Inquisition The Inquisition was a permanent institution in the Catholic Church charged with the eradication of heresies. Unlike many other religions (e.g., Buddhism, Judaism), the Catholic Church has a hierarchical structure with a central bureaucracy. In the early years of the church, there were several competing sects that called themselves Christian. But after the Emperor Constantine I (280?-337 CE) made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and the local administrative structures were …showed first 75 words of 1045 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1045 total…For a frank Catholic discussion of the Inquisition and its problems, see John A. O'Brien, The Inquisition (New York: Macmillan; London: Collier Macmillan, 1973). For a more historiographical approach, see Edward Peters, Inquisition (New York: Free Press; London: Collier Macmillan, 1988). For the Inquisition and its procedures in Italy during Galileo's time, see John Tedeschi, The Prosecution of Heresy: Collected Studies on the Inquisition in Early Modern Italy (Binghamton, NY: Center for Medieval and Early Renaissance Studies, 1991).