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Religious Freedoms

"Religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore, all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love, and charity towards each other." (The Bill of Rights) Although to many, the "Freedom of Religion" is just another freedom that is there, but in the 1500s Religious freedom was something to die for. Each of the different people of the 1500s had different views on how the Religious freedoms worked and what would happen if you did not follow their laws and ideas. For many it was to follow the Religion that had been installed by the government and go along with what they said, but for some lucky people they had "Free Choice" on what Religions to follow.
First, there is the Polish nobleman of 1573. The Polish Noblemen would never agree with what the Bill of Rights states for Religious Freedoms. In 1572 the Polish King Sigismund II, the last of the Jagiellons, died. In absence of an heir, the Polish Diet elected a successor from nobility around Europe. For "Aristocratic Favor" the Diet of Nobles gained religious freedoms and constitutional rights. From then the Diet of Nobles held the rights to establish a policy of religious toleration. Then in 1587, Sigismund III was elected as the king in Poland. While he accepted the principle of religious toleration to the nobles, he decided to strengthen Catholicism. With Sigismund III supporting the Roman Catholic religion, the Holy Roman Emperor was also working on making his scattered empire one.
The Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II had a fragmented Empire religiously and politically. In Bohemia was where the problem was the worst for Ferdinand II. The Peace of Augsburg had given each Prince his right to determine the religious orthodoxy of his principality. In addition, he brutally...