West European Studies

The Religious  Political Scenario  16th Century Europe
While Catholicism was the mainstay of the Christian religion and much of Western Europe, the advent of the protestant movement and its growth in parts of Western Europe did enough to disrupt the prevailing political and religious order of the time.

The King, closely associated with the Pope in Rome, was seen as Gods appointee on earth and One King, One Faith, One Law became the general prescription for the whole of Western Europe with the society increasingly dependent upon monarchial, ecclesiastical and civil authority for its effective survival (Kishlansky, Geary  Obrien, 321). In this scenario, the anti Vatican face of the Protestant movement was seen by Catholics across Europe as a religious affront to Christianity with the high religious morals of the time making war inevitable as the concepts of an independent church challenging the Vatican (deemed as the upholders of the Christian religion) was not easily digestible.
From a political perspective too, the situation in France presented the unusual scenario of Catholic medicis ruling the country through their control on the army and the church and the opposition to their rule by Protestant Bourbons by virtue of their claim to the French throne (Kishlansky et al, 322). Thus, the heating religious scenario only did to increase the political differences and give them a religious meaning.

Religious Toleration
Religious toleration was difficult in the early 16th century by virtue of the fact that religious beliefs were profoundly held. Religious controversy was more than a matter of life and death it was a struggle between everlasting life and eternal damnation (Kishlansky et al, 321). Hence different religions viewed each other with a heightened element of distrust, hate and loathing for it was felt that by vehement opposition to those not conforming to what you believe in can land you a place in heaven and hence the protecting ones religion by opposing another one became the mainstay virtue.
To some extent, as explained above, the concept of One King, One Faith and One Law also applies here as it was increasingly felt by the countries of Western Europe that Christianity, in effect Catholicism, had no room for other religions as religion was closely identified with statehood, with the same tow line being used by the Vatican when spreading awareness about misconceptions that the Protestant movement held and which could be used to lure in catholics. This environment of distrust and religious fervor made acceptance of other religions impossible and hence toleration levels were extremely low. 

Henry the IV  Reforms To Introduce Tolerance
Henry the IV became the ruler of France in 1598 but soon realized that his survival in Paris depended on his conversion from the Protestant faith to the Catholic one as the vast majority of Frances population was Roman Catholic with the aforementioned commentary on the importance of religion in matters of state and the high religious fervor of the time pointing to low levels of acceptance (Kishlansky et al, 325). While Henry did convert to Roman Catholic, it was his proclamation of 1598, titled the edict of Nantes, which led to considerable improvement in religious tolerance.

The mainstay of the edict of Nantes was the proclamation that the Roman Catholic religion, by virtue of it being the largest religion in the country, be retained as the state religion and all followers of the religion be allowed complete independence to practice it. The other point was the proclamation that followers of the Protestant religion be allowed freedom to follow their religion alongside their Catholic counterparts but with restrictions on how openly they may be allowed to do so and how openly they can preach their religion.

At the same time, however, the most important distinction and the most unusual one was the undertaking by Henry the IV that with regard to the social and economic development that the followers of the Refomed religion may aspire to, the state and its various functions will not make a distinction or carry out discriminatory practices against them and that they will rank alongside the Catholic religion when it comes to opportunities for worldly advancement. This was an important step as this helped in separation of the state with religion, giving the government a largely secular standing while at the same time giving the different followers of religion in a country that their religious, social and economic rights will all be protected.

Relevance Today
The idea of the state taking the role of a guarantor and bringing about a compromise amongst the various religions so that they can co exist peacefully represents a fundamental principle by which peaceful co existence has been maintained. The reason behind the persistence of this principle of spreading religious tolerance through compromise is the fact that gradually, society has moved away from its reliance on some institutional authority to a more individualistic approach with religion becoming a matter of self choice. Hence, religion as an institution bearing influence has died down. At the same time, the guarantee of equal treatment with respect to social and economic development means that there is less friction between different religions and hence less cause for religious intolerance.