Reformation A Vital Catalyst for Modernity - Term Paper Example

?Reformation – A vital Catalyst for Modernity What is today identified as the ‘modern era’ did not begin through a single event, nor is there any particular point where ‘modernity’ started. Instead, from the 13th century onwards, life changed in leaps and bounds in different areas of human society. These ‘stirrings’ could be felt in many parts of the world, but it was in Europe in particular where a concentration of great thinkers provided the fertile ground from which modernity eventually sprang. There were many milestones along the way, in the form of explorations, discoveries, developing insights and wars. But it was foremost the growing disillusionment with the spiritual guidance of the Catholic Church that was of great importance because it affected all people. This ‘spiritual’ uprising swept across Europe and eventually culminated in the ‘Reformation, which questioned and broke papal authority. It opened up opportunities for new ways of thinking and worshipping, made possible the nation state and shaped the modern world through its intellectual offsprings. The reformation must therefore be seen as the single most important catalyst for modernity. Scholars divide Human history of thought into Classical, Medieval and Modern periods, with the medieval period being seen as the dark ages due to the disruption to ‘classical’ thought by the fall of the Roman Empire. This era is thought to have terminated with the Renaissance in the 14th century, although well before that time, the Italian States had become centres of renewed classical learning that created a climate of intellectual and artistic competition. There were also signs of change in political and social structures, away from feudalism towards commerce and trade, radiating to other areas of Europe. In this climate of social and political ferment, and against a backdrop of papal rivalry and schism, theologians were at the forefront of embracing new intellectual movements. These brought with them more critical methods of thinking and evaluating texts, including a new process of discovery,‘ the scientific’ method, and the dismissal of Aristotle’s ‘final cause’ (Brinton 40-41), the latter in particular challenging the ‘teleological’ view of the church, that all human endeavour ends in ‘God’. As a consequence Calvin, Erasmus, More, Luther (Brinton 205; 234) and other prominent theologians to question the validity of parts of the New Testament as well as other areas of existing religious thought and practice. The reformation, which eventually resulted from this criticism, can therefore to some extent be seen as a distillation of all the important intellectual movements of the age. The papacy meanwhile continued controlling religious activity throughout the European continent and chose to ignore the tide of revolution that swept across its territory, continuing its money-based piety that worked with mechanical precision regardless of human circumstances. According to the historian Crane Brinton (234 pp), there was not one single area of religious observance in the 16th century that was not in one way or other tied to money. The crisis came when Martin Luther put forward his accusations of misconduct of the church – in the vernacular of the people – and the papacy answered ‘in Latin’. Oblivious to the changes that had taken place, the papacy attempted to combat Luther with the same worn ‘heresy’ charge of centuries ago, except by then the people had found their champions, of which Luther was only one. The grievances these ‘heroes’ made public were those of nearly every ordinary Christian and for the first time, the people were able to understand what was said. There were many complaints, ninety-seven of them, but the most important ones were, that the Church offered ‘salvation’ in exchange for money, that priests were rich and not subject to the law, and that ordinary people had no access to the bible. Thus the impending reformation was not simply an intellectual exercise but it offered opportunity for change on an unprecedented scale to ordinary people. Perhaps this reformation would have happened anyway but it can be said that it succeeded with lightening speed for two major reasons – the blindness and arrogance of the papacy, the ‘people-friendly’ approach of the ‘Protestants’ (e.g. the text of the bible was preached in the vernacular), and the need of the princes and merchants to preserve their wealth from the clutches of the Catholic Church, although Brinton argued that the ‘incoming’ protestants were simply another money-hungry class that replaced the clergy (234pp). In 1517, ‘protestant’ meant predominantly the German merchants and German princes and Martin Luther, whose ideas spread mainly throughout Germany and Scandinavia, although others were soon to follow in his footsteps, creating theoretical diversity, which heightened the impact of the reformation. Among these, Calvin was of particular importance. He had been educated in the spirit of Humanism (whereas Luther had first been a monk) and soon developed a different doctrine, although still based on protestant ideals. By 1536, Calvin preached in Geneva what was soon to be known as ‘Calvinism’; a harsh world-view that gave no guarantees of salvation, allowed few pleasures and demanded hard work and good