The Industrial Revolution, from Bondage to Freedom
The transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern World was not inevitable. How did it happen? The inception of Religious Tolerance was the first step. It might be said that the English got tired of killing one another over different religious beliefs, unlike their counterparts on the Continent who waged the Thirty Years War, Catholic against Protestant. W.K. Jordon wrote his monumental work, THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIGIOUS TOLERATION IN ENGLAND, which sets the ground for all that followed in England. READ MORE
Religious Toleration in England made Political Toleration possible. Political toleration in turn led to the Commercial and Industrial Revolutions. HERE IS HOW IT HAPPENED.
France went in the opposite direction of England. After years of persecution under Louis XIII and Louis XIV, Louis XIV finally took the ultimate step of revoking the Edict of Nantes (1685). The contrast with England in the same historical period created a perfect experiment in religious intolerance and political economy. Two countries on opposite political trajectories. Hence the economic rise of England and the simultaneous economic decline of France. CLICK HERE
A contemporary commentator tries to understand Religious Intolerance in the 21st century. Here is Rabbi Jonathan Sacks speaking about “Confronting Violence in the Name of God”. Listen to Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.