November 29, 1787 – Edict of Toleration Signed in France

On this day in history, King Louis XVI of France granted the Protestants civil status, which included the right to contract marriages without having to convert to the Catholic faith, but denied them political rights as well as precluding them from public worship. The Edict of Versailles, commonly known as the Edict of Tolerance, was registered in the Parliament of Paris on January 29th, 1788.

King Louis XVI in 1779

Henry IV of France (1589–1610) had initially granted Huguenots a significant amount of freedom to practice their faith when he signed the Edict of Nantes (April 13, 1598). These rights were revoked by Louis XIV with the Edict of Fontainebleau (October 18, 1685). Enforcement of the revocation relaxed under the reign of Louis XV, but it remained law for a century. Under the 1787 Edict of Versailles, Roman Catholicism continued as the state religion of the Kingdom of France, but relief was offered to non-Catholic worshippers – Calvinist Huguenots, Lutherans, and Jews alike.

Protestants were finally allowed into civilian and military jobs with the constitutional document of December 24th, 1789.

They were granted freedom of conscience during the Revolution with the Declaration of Human Rights, and religious freedom with the constitutional document of September 3rd, 1791.