Editing History of Spain (section)

===Religion===
{{further|History of Roman Catholicism in Spain#Visigoths}}
At the beginning of the [[Visigothic Kingdom]], [[Arianism]] was the official religion in Hispania, but only for a brief time, according to historian Rhea Marsh Smith.{{sfn|Smith|1965|pp=16–17}} In 587, [[Reccared]], the Visigothic king at Toledo, converted to Catholicism and launched a movement to unify the religious doctrines that existed in the Iberian Peninsula. The [[Councils of Toledo]] debated the creed and liturgy of orthodox [[Catholicism]], and the Council of Lerida in 546 constrained the clergy and extended the power of law over them with the approval of the pope.

While the Visigoths clung to their Arian faith, the [[Jews]] were well-tolerated. Previous Roman and Byzantine law determined their status, and already sharply discriminated against them.{{sfn|Graetz|1894|p=44}} Historian Jane Gerber relates that some of the Jews "held ranking posts in the government or the army; others were recruited and organized for garrison service; still others continued to hold senatorial rank".{{sfn|Gerber|1992|p=9}} In general, they were well-respected and well-treated by the Visigothic kings, until their transition from Arianism to Catholicism.{{sfn|Roth|1994|pp=35–40}} Conversion to Catholicism across Visigothic society reduced the friction between the Visigoths and the Hispano-Roman population.{{sfn|Waldman|Mason|2006|p=847}} However, the Visigothic conversion negatively impacted the Jews, who came under scrutiny for their religious practices.{{sfn|Collins|2000|pp=59–60}}