European Reformations

The events collectively known as the Reformation ended the unity of westem Christianity. In this course, we will study the various reforming movements primarily by reading the words of their main actors. The course places the ideas behind the reformers' agendas in their historical context, beginning with a survey of western Christianity on the eve of the sixteenth century. It then examines the particular ways in which the Protestant and Catholic reformers viewed the Bible, salvation, the church, and the state. After exploring the context and the Ideas, we will look at the reality of the reformers' struggle to implement their agenda and the legacy of the Reformation in the twenty-first century.