History of Christianization

Christian theologians Augustine and Thomas Aquinas legitimized religious persecution. John Milton and John Locke argued for limited religious toleration. Thomas Jefferson developed the concept of religious freedom.

Freedom of religion is recognized to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any religion, the freedom to leave, discontinue membership in a religion or apostasy.

Early Christianity began long after the timeline of Christ. Growth begin after Constantine turned it into a persecuting religion in 300AD during the decline o the Roman Empire. Priscillian became the first to be executed of heresy in 385AD. He was a Catholic bishop and theologian but a layman who had devoted his life to study with a pagan education. After the decline of the Roman Empire, the Christianization of Europe was to a large extent peaceful, except the Jews and Muslims were harshly prosecuted with forced conversions inside the Byzantine empire. At times, encounters between Christians and Pagans were confrontational. Christian kings (Charlemagne, Olaf I of Norway) was known for his violence against pagans.

The persecution of Christian heretics resumed in 1022 when fourteen people were burned at Orleans.
In the late Middle Ages, the Crusades was Christians verses Muslims in a war over the possession of Jerusalem. Massacres of Muslims and Jews occured after Jerusalem was taken by Crusaders in 1099.
Bogomilism and Catharism surfaced in Europe. These sects were viewed as heretic by the Catholic Church. The suppression of the Cathar faith took the form of the Albigensian Crusade. From 1209 to 1229, a military campaign initiated by the Roman Catholic Church used extreme violence by even medieval standards. Notable individuals who were executed for heresy in the late Middle Ages are Jerome of Prague, John Badby and Jan Hus. The Inquisition was established to persecute these heresies until eradicating them by the 14th century.

The Northern Crusades against remaining pagans in Northern Europe eraticated the pagan religions in Europe. Grand Duchy of Moscow and the Tsardom conquered the Kazan Khanate and Astrakhan Khanate by the 1500s. The government forcibly baptized Muslim Volga Tatars and pagan Chuvash, Mordva and Mari. Mosques were prohibited. This persecution subsided during the reign of Catherine II of Russia.

The Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition continued to persecute Jews and Muslims. In Spain after the Reconquista, Jews were forced to either convert or be exiled. Many were killed. The persecution of Jews begin in the 12th century Visigothic Spain after the emergence of the blood libel against Jews. The Spanish agreed to allow Muslims the freedom of religion in 1492 but this was often ignored. By 1500, Muslims had the choice of conversion or exile. By 1550, Arab or Muslim dress was forbidden. Spain prohibited the Arabic language in 1566. Jews were expelled from England by King Edward I.

In 1517 Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Thesesand. Catholicism reacted just as it did to the heresies of the late Middle Ages. The Protestant Reformation in Spain ended with a few dozen executions but the strategy failed in Germany, Northern Europe and in England. France suffered through the French Wars of Religion reverting to only Catholic. Catholicism and Protestant denominations were divided. Protestants alleged that the catholic Pope was the Antichrist. Conflicts within the Christian factions were extreme: in France the 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre; in Germany and Central Europe the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648); in England the English Civil War (1641-1651). The devastations of these wars lead to the ideas of Religious toleration, Freedom of religion and Religious pluralism. As it slowly gained ground in Europe, the Witch trials in Early Modern Europe continued growing between 1550 to 1650 and ended in 1750.

European Colonialism accompanied by Christian evangelism led to the suppression of indigenous religions in the territories conquered or usurped by the Europeans. The Spanish colonization of the Americas largely destroyed the Aztec and Inca civilization. Colonialism and Imperialism were not motivated by religious zeal but the suppression of the indigenous religions was a result. The Goa Inquisition is one such persecution occurring on the European continent.

By the 18th century, persecutions of unsanctioned beliefs were reduced in most Europeans countries to religious discrimination. Legal restrictions applied to those who did not accept the official faith to include barring from higher education and participation in the national legislature. Colonized nations attempts to convert native peoples to Christianity were more encouraging and less forceful. In British India during the Victorian era, Christian converts were given preferential treatment for governmental appointments.