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*on ]th ], New Amsterdam granted freedom of religion to ]s; *on ]th ], New Amsterdam granted freedom of religion to ]s;
*in ] ] - France, during the ], included freedom of religion; *in ] ] - France, during the ], included freedom of religion;
*on ]th ] ] granted freedom of religion to ]; *on ]th ] ] granted ];
*on ]th ] in the spirit of Glasnost, Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev promised increased religious freedoms. *on ]th ] in the spirit of Glasnost, Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev promised increased religious freedoms.


On the other side of the ledger, On the other side of the ledger,
*on ]th ] - ], ], decreed the persecution of ] in his portion of the Empire. *on ]th ] - ], ], decreed the persecution of ] in his portion of the Empire.
*In ], first English ]
*in October ], issue of ] revoking the Edict of Nantes and making Portestantism illegal in France.
*] stated "freedom of religion" is an error *] stated "freedom of religion" is an error
The ] and '']'' are related, but different concepts. The ] and '']'' are related, but different concepts.

Revision as of 12:29, 7 April 2004

Freedom of religion is the individual's right or freedom to hold whatever religious beliefs he or she wishes, or none at all. This freedom extends mere freedom of thought by adding the freedom of worship and the freedom of religious congregation, and is regarded as one of the basic human rights.

During history some countries accepted some form of freedom of religion (e.g. Poland or certain Muslim countries which protected dhimmis) but very often that freedom was limited. In most parts of European society, freedom of religion was suppressed since the introduction of Christianity until the Enlightenment in the 18th century.


Earlier, the ideas of religious tolerance on the political level were invented in the Central Europe: Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Hungary and Austria and were practised since the 16th century. With the expulsion of Polish brethren accused of high treason during the Deluge, the Central European ideas of tolerance were propagated to the Netherlands. Until Enlightenment it was widely accepted, however not always fully implemented:

On the other side of the ledger,

The Separation of Church and State and laïcité are related, but different concepts.

Controversies in freedom of religion

See also