"You can force people to be baptised, but you cannot force them to believe"

I had never found, until just last week, any inkling of the biblical concept of universal religious liberty in the history of the Holy Roman Empire, let alone the period during the reign of Charlemagne. Then I found the following extract in Nick Needham’s excellent book, 2000 Years of Christ’s Power, Part Two: The Middle Ages (p. 52):

Charlemagne’s longest war was against the pagan Saxons, which required 18 savage campaigns and occupied over 30 years of his reign. He eventually crushed Saxon resistance through a policy of forcibly resettling large groups of Saxons in other parts of the Carolingian kingdom, and compelling them to choose between accepting Christian baptism and being put to death. This forced conversion of the Saxons aroused protests from some leading Christians, e.g. Charlemagne’s chief religious advisor, Alcuin of York (730-804). Alcuin said: “Faith is a free act of the will, not a forced act. We must appeal to the conscience, not compel it by violence. You can force people to be baptised, but you cannot force them to believe.”

Although Charlemagne did not follow through with all the implications of Alcuin’s statement, this early plea for religious liberty of conscience resulted ultimately in the death penalty for pagans in the empire being dropped in 797.