The conflicts between religions have been maintained for centuries.

In peoples belief
that their religion is the one and true faith, intolerance for other religions arose. As Europe
experienced this turmoil between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries following the Protestant
and Catholic Reformations, different practices regarding toleration arose. The arguments and
actions concerning religious toleration can be grouped by those who supported toleration and sat
its benefits, strict conservatives who believed in the unity of a single religion, and groups who
attempted toleration in hopes to remain without dispute.
Many supported and often cited its benefits. In the Edict of Nantes, King Henry of
France gave religious toleration to the Huguenots to gain peace. The actions taken against
Huguenots in France had often resulted in violence beforehand, but ceased for the duration of the
Edict (Document 5). King Henry also granted this to aid his former religion, as he had been a
Huguenot before his kingship and converted to Catholicism to reflect the majority of Frances
people. Voltaire noted the benefits of toleration and the impacts on business and politics (Doc.
11). He comments that the religions of England work well together and prevent government
breakdown. Voltaire, as an enlightenment thinker however, would have more liberal ideas
unsupported by many of his fellow French countrymen. Prince William of Orange called for
toleration in hopes to stir more uprising from the Netherlands oppressor, Spain (Doc. 2). As the
instigator of a revolt, Prince William would see the opportunity to attack Spains denial of
religious freedom. The Netherlands religiously diverse people came to his support and later
won their independence. A group of English writers also saw toleration as end to violence. A
pamphlet written by English Levelers commented on the destruction and despair caused by petty
religious disputes (Doc. 6).
However, many people still saw religious unity and denial of freedom as the logical
choice. Paul Hay du Chastelet gave credit to the uniting power of a single religion (Doc. 7).
Chastelet, living in a Catholic France in a time period of uncertain toleration, would see the
former power that religious unity held. King Louis XIV of France soon after called for an end to
disruptive toleration in the Edict of Fontainebleau (Doc. 8). In a similar attempt for more
absolute power, Maria Theresa denounced toleration (Doc. 12). But as an absolutist ruler in
Austria, Maria Theresa could yield more power over her subjects if they were subjugated to a
single religion, and likewise did so.
Some people attempted toleration in the mindset that peace could finally be made. King
Charles XII of Sweden, in his victory over the Holy Roman Empire, called for peace by
toleration (Doc. 10). As a Lutheran ruler, he would hope to allow other Protestants to practice
and furthered this in his demands to Joseph I. The town of Bautzen, Saxony viewed toleration as
an end to offense between Catholics and Lutherans (Doc. 4). By requiring certain service times,
the friction made between the groups would hopefully decline. In Amsterdam a similar
agreement was made. A Catholic church would be opened, with the council intending for the
peace of religions by separation (Doc. 9). And the French Protestant Castellio generalizes
prejudice against religions originating from intolerance. As a French Protestant, Castellio would
see the struggles of minority religions in nontolerant states (Doc. 1).
Religious toleration was seen differently across Europe. However, the beliefs can be
grouped as people who saw benefits in toleration, those who saw destructed and preached
religious unity, and those who sought and attempted peace by toleration.