Utváření konfesí, konfesionalizace a multikonfesionalita jako základní problém evropských dějin v 16. a 17. století. Nová německá literatura k problematice

Through the Peace of Augsburg (1555) and its later pendant, the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the Holy Roman Empire was able to resolve problems emanating from church fission by erecting a system of bi-confessionality and parity. Controlled interaction between Catholics and Protestants within the Reichsverband (and in a plethora of bi-confessional territories and cities) were constitutive of the situation existing inside Germany. The Holy Roman Empire was home to three confessionally defined, opposing domains of culture, education and communication - one Catholic, one Protestant and one reformed (i.e. Calvinist). Confessional formation and confessionalisation were central processes within the Holy Roman Empire, including its territories and cities, in the 16th and 17th centuries. Yet it is important not to lose sight of the limits to confessionalisation.