The Inquisition
<p >The <b>Inquisition</b> is<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#cite_note-1" >[1]</a></sup> a group of institutions within the judicial system of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholic_Church" title="Roman Catholic Church" class="mw-redirect" >Roman Catholic Church</a> whose aim is to combat <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_heresy" title="Christian heresy" class="mw-redirect" >heresy</a>. It started in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_the_12th_century" title="Christianity in the 12th century" >12th-century</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France" >France</a> to combat the spread of religious sectarianism, in particular the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathars" title="Cathars" class="mw-redirect" >Cathars</a> and the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldensians" title="Waldensians" >Waldensians</a>. Among the other groups which were investigated later were the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraticelli" title="Fraticelli" >Spiritual Franciscans</a>, the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussites" title="Hussites" class="mw-redirect" >Hussites</a> (followers of Jan Hus) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beguines" title="Beguines" class="mw-redirect" >Beguines</a>. Beginning in the 1250s, inquisitors were generally chosen from members of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominican_Order" title="Dominican Order" >Dominican Order</a>, to replace the earlier practice of using local clergy as judges.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#cite_note-2" >[2]</a></sup> The term <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_Inquisition" title="Medieval Inquisition" >Medieval Inquisition</a> covers these courts up through the 14th century.
In the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late_Middle_Ages" title="Late Middle Ages" >Late Middle Ages</a> and early <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance" title="Renaissance" class="mw-redirect" >Renaissance</a>, the concept and scope of the Inquisition was significantly expanded in response to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation" title="Protestant Reformation" >Protestant Reformation</a> and the Catholic<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-Reformation" title="Counter-Reformation" >Counter-Reformation</a>. Its geographic scope was expanded to other <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe" title="Europe" >European</a> countries,<sup id="cite_ref-Lea1888_3-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#cite_note-Lea1888-3" >[3]</a></sup>resulting in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Inquisition" title="Spanish Inquisition" >Spanish Inquisition</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Inquisition" title="Portuguese Inquisition" >Portuguese Inquisition</a>. Those two kingdoms in particular operated inquisitorial courts throughout their respective empires (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Empire" title="Spanish Empire" >Spanish</a> and<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Empire" title="Portuguese Empire" >Portuguese</a>) in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Americas" title="Americas" >Americas</a> (resulting in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peruvian_Inquisition" title="Peruvian Inquisition" >Peruvian Inquisition</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Inquisition" title="Mexican Inquisition" >Mexican Inquisition</a>), <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia" title="Asia" >Asia</a>, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa" title="Africa" >Africa</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Murphy_4-0" class="reference" ><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquisition#cite_note-Murphy-4" >[4]</a></sup> One particular focus of the Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions was the issue of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish" title="Jewish" class="mw-redirect" >Jewish</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim" title="Muslim" >Muslim</a> converts to Catholicism, partly because these minority groups were more numerous in Spain and Portugal than in many other parts of Europe, and partly because they were often considered suspect due to the assumption that they had secretly reverted to their previous religions.
The institution of the Inquisition persisted until the early 19th century (except within the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_States" title="Papal States" >Papal States</a>) after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_wars" title="Napoleonic wars" class="mw-redirect" >Napoleonic wars</a> in Europe and after the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_American_wars_of_independence" title="Spanish American wars of independence" >Spanish American wars of independence</a> in the Americas. The institution survived as part of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Curia" title="Roman Curia" >Roman Curia</a> but was given the new name "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office" in 1904. In 1965 it became the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congregation_for_the_Doctrine_of_the_Faith" title="Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith" >Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</a>.</p>