This volume examines the history of religious dissent and discord in France from the time of the Wars of Religion to the present day. Contributors analyze the various solutions elaborated by the government, by religious institutions, and by private groups in response to the serious problems raised by religious differences. This collection of essays also explores the impact these problems and solutions have on religious and national identity, and how these issues play out in political and religious life today.

In the early modern period, the conscience stood as a powerful mediator between God and man, directing and judging moral actions. This collection conveys the breadth of the conscience's jurisdiction, analyzing its impact on politics, religion, science, and the understanding of gender and sexuality. It demonstrates how individuals resolved ethical problems in these areas through applying the methods of casuistry, the branch of theology devoted to resolving difficult moral cases. However, casuistry itself was challenged by newer sources of moral guidance.

This sweeping and eminently readable book is the first synthetic history of Calvinism in almost fifty years. It tells the story of the Reformed tradition from its birth in the cities of Switzerland to the unraveling of orthodoxy amid the new intellectual currents of the seventeenth century. As befits a pan-European movement, Benedict’s canvas stretches from the British Isles to Eastern Europe. The course and causes of Calvinism’s remarkable expansion, the inner workings of the diverse national churches, and the theological debates that shaped Reformed doctrine all receive ample attention. The English Reformation is situated within the history of continental Protestantism in a way that reveals the international significance of English developments. A fresh examination of Calvinist worship, piety, and discipline permits an up-to-date assessment of the classic theories linking Calvinism to capitalism and democracy. Benedict not only paints a vivid picture of the greatest early spokesmen of the cause, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin, but also restores many lesser-known figures to their rightful place. Ambitious in conception, attentive to detail, this book offers a model of how to think about the history and significance of religious change across the long Reformation era.