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Cuius regio, eius religio
(865 words)

The slogan cuius regio eius religio (Latin, “whose land, his religion”) was coined early in the 17th century by the Protestant canon lawyer Joachim Stephani to describe key principle of the Peace of Augsburg of September 29, 1555, which gave the Imperial estates the freedom of deciding between Catholicism (Roman Catholic Church) and Lutheranism (Protestantism; Protestant churches) in their own territories. The “Perpetual Peace” (King's peace) of 1495 was thereby extended to religious concerns, and Imperial heresy law ceased once and for all to be applicable to the L…

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Potz, Richard, “Cuius regio, eius religio”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_SIM_018148>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20170206



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