REL 331
Reformations: Faith, Politics, and the World Fall 2018
Division II
Cross-listed HIST 330
This is not the current course catalog

The Protestant Reformation was long understood as the first salvo of modernity. By opposing the faith of the individual believer to the authority of the established Church, Martin Luther and his followers, it has been argued, laid the foundations not just of the Reformed Churches but of the modern self and of the modern state. While considering these classic interpretations, this seminar will also examine more recent investigations of the plural Reformations: not just Protestant but also Catholic, and not solely mainstream but radical as well. Moreover, in this same period, Christianity expanded well beyond Europe, becoming a global religion. We will ask: in these sweeping transformations of what it meant to be a Christian, who was included and excluded? And how did Reformations of the faith intersect with such a dramatic expansion of the faithful? Historical developments to be considered include theology, popular culture, women and mysticism, the Wars of Religion, overseas missions, the Council of Trent, and the settlement of Westphalia. Authors to be read include Luther, John Calvin, Teresa of Ávila, Michel de Montaigne, Ignatius of Loyola, and others.