Final answer:
The Peace of Augsburg was a 1555 agreement that allowed rulers in the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as their territory's official religion. Its limitation to only two religious groups led to future conflicts, including the Thirty Years' War.
Step-by-step explanation:
What Was the Peace of Augsburg?
The Peace of Augsburg was an agreement reached in 1555 during the Reformation period of European history. It primarily concerned the conflict between Roman Catholics and Lutherans within the Holy Roman Empire. After significant religious and political conflicts, the Peace of Augsburg allowed rulers within the empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their territories.
This agreement, significant for its principle of cuius regio, eius religio (whose realm, his religion), meant that subjects were obliged to follow the religion chosen by their ruler.
However, the Peace of Augsburg's provision was limited to Catholics and Lutherans only, and it did not accommodate other religious groups like Calvinists, leading to further religious tensions. These unresolved issues contributed to future conflicts, including the devastating Thirty Years' War, which eventually concluded with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, granting more religious freedoms and acknowledging the sovereignty of the individual states of the Holy Roman Empire.