cuius regio, eius religio

(noun)

A Latin phrase that literally means "Whose realm, his religion," meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. At the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, which ended a period of armed conflict between Roman Catholic and Protestant forces within the Holy Roman Empire, the rulers of the German-speaking states and Charles V, the Emperor, agreed to accept this principle.

Related Terms

  • Westphalian sovereignty
  • The Peace of Westphalia
  • The Thirty Years' War
  • The Eighty Years' War
  • Peace of Augsburg of 1555
  • Edict of Nantes
  • Gallicanism
  • Declaration of the Clergy of France
  • Code Noir
  • Edict of Fontainebleau

(noun)

A Latin phrase which literally means "Whose realm, his religion," meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. At the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 the rulers of the German-speaking states and Charles V, the Emperor, agreed to accept this principle.

Related Terms

  • Westphalian sovereignty
  • The Peace of Westphalia
  • The Thirty Years' War
  • The Eighty Years' War
  • Peace of Augsburg of 1555
  • Edict of Nantes
  • Gallicanism
  • Declaration of the Clergy of France
  • Code Noir
  • Edict of Fontainebleau

Examples of cuius regio, eius religio in the following topics:

  • Louis XIV and the Huguenots

    • An additional factor in Louis's thinking was the prevailing contemporary European principle to assure socio-political stability was cuius regio, eius religio ("whose realm, his religion"), the idea that the religion of the ruler should be the religion of the realm (the principle originally confirmed in central  Europe in the Peace of Augsburg of 1555).
    • The principle of cuius regio, eius religio had also usually meant that subjects who refused to convert could emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be converted.
  • Bohemian Period

    • In 1555, the Peace of Augsburg had settled religious disputes in the Holy Roman Empire by enshrining the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio, allowing a prince to determine the religion of his subjects.
  • The Peace of Westphalia

    • This affirmed the principle of cuius regio, eius religio (Whose realm, his religion).
  • Religious Divide in the Holy Roman Empire

    • The Peace established the principle Cuius regio, eius religio ("Whose realm, his religion"), which allowed Holy Roman Empire's states' princes to select either Lutheranism or Catholicism within the domains they controlled, ultimately reaffirming the independence they had over their states.
  • The Peace of Westphalia and Sovereignty

    • According to the Peace of Westphalia, all parties would recognize the Peace of Augsburg of 1555, in which each prince would have the right to determine the religion of his own state (the principle of cuius regio, eius religio).
  • The Sun-King and Authoritarianism

    • The principle of cuius regio, eius religio generally had also meant that subjects who refused to convert could emigrate, but Louis banned emigration and effectively insisted that all Protestants must be converted.
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