Religious Freedom Within Germany

After the Thirty Years War, Germany expanded the Peace of Augsburg Treaty and the Golden Bull so that Protestants and Catholics would be equally represented within the Imperial Diet. However princes and rulers were given reign over religion within their land and territories.

Left: The Peace of Augsburg being discussed and negotiated.

I thought this compelling because it was a huge step towards religious freedom in Germany. Martin Luther spent so long trying to reform the religious community and his ideas started to spread at this time in German history. Although this did not allow for complete religious freedom, due to the rule within territories, it still was a step towards practicing religion freely and religious diversity.

This decision within the Imperial Diet is important to Germany because it determined the religious diversity within Germany today. This recognition of all religions during the 15th century is most likely a good indication that there is a diverse religious community within present day Germany. However, Catholics could also amount to the religion that is seen in Germany. Either way, it can be sure that religious freedom is extremely important in Germany.

Right: The Golden Bull.

This is a lot like the United States. Our religious freedom is very important to us in this country. However, our path to religious freedom was much different than that of Germany. Most likely the religions of the United States span further than that of Germany because so many different races and cultures have found their way to the USA. This, however, does not change the fact that history has shaped our two countries into countries that value and adore our religious freedom.