Macquarie University

Religious Reform and Conflict in Early Modern Europe - MHIS222

In 1517, Martin Luther, an Augustinian friar and professor at the University of Wittenberg issued a public refutation of the Church's policy of selling absolution from sin. Within a decade, the centuries-old unity of the Latin Church in Western Europe had fractured. The absolute authority of the Pope, the efficacy of certain religious practices, and the power of the priesthood became disputed as new churches and Christian denominations proliferated. This process of reforming Christianity broadened access to religious teachings in a way unprecedented in Europe, allowing more people to read, think about, and discuss religion than previously had occurred. But at the same time it also provoked over a century of bloody sectarian conflict as the new Christian denominations battled each other and the Latin Church for political and social power. This unit proceeds thematically covering the nature of the reform movements, the reasons for their successes and failures, as well as the broader social and cultural impact that these shifts in religion had on European society: in art and music; on the opportunities and barriers for women; on the control of sexuality, marriage, and behaviour; the place of non-Christians in Europe; and on the relationship between church and state.

Timetable Information

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