PEACE OF AUGSBURG: CAUSES, AGREEMENTS, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Peace of Augsburg was an agreement that was 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.

As at that time the Empire was divided into areas of control that were 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 did not agree with what was established in the area where they lived.

Causes

Religious division

The Holy Roman Empire had been fragmenting for several decades prior to the Peace of Augsburg in 1555. The Protestant religions that had emerged were gaining more and more devotees, which caused conflicts between them and the Catholics.

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

The Augsburg Interim

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

This decree was based on Catholic principles and had 26 laws that, to some extent, harmed the Lutheran princes. However, Christian bread and wine were allowed to be given to the laity, 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 the Protestants themselves to establish their own decree in the German city Leipzig, which was not entirely accepted by Christians or the Empire.

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

Agreements

The Peace of Augsburg contained three main 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 ruling of the peace was based on this Protestant religion specifically.

Cuius Regio, Eius Religio

In Latin, this phrase means: "Whose domain, his religion." This principle established that any prince who had territory within the Empire could establish an official religion within his 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.

Families were allowed to sell their property and settle in a region of their choice, which suited their religious beliefs.

Ecclesiastical reservation

This ruling stated that, even if a local bishop changed his religion (for example, from Calvinism to Catholicism), the inhabitants of the region should not adapt to the change.

In fact, although this was not written, it was to be expected that the bishop would leave his post to make way for 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 have 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 at the hands of Ferdinand (the emperor) himself, who used his authority to dictate this principle unilaterally.

Consequences

Although the Peace of Augsburg served to alleviate somewhat the strong tensions between Catholics and Lutherans, it left many bases uncovered that would cause problems for 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 living in areas where Catholicism or Lutheranism was legal could still be charged with heresy.

One of the 26 articles of the ruling established that any religion not belonging to Catholicism or Lutheranism would be completely excluded from the 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, as the two major religions of the Empire could finally coexist more peacefully. The same Catholics had already requested the intervention of the imperial authorities to settle accounts with the Lutherans, as the conflict had raged for a long time.

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

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

References

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