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The Anabaptists and the Civil Authorities of Strasbourg, 1525–1555*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Robert Kreider
Robert Kreider
Affiliation:
Bluffton College
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Extract

Since the dawn of the Christian era the relationship between church and state has been one of the pivotal issues of western civilization. Men have offered a variety of answers to this problem. The much- persecuted Anabaptists of the 16th century presented one set of answers, radical for their age, which called for a decisive separation of the church from the state and complete freedom for the church to pursue its vocation in the world. The Anabaptists were a distressing annoyance to the civil authorities. This movement posed for the 16th century the acute problem: how should religious dissent be handled?

Type
Research Article
Information
Church History , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 1955 , pp. 99 - 118
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Church History 1955

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