The Patent of Toleration (german: Toleranzpatent) was an edict of toleration issued on 13 October 1781 by the Habsburg emperor Joseph II. Part of the Josephinist reforms, the Patent extended

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

to non-Catholic Christians living in the crown lands of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, including Lutherans, Calvinists, and the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

. Specifically, these members of minority faiths were now legally permitted to hold "private religious exercises" in

clandestine church A clandestine church ( nl, schuilkerk), defined by historian Benjamin J. Kaplan as a "semi-clandestine church", is a house of worship used by religious minorities whose communal worship is tolerated by those of the majority faith on condition t ...

es.Kaplan, Benjamin J., ''Religious Conflict and the Practice of Toleration in Early Modern Europe,'' Harvard University Press, 2007, Chapter 8, pp. 192-4. ff.. For the first time after the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

, the Patent guaranteed the practice of religion by the Evangelical Lutheran and the Reformed Church in Austria. Nevertheless, worship was heavily regulated, wedding ceremonies remained reserved for the Catholic Church, and the

Unity of the Brethren Unity of the Brethren (Latin ''Unitas Fratrum'') may refer to: *Unity of the Brethren (Czech Republic), the province of the Moravian Church in the Czech Republic *Unity of the Brethren (Texas), a Protestant church formed in the 1800s by Czech immig ...

was still suppressed. Similar to the

articular church Articular churches are wooden churches for Evangelical congregations in Slovakia erected under the terms of the Congress of Sopron of 1681. At this congress, summoned by the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I, permission was for the first time granted ...

es admitted 100 years before, Protestants were only allowed to erect 'houses of prayer' (''Bethäuser'') which should not in any way resemble church buildings. In many Habsburg areas, especially in the 'hereditary lands' of

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered ...

and

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...

, Protestant parishes quickly developed, strongly relying on

crypto-protestant Crypto-Protestantism is a historical phenomenon that first arose on the territory of the Habsburg Empire but also elsewhere in Europe and Latin America, at a time when Catholic rulers tried, after the Protestant Reformation, to reestablish Catho ...

traditions. The Patent also regulated mixed faith marriages, foreshadowing the Marriage Patent that was to be released in 1783 seeking to bring marriages under civil rather than

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

. In allowing marriages between religions, if the father was Catholic all children were required to be raised as Catholics whilst if the mother was Catholic only the daughters had to be raised as such. The Patent was followed by the

Edict of Tolerance An edict of toleration is a declaration, made by a government or ruler, and states that members of a given religion will not be persecuted for engaging in their religious practices and traditions. The edict implies tacit acceptance of the religion ...

for

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in 1782. The edict extended to Jews the freedom to pursue all branches of commerce, but also imposed new requirements. Marsha Rozenblit, Reconstructing National Identity, Oxford, 2001, p. 25 Jews were required to create German-language primary schools or send their children to Christian schools (Jewish schools had previously taught children to read and write Hebrew in addition to mathematics.) The Patent also permitted Jews to attend state secondary schools. A series of laws issued soon after the Edict of Toleration abolished the autonomy of the Jewish communities, which had previously run their own court, charity, internal taxation and school systems; required Jews to acquire family names; made Jews subject to military conscription; and required candidates for the rabbinate to have secular education. The 1781 Patent was originally called the "Divine Send of Equal Liberties" but was further put down by the monarch's advisor. Constraints on the construction of churches were abolished after the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...

. The Protestant Church did not receive an equivalent legal status until Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until ...

issued the ''Protestantenpatent'' in 1861.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patent Of Toleration Christianity in the Holy Roman Empire 1781 documents 1781 in Christianity 1781 in the Holy Roman Empire 1781 in Europe Freedom of religion 1781-10-13 Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Edicts of toleration