All Can Be Saved: Religious Tolerance and Salvation in the Iberian Atlantic World

All Can Be Saved examines religious tolerance and dissent in colonial Latin America and Iberia during the early modern period. Through analysis of Inquisition records and other historical documents, Stuart B. Schwartz uncovers views on salvation and religious acceptance among common people living under Catholic rule. The book focuses on individuals who faced persecution for expressing beliefs that non-Catholics could achieve salvation through moral living and following their own faith traditions. Schwartz traces these ideas across the Spanish and Portuguese empires, from Mexico to Brazil, revealing networks of religious skepticism and tolerance that existed despite official doctrine. The narrative follows specific cases of people brought before the Inquisition, providing details about their lives, beliefs, and interactions with religious authorities. Through these accounts, patterns emerge of how ordinary people conceived of religious truth and questioned the Church's monopoly on salvation. This work challenges assumptions about the reach and effectiveness of religious orthodoxy in the early modern Catholic world. By highlighting grassroots movements toward religious tolerance, Schwartz demonstrates how ideas about universal salvation persisted despite institutional attempts to suppress them.

Readers note the book reveals religious tolerance among common people in colonial Latin America - a perspective that challenges assumptions about the dominance of Catholic orthodoxy. History professors and graduate students make up most reviewers. Readers highlight: - Detailed archival research from Inquisition records - Focus on everyday people's beliefs rather than elite theological debates - Clear writing style making complex theological concepts accessible Common criticisms: - Dense academic prose in some sections - Limited geographic scope despite "Atlantic World" title - Some repetition of examples and arguments Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (23 ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (6 ratings) One professor on Goodreads wrote: "Schwartz uncovers fascinating evidence of religious skepticism and tolerance among ordinary colonials." An Amazon reviewer noted: "The writing bogs down in academic jargon at times, but the core argument about grassroots religious tolerance is compelling and well-documented."

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🔹 Despite the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisitions' reputation for religious intolerance, many common people in colonial Latin America privately held surprisingly modern views about religious tolerance and questioned whether non-Catholics could be saved. 🔹 Stuart B. Schwartz discovered numerous court records from the Inquisition showing ordinary colonists, sailors, and traders expressing beliefs that "each person could be saved in their own faith" - a radical notion for the time. 🔹 The book draws from over 500 Inquisition trials spanning Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Spain, revealing a hidden history of religious tolerance among everyday people that contradicted official Catholic doctrine. 🔹 Women and enslaved people were among those documented expressing tolerant views, demonstrating that ideas about religious acceptance crossed social and gender boundaries in the colonial world. 🔹 The research challenges the traditional narrative that religious tolerance emerged solely from Enlightenment philosophy, showing instead that ordinary people had been questioning religious absolutism for generations before.