich]] from 1520 to 1523. He opposed the sale of indulgences, celibacy, pilgrimages, pictures, statues, relics, altars, and organs. This culminated in outright war between the Swiss [[cantons of Switzerland|cantons]] that accepted Protestantism and the Catholics. In 1531, the Catholics were victorious, and Zwingli was killed in battle. The Catholic cantons made peace with Zurich and Berne.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-34SAAAAYAAJ&q=1531+The+Catholic+cantons+were+magnanimous+in+victory|title=The History of Switzerland, for the Swiss People|last1=Zschokke|first1=Heinrich|last2=Zschokke|first2=Emil|date=1855|publisher=C. S. Francis & Company|language=en}}</ref>

The defiance of papal authority proved contagious, and in 1533, when [[Henry VIII of England]] was excommunicated for his divorce and remarriage to Anne Boleyn, he promptly established a state church with bishops appointed by the crown. This was not without internal opposition, and [[Thomas More]], who had been his Lord Chancellor, was executed in 1535 for opposition to Henry.

In 1535, the Swiss canton of Geneva became Protestant. In 1536, the [[Bern]]ese imposed the reformation on the canton of [[Vaud]] by conquest. They sacked the cathedral in [[Lausanne]] and destroyed all its art and statuary. [[John Calvin]], who had been active in Geneva was expelled in 1538 in a power struggle, but he was invited back in 1540.

[[File:ReligiousFreedomStamp.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|A U.S. postage stamp commemorating religious freedom and the [[Flushing Remonstrance]] ]]
The same kind of seesaw back and forth between Protestantism and Catholicism was evident in England when [[Mary I of England]] returned that country briefly to the Catholic fold in 1553 and persecuted Protestants. However, her half-sister, [[Elizabeth I of England]] was to restore the [[Church of England]] in 1558, this time permanently, and began to persecute Catholics again. The [[King James Bible]] commissioned by King [[James I of England]] and published in 1611 proved a landmark for Protestant worship, with official Catholic forms of worship being banned.

In France, although peace was made between Protestants and Catholics at the [[Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] in 1570, persecution continued, most notably in the [[Massacre of Saint Bartholomew's Day]] on 24 August 1572, in which thousands of Protestants throughout France were killed. A few years before, at the "Michelade" of Nîmes in 1567, Protestants had massacred the local Catholic clergy.