Institute of Medieval and Early Modern Studies

‘Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars’

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‘Forging Social Solidarities during Religious Wars’ asks how far a society can hold together when civil war breaks out because of religious differences. The Dutch Revolt, French Wars of Religion, and Thirty Years War – for example – are known as some of the most violent conflicts in European history. Confessional division pushed social solidarities to the limit. Yet Europe’s religious wars also prompted unprecedented experiments in peace-making and gave rise to extraordinary works of literature, philosophy, and political theory. How effectively did people respond to the problem of living with religious difference? And how have their responses been understood and reworked all over the world in societies torn apart by religious and civil strife?

This project suggests that interpreting religious wars in their social context helps to understand emerging conflicts in the future, and to challenge the myth that religious wars can be resolved only by secular policies imposed by the modern state.

Dr Tom Hamilton

Barker Senior Research Fellow