Editing Peace of Westphalia (section)

===Westphalia pertaining to the Holy Roman Empire===

Much of the Peace of Westphalia focused on reorganizing the Holy Roman Empire, the main battleground of the Thirty Years' War.

A common idea is that Emperor [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]] was stripped of power, and said power was given to the rulers of the [[Imperial Estate|Imperial estates]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schröder |first=Peter |date=1999 |title=The Constitution of the Holy Roman Empire after 1648: Samuel Pufendorf's Assessment in His Monzambano |jstor=3020932 |journal=The Historical Journal |volume=42 |issue=4 |pages=961–983 |issn=0018-246X}}</ref> The extent to which Ferdinand's power was diminished is now challenged by modern research, with some saying that Ferdinand's loss of influence was overstated by older literature.<ref name=":0" /> The emperor still maintained significant power in the [[Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire)|Imperial Diet]], for example. Central authority was still maintained through institutions like the [[Aulic Council]].

Westphalia guaranteed the right to practice any of the recognized denominations: [[Catholicism]], [[Lutheranism]], and [[Calvinism]]. The last was finally given legal recognition as an official religion.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Osiander |first=Andreas |date=2001 |title=Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Westphalian Myth |jstor=3078632 |journal=International Organization |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=251–287 |issn=0020-8183}}</ref> The independence of the Dutch Republic, which practiced religious toleration, also provided a safe haven for European Jews.<ref>{{cite news|title=This day, Mary 15, in Jewish history|url=http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|newspaper=Cleveland Jewish News|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-date=19 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519165352/http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/cjnconnect/blogs/article_057a78b4-3f44-5375-a20d-a850a62b2194.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Contrary to common belief, the Peace of Westphalia did not necessarily reconfirm the status of the [[Peace of Augsburg]] (particularly the principle of {{lang|la|[[cuius regio, eius religio]]}}). Rather, it provided a reinterpretation.

{{quote|
What has been established by this treaty [of Westphalia], with the mutual agreement of the parties, concerning certain disputed articles in the Treaty of Augsburg, shall be regarded as a permanently valid interpretation of that treaty. This interpretation must be followed in court and elsewhere until religious matters can, with God’s grace, be resolved. This applies regardless of any objection or protest by anyone, whether clergy or laypeople, within or outside the Empire, at any time. All such objections are declared null and void by the terms of this treaty.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Peace of Westphalia (1648) as a Secular Constitution |url=https://www.iilj.org/publications/the-peace-of-westphalia-1648-as-a-secular-constitution/ |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Institute for International Law and Justice }}</ref>}}

Rather than confirming the Augsburg settlement's policy of {{lang|la|ius reformandi}} (in which subjects were to follow their ruler's religion),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ius emigrandi of the Religious Peace of Augsburg (1555) |url=https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/migration/ghis:document-58 |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=German History Intersections}}</ref> Westphalia replaced it with an interpretation that sovereign rulers such as princes could no longer dictate the religion of their subjects.<ref name=":1" /> "Whatever sovereignty the electors, princes, and estates of the Holy Roman Empire enjoyed in their territories, the private exercise of religion was no longer subject to this sovereignty but had effectively been removed from the sovereign domain."<ref name=":2"/>

The [[Holy See]] was very displeased at the settlement, with Pope [[Innocent X]] calling it "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane, empty of meaning and effect for all time" in the [[papal brief]] {{lang|la|Zelo Domus Dei}}.<ref>The [[incipit]] of this brief, meaning "Zeal of the house of God", quotes from [[Psalm]] 69:9: "For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me."</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=World religions and democracy|first=Larry Jay |last=Diamond |first2=Marc F. |last2=Plattner |first3=Philip J. |last3=Costopoulo |year=2005|page=103}}</ref>

The Peace of Westphalia also set up new rules for the {{langr|de|[[Reichskammergericht]]}} (Imperial Chamber Court), and stipulated that half its judges must be Protestant. Westphalia also called for 50 judges to be appointed, but this number was rarely reached due to financial issues.<ref name=":1" />