This revealing new study compares and contrasts the emancipation of Catholics, Jews and Protestants in France, Britain, Germany and Italy during the nineteenth century. By comparing and contrasting the experience of religious minorities in different European countries, the distinguished international team of contributors sheds new light on the changing attitudes of the state to these small but often influential groups. The book raises important questions about what drove the move for religious emancipation, such as was it an attempt to incorporate these minorities into the new nation states, or was it motivated more generally by liberalism and "modernization"?