Who was tried by the Inquisition for his beliefs?

Answer 1

The Inquisitions targeted anyone whose personal beliefs challenged the power of the Catholic Church. The medieval Inquisition was set up to discover and eliminate those Cathars who had survived the Crusade against them. The Spanish Inquisition was set up to search out those Jews and Muslims who might have accepted conversion to Catholicism but secretly continued to follow their old faith. The Roman Inquisition, later known as the Holy Office, was set up to target 'heretics' generally, but particularly Protestants.

Answer 2

There was no "Inquisition" there were several over the centuries, and their target was always heresy, they were set up to protect the faith of Christians so that they would not be led astray by those preaching heresy. However, the primary goal was to bring the heretic back to the faith so that their soul would not be lost. The "target" of the various Inquisitions was always heaven. The Church has always been primarily concerned with the individual's salvation. The Spanish Inquisition was a bit different, in that, although it had official Church approval for judges and whatnot, it was set up by the King and Queen of Spain primarily to insure doctrinal fidelity for their citizens. The problem in Spain was that they had been overrun by Muslims for centuries, and with the crowning of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and their marriage, for the first time in centuries Spain was united and the Christians were freed from the oppression they had suffered under Muslim rule. At that time there were Muslims and Jews who converted, not always honestly. So they fell under suspicion. Please keep in mind that at this time in history there was no such thing as freedom of religion in a country. The Peace of Augsburg, the Peace of Westphalia, and King Henry VIII in England all ruthless enforced their version of religion on all of their subjects. The Peace of Augsburg and the Peace of Westphalia actually provided for citizens to leave the country if they wished to keep their religion (protestant or Catholic), the Kings and Queens of England were not so understanding.

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Inquisition. The special court or tribunal appointed by the Catholic Church to discover and suppress heresy and to punish heretics. The Roman Inquisition of the middle twelfth century, with its ecclesiastical courts for trying and punishing heretics, arose during the ravages of the anti-social Albigensian sect, whose doctrines and practices were destructive not only of faith but of Christian morality and public order. While Church authorities would condemn a person found guilty of heresy, it was the civil power that actually inflicted the penalty. The reformation of the heretic was first sought. By exhortations and minor punishments he was urged to give up his heresy. Many did. Only the relapsed heretics who were found guilty were turned over to the civil government for punishment required under civil law. The fact that secular law prescribed death must be understood in the light of those days when heresy was anarchy and treason and leniency in criminal codes was unknown. Like all institutions that have a human character abuses crept in.

The Spanish Inquisition, set up by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1478 and empowered by Pope Sixtus IV, was directed against the lapsed converts from Judaism, crypto-Jews, and other apostates whose secret activities were dangerous to Church and State. The civil government had great influence in the administration of this Inquisition, and the Spanish ecclesiastical tribunal accused of scandalous cruelty must share its condemnations with them. The latter worked during these days in defiance of the Holy See, which often condemned inquisitors because of their cruelties. Even so, these cruelties have been grossly exaggerated, and the fact that the Inquisition did tremendous good in saving the Latin countries from anarchy has been forgotten. Much falsehood surrounds the events of this period, which should be judged by the standards of those times, not by modern ideas of the human person and of religious freedom.

Answer 3

Galileo That's just ONE example from thousands of people. For instance, they burnt Giordano Bruno, who did not recant at te last moment to save his skin, unlike Galileo!