The dichotomy of "unity and plurality" is considered the basic signature of Europe. Consequently, this brings the question of the diverse forms of dealing with difference onto the agenda. How did people in Europe react to inequality and otherness, which have been making themselves felt in a particularly dynamic way on all levels of social, cultural and religious life since the early modern period? What forms of regulation or limitation of the different were found and to what extent did the containment of difference also contribute to not abolishing plurality, but rather preserving it permanently and even creating it? The volume deals with the often tense interplay of aspired unity and - intentional or unintentional - ongoing multiplicity. From the perspective of "models of order and pluralization", historical procedures in dealing with religious diversity or (religious) political differences are examined. In addition, it is surveyed to what extent one tried to overcome differences through integration or marginalization or through reconciliation as well as ecumenical approaches and under which conditions toleration, acceptance and appreciation of the plurality and the different developed.