Conversion stopped shielding converted Jews from discrimination by the late fourteenth century.

Evidence

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, while Muslims and Jews occupied second-class status under Christian rule, they were nonetheless accepted as a part of Spanish society, and the Church tolerated their presence. Conversion to Christianity was a means by which they could escape persecution; Christian universalism sought to include all non- Christians into its fold. This changed in the late fourteenth century when a wave of anti-Jewish pogroms swept through the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. Jews were given a choice between conversion or death and a large proportion of Sephardic Jews chose to convert. Faced with a similar choice or expulsion in 1492, many Jews again chose the path of conversion. However, this was no longer enough to protect them from discrimination. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 116

Categorization

• XREF: Direct parallel to the book’s own argument about medieval tolerance of Muslims/Jews shifting under changing material conditions; also connects to the rubric example on the Lex Oppia and religious-identity regulation. — connects to: So-called converts of Jewish origin were still deported and killed — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 444; Conversion reinforced rather than reduced antisemitic suspicion of Jews — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in…, 1667; Religious conversion confirmed rather than dispelled antisemitic suspicion

Broader Connections

• Religious conversion confirmed rather than dispelled antisemitic suspicion #corroborates (0.90)
• Conversion reinforced rather than reduced antisemitic suspicion of Jews #corroborates (0.85) — James Renton, Ben Gidley (eds.), Antisemitism and Islamophobia in Europe, 1667