Abstract
From the time of Pope Gregory I, the Church was opposed to the forced conversion of Jews. Jewish minors could not be converted without the consent of their parents. The practice in the early modern period, confirmed by a papal decree, was to baptize Jewish children without their parents' consent only if they were thought to be in danger of death or were abandoned by their parents. Examines the attitude of the Venetian government toward the forced baptism of Jewish minors between 1502-1788. Dwells on the struggle of the Jews of Venice, and of local liberal jurists, to include provisions in charters for the Jews prohibiting the forced baptism of Jewish minors, and discusses cases of forced baptism. Concludes that the government of Venice tended not to interfere with the ecclesiastical authorities regarding the validity of a baptism, even when it could be illegal. The attitude toward such baptisms was complex, and considerations of raison d'état played an important role.