Religion, Law and the Rise of Religious Freedom

For most of history, rulers expected subjects to share their religion, and dissenters could face fines, exile or death. Religious wars after the Reformation pushed Europeans toward compromise: the Edict of Nantes (1598) granted French Protestants limited toleration, and the Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years' War partly by recognizing the religious choices of rulers. Thinkers such as Roger Williams in colonial Rhode Island and John Locke argued that forced belief was both wrong and impossible.

Over time, states developed different models: established churches, as in England; strict separation, as in the US First Amendment; and France's laïcité, set by the 1905 law separating churches and state. Some states today have an official religion or base law partly on religious sources. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) affirms freedom of thought, conscience and religion, including the right to change religion. Debates continue about how to balance religious freedom with other rights.