Saturday, January 19, 2013

Did the Protestant Reformation lead to the Enlightenment?

Indirectly, yes. The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther, a disaffected German monk and professor of theology, nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Catholic Church.


Luther was outraged by the Church's abuses of authority. He also believed that clergymen should not be the final and sole authorities on Scripture, but that all Christians should have access to the Bible (something which was made possible by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 with the publication of the first printed Bible) and be able to interpret it. 


Martin Luther's democratic stance on the Bible, as well as his rejection of the Church's ceremonial excesses, could be considered precursors for the Enlightenment. By questioning its morals and encouraging people to think (a bit) for themselves, he was undermining the Church's absolute authority. With Lutheranism, the Protestant sect of Christianity he created, he encouraged a simple and direct communion with God. Unlike Catholic churches, which were ornate and filled with examples of material wealth, Lutheran churches were practically bare aside from the pews and the pulpit. He also allowed members of the clergy to marry. He, in fact, was wedded to a nun, Katharina von Bora.


Luther's encouragement of simplicity, his individualistic thinking about Scripture, and his acceptance of natural human needs for sex and companionship were quite "modern." These ideas also anticipate Enlightenment thinkers' quests for knowledge, as well as their considerations of the "natural rights" of man (e.g., John Locke). Luther's emphasis on simplicity reminds one of Jean-Jacques Rousseau's idea that people became corrupted by civilization (of which the Church was a part) and should return to nature in order to lead lives of integrity. 

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