Peace of Augsburg: Causes, Agreements, Consequences and Significance

The Peace of Augsburg it was an agreement reached in Germany on September 25, 1555, at the hands of the Holy Roman Empire. The agreement sought to achieve peace between Lutheranism and Catholicism, two religions with different principles and whose believers had caused internal conflicts within the Empire.

Since at that time the Empire was divided into areas of control managed by the princes, the agreement allowed each prince to choose the official religion of his domain. In turn, free and easy immigration was allowed to all citizens of the Empire who were not in agreement with what was established in the area where they lived.

Although the Peace of Augsburg put an end to the conflict between Catholics and Lutherans, no action was taken to solve the latent problems with the members of other Protestant religions that inhabited the Holy Empire.

Causes

Religious division

The Sacrum Germanic Roman Empire had fragmented several decades prior to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. The Protestant religions that had emerged each time gained more devotees, which caused conflicts between these and the Catholics.

The religious divisions within the Empire not only brought short-term consequences, such as the strengthening of armed conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, but also in the long term. The problems that they generated can be considered one of the main causes of the Thirty Years' War.

The Intercontinental of Augsburg

Another of the main causes of the Peace of Augsburg was the decree of Emperor Charles V called the Intercontinental of Augsburg. This decree, which was soon converted into law, was issued in 1548 in order to end religious conflicts while a more permanent solution to the problem was found between Protestants and Catholics.

This decree was based on Catholic principles and had 26 laws that, to a certain extent, harmed the Lutheran princes. However, the delivery of Christian bread and wine to the laity was allowed, and priests were also allowed to marry. The Christian nature of the agreement was what caused it to collapse.

The Protestants did not want to adhere to the norms established in the decree in view of their strong Catholic influence. This led to the same Protestants to establish their own decree in the German city Leipzig, which was not fully accepted by Christians or by the Empire.

All this generated more divisions between both sides and these were not corrected until the decree of the Peace of Augsburg in 1555.

Agreements

The Peace of Augsburg contained three major decrees that shaped the agreement between Lutherans and Catholics within the Holy Empire. Lutherans were the Protestants who had the most problems with Catholics and, therefore, the opinion of peace was based on this Protestant religion specifically.

Cuius Regio, Eius Religio

In Latin, this phrase means:"Whoever is the domain, his religion." This principle established that any prince who had territory within the Empire could establish an official religion within its territory, be it Lutheran or Catholic.

This religion would be the one that all the inhabitants of the region should practice. Those who refused or did not want to, could emigrate without difficulty or damage to their honor. The families were allowed to sell their property and settle in a region of their choice, which suited their religious beliefs.

Ecclesiastical reservation

This ruling established that, even if a local bishop changed his religion (for example, from Calvinism to Catholicism), the inhabitants of the region did not have to adapt to change. In fact, although this was not written, it was to be expected that the bishop would leave his post to give way to another who was a believer in the local religion.

Declaration of Fernando

The last principle of the law was kept secret for almost two decades, but it allowed knights (soldiers) and certain cities not to possess a religious uniformity. That is, the subsistence of Catholics with Lutherans was legally allowed.

It should be noted that Lutheranism was the only branch of Protestantism that was officially recognized by the Roman Empire.

The law was imposed at the last minute by the same Fernando (the emperor), who used his authority to dictate this principle unilaterally.

Consequences

Although the Peace of Augsburg served to alleviate a little the strong tensions existing between Catholics and Lutherans, left many bases without covering that would cause problems to the Roman Empire in the medium term.

Other Protestant religions, such as Calvinism and Anabaptism, were not recognized in the agreement. This infuriated the members of each religion, which generated even more internal fragmentation in the Empire.

In fact, non-Lutheran Protestants who lived in areas where Catholicism or Lutheranism was legal could still be accused of heresy.

One of the 26 articles of the opinion stated that all religion not belonging to Catholicism or Lutheranism would be completely excluded from peace. These religions would not be recognized until almost a century later, when the Peace of Westphalia was signed in 1648.

In fact, the main consequence of the emperor's decision not to include other religions in the agreement led directly to the Thirty Years' War.

The Calvinists had to take action against the Empire by being members of a religion that was denied official recognition. In 1618 the Calvinists of Prague assassinated two faithful emissaries of the emperor in the Bohemian Chancellery of the city, which precipitated the beginning of the war.

Importance

The establishment of peace was irreproachably important, because the two major religions of the Empire could finally live more peacefully. The Catholics themselves had already requested the intervention of the imperial authorities to settle accounts with the Lutherans, as the conflict had spread for a long time.

However, the agreement was highly controversial and caused one of the bloodiest wars in the history of mankind.

After the religious conflict between Protestants and the State in the seventeenth century, other countries joined the fight and began a war that would last 30 years, leaving behind 8 million dead. Most of these were Romans.

References

1. Religious Divide in the Holy Roman Empire, LumenLearning, (n.d.). Taken from lumenlearning.com
2. Augsburg Interim, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
3. Peace of Augsburg, The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, (n.d.). Taken from Britannica.com
4. Augsburg, Peace of; The Columbia Encyclopedia 6 ^th ed, (n.d.). Taken from encyclopedia.com
5. Peace of Augsburg, (n.d.). Taken from christianity.com
6. Peace of Augsburg, Wikipedia en Español, March 1, 2018. Taken from wikipedia.org
7. Thirty Year's War, History Channel, (n.d.). Taken from history.com