In the early modern period, marriages between Catholics and Protestants were discouraged by authorities, churches, and families, but rarely prevented. Conflicts arose about religious freedom and conversion, the scope of paternal power, and the upbringing of children. Dagmar Freist describes the tensions between trans-denominational culture and gender relations, authoritarian confessional politics, freedom of religion, and coercion of belief.

Dagmar Freist, Universität Oldenburg.