deeds. This austere regime, Calvin inflicted first upon the people of this region but it soon spread like wildfire across large parts of Europe, including France, where it adapted to the character of the French, who called themselves Huguenots. Calvinism also reached Scotland and England, where it eventually gave rise to ‘Puritanism’ (Brinton 251pp). Clearly, the time was right not only for embracing a new religious doctrine but also for developing ethnic, cultural and national varieties. The reformation therefore achieved more than just breaking the catholic monopoly on religion – it provided an opportunity for a variety of religious ‘brands’. However, it must be remembered that mainly Catholic kings ruled Europe and that these were not likely to accept this new ‘philosophy’ that had burst onto the scene without their approval. In France this soon took the form of religious persecution, first under Francis I and later by Catherine de Medici, who ordered the slaughter of more than 30,000 during the St. Bartholomew’s Day, giving rise to an exodus of Huguenots to Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy and England, which by 1933 was already protestant under Henry VIII. Between 1562 and 1598 the “French wars of religion’ devastated France, spurred on by churches as well as princes, and only brought to an end when Henry IV came to the throne. Later, renewed prosecution by Louis XIV prompted another wave of migration, this time not just within Europe but also to America and Africa. But there was trouble also in other parts of Europe, particularly Bohemia, one of the kingdoms that had become part of the Holy Roman Empire when its king was elected emperor. In 1618, the Bohemian Protestants revolted against Catholic oppression and started a war that lasted 30 years and involved most European countries. The peace of Westphalia in 1648, wherein all participant agreed to respect each other’s territorial integrity, concluded the 30 year war and brought about a new form of statehood, the nation, which was to form the basis of territorial government from that time on (Brinton 251) and which must be seen as a direct result of the reformation. All these wars, however, did not stop scholars across Europe to continue the work of the 16th century philosophers and the century of bloodshed and genocide saw at the same time a tremendous flowering of art, sciences and philosophy. The reformation inspired thinkers from many different areas of science, art and philosophy to continue the work of the early scholars and produce change within their particular societies that was to form the basis of modernity in Europe. Among many others, Bacon, Galileo, Hobbes, Descartes, Brown, Milton, Pascal, Spinoza, Newton, Leibniz and particularly John Locke, contributed to new forms of thinking and learning. They developed new theories in every sphere of human life (Brinton 275-77), in an ideological climate of relative freedom, brought about by the reformation. The changes that arose must first and foremost be understood as a newfound belief in the ‘progress’ of humanity, whereby the ‘golden age in the past’ and ‘original sin’ were replaced by Man’s ‘perfectibility through reason’, in the process achieving fundamental alterations in the social and legal relationships of men (Laski 82). But deriving from these changes were new insights into the nature of man, which strongly affected economic and political thought. For the latter, the work of John Locke was important in developing concepts of ‘social contract’ and liberalism, limiting the power of government and giving greater ‘liberty’ to individuals in all spheres of life. He was particularly influential in America, where the constitution of the new republic was informed by Locke’s ideals. In economics too, liberalism influenced Adam Smith and his theory of ‘free markets’, although it took almost another century before the phasing out process of mercantilism by most nations began (Brinton 289). By1789, on the eve of the French revolution, America and the European states had developed into relatively modern societies in institutional and economic sectors and in some areas of private life, although France still had to throw off the shackles of monarchy. It can be said that none of these changes could have occurred when they did – perhaps they may not have occurred at all - had it not been for the ‘Reformation’ and the destruction of papal power. The groundswell that brought about this revolution was strong already but without curtailing of the power of the Catholic Church, progressive thinkers of the 16th and 17th centuries may well have become the victims of heresy trials – as they had in centuries before the reformation. As it was, the ideals of the reformation were allowed to flourish. They placed the individual at the centre of earthly life and allowed direct access to God, without the need of ecclesiastical intervention. To this day, we owe some debt to those who had the courage to tear down a corrupt but deeply entrenched order that prevented Man to fulfil his potential and thus brought about Reformation. Reference List: Brinton, Crane. Ideas and Men: The Story of Western Thought. Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Prentice Hall. 1963. Print. Laski, Harold J 2nd ed The Rise of European Liberalism. London: Unwin. 1962. Print. Read More