Western Religion - Secularization

Secularization

Further information: Secularism, Freedom of religion, Religious pluralism, and History of atheism

Following the religious wars of the 16th to 17th centuries, the Age of Enlightenment of the 18th century paved the way for a detachment of society and politics from religious questions. Inspired by the American Revolution, the French Revolution brought the ideal of secularization and a laicist state granting freedom of religion to Europe. After the turmoils of the Napoleonic Wars, this development caught hold in other parts of Europe, by means of the German Mediatisation and the separation of church and state in numerous European constitutions drawn up after the revolutions of 1848.