A Study Of Religious Toleration In The Early Modern Dutch Republic （1572-1620）

The debate over religious tolerance began in the early days of the Dutch Republic.The reflection on the religious persecution of The Spanish dynasty and the declaration of the Republic for religious freedom provided a leading basis for the development of religious tolerance in the Republic.However,as the official church,the Calvinists sought to transplant Geneva-style theocracy to the Dutch Republic,leading to a motivation that unification of the national faith and the attack of other sects.Thinkers calling for tolerance and representatives of opposition joined in the debate of toleration against Calvinism one after another,which was of great significance to the development of Dutch religious tolerance theory.In practice,the coexistence of multiple sects is a reality that the government,the church and the public must face,and the relationship between church and state needs to be adjusted to adapt to the religious environment at that time.The early theory and practice set a good tone for the development of religious tolerance in the Dutch Republic in the seventeenth century.The thesis divided into four chapters.The first chapter describes the background of religious toleration in the Dutch Republic.In the ruling strategy of The Spanish dynasty to the Netherlands,the contraction of local rights and the persecution of Protestant beliefs triggered the thinking of religious peace,which led to the rise of the independence movement.Under the baptism of humanism,the concept of religious moderation has also become an important factor in the development of religious tolerance in the Republic.The second chapter discusses the religious tolerance thoughts in the early Dutch Republic.These thoughts explored the development prospect of religious tolerance from different angles: Coorenhert called for freedom of religious belief from the foundation of anti-religious persecution established by the Republic.Arminius and Arminian tried to correct the extreme of Calvinism,which promoted the development of moderate Calvinism theory.The Erastianism expected secular power to control church in order to achieve state-led religious toleration.The third chapter expounds the policies of religious toleration and the practice of multi-religious coexistence in the early Dutch Republic.The attitudes of the early leaders of the Republic towards religion and their policies included pragmatic political strategies and expectations of religious toleration.The coexistence of different sects is a manifestation of the Dutch Republic’s distinctness.Chapter four discusses the characteristics and significance of religious toleration in the early Dutch Republic.The concept of "freedom of conscience",which originated from the Dutch Revolt period,exerted a great influence on the development of Dutch tolerance theory and practice.The reality of the coexistence of different denominations and the "pragmatic" religious policy are another feature of the development of religious toleration in the Netherlands.The development of religious tolerance in this period is of great significance to the later era,which connects the past of the religious despotism in Spanish rule and the future of the comprehensive development of religious freedom in Holland.