Adopted during the Kulturkampf at the end of the 19th century, they were mainly intended to limit the influence of the Roman Catholic Church to the benefit of the Protestant radicalism then practiced by the majority of the population and cantons, but also took aim at Judaism.
[1] Article 50, introduced in 1874, was a direct consequence of the preceding conflict between the Swiss Federal Council and the Pope and several influential clergymen.
Disputes arising from public or private law concerning the formation or separation of religious communities may be submitted to the decision of the competent federal authorities by way of appeal.
The establishment of dioceses on Swiss territory is subject to the approval of the ConfederationIn 1964, National Councillor Alfred Ackermann submitted a motion calling for the article on bishoprics to be deleted, but to no avail.
It was only in the referendum of June 10, 2001 (approved by 64 percent of the population and all cantons[4]) that the paragraph was deleted without replacement as the last of the remaining Special Provisions.
Articles 51 specifically prohibited the presence of the Society of Jesus on the territory of the Confederation, going further than the 1848 provisions that merely prevented Jesuits from holding State or Church charges.
After 1950, however, a rethink began, with non-Catholic constitutional lawyers such as Werner Kägi and François Aubert now also judging the articles to be "untenable" and "discriminatory".
The arguments used in the 1893 campaign had strong antisemitic components, and were louder in the German-speaking part of the country (Saxony had banned ritual slaughter in 1892): the majority was clearest in Aargau (90.1 percent in support) or Zurich (85.9%), while in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino, where anti-Semitism and animal protection were less resonant, the initiative was clearly rejected (3.1% in Valais, 12.2% in Ticino).