The Reformation as a Political Movement after Luther's Death
Establishment of the Schmalkadian Alliance
As a reaction to the Edict of Worms at the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1530, the protestant estates of the Empire founded the Smalkaldian Allliance in 1531. It maintained armed forces and its own budget.After beginning success in the work of the alliance, the Emperor succeeded in finding and paralyzing the allies of the alliance.
The Protestant Crisis and the Freedom of Worship in Augsburg
The Emperor defeated the protestant princes in the Smalkaldian War (1546-47), and after Wittenberg's surrender (1547), the Kurwürde (a council made up of 7 men who elected the king) elected the Emperor's ally, Moritz von Saxon, to rule over the defeated princes. The Emperor dictated an 'interim' period (1547-48) to the Protestants, which was a harsh blow for followers of protestantism.
Moritz von Saxon was supposedly loyal to the Emperor, but turned to the protestant side which had won its first success with the Contract of Passau (Passauer Vertrag) in 1552 and a second success with the Augsburg Freedom of Religion in 1554.
The qualifications of the freedom of religion allowed the princes to assert their judgement on how the reformation should continue within their lands - the subjects had to submit to this judgement (Cuius regio, eius relegio).
