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The Reformation A History
The Reformation A History by Diarmaid MacCulloch Viking, 2004 792 pp., $34.95 |
Who or what is a Catholic? Is it the entire church or only the Western part of it? Must a Catholic be loyal to the pope, or could she defend the faith against the pope? Can a Protestant be Catholic? And does the meaning of the word "Catholic" even matter?
Diarmaid MacCulloch replies that in early modern Europe, the meaning of the word was central to the Reformation—and, he maintains, Reformation history is essential to European and world history. He goes so far as to claim that it's impossible to comprehend the modern world without knowing the 16th-century roots of divisions between Protestants and Catholics. In particular, he provocatively contends, the Reformation background is essential to grasp the distinctive character of the United States. He identifies Scotch-Irish Presbyterianism as the dominant influence on American culture, explaining American religiosity as the fruit of Reformed Christian faith that was transplanted from the edges of the British Isles to North America.
MacCulloch covers the familiar ground of survey texts with ease and grace, offering the reader a well-paced and broad introduction. But he also follows the story well beyond the bounds of the Reformation narrowly construed, extending the narrative into Eastern Europe, Catholic renewal, and the 17th century. He offers lively sketches of the major characters en route, describing Martin Luther as the guarantor of a good night out on the town but declining to say the same of "buttoned-up" John Calvin. He also does a fine job untangling complicated theology, particularly regarding the Eucharist. It takes an exceptionally talented historian to clarify why Protestant church unity floundered on whether the host is broken (Reformed) or elevated (Lutheran) without getting bogged down in pages of explanation. (A useful touch for the novice Reformation student is an appendix with the Nicene Creed, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, and the Hail Mary.)
To demonstrate the church's ubiquity in 1500, MacCulloch notes that of the three most mechanically complex machines that most people would see in their lives—the pipe organ, the clock, and the windmill—two were only found in churches. MacCulloch often emphasizes the centrality of hymnody, especially the Genevan Psalter, for giving words to the laity's faith. Such was the power and appeal of the sung word, that French Catholics cut out the tongues of Reformed Protestants before they were burnt at the stake so that the words of the Psalter would not ring out from the flames.
Many stalwart Catholic countries in Eastern Europe became Protestant or harbored substantial Protestant movements in the 16th century, only to be re-Catholicized in the 17th. MacCulloch describes this energetic renewal in detail, rightly emphasizing that not only Protestants but also Catholics defined doctrine, sent missionaries, and built schools in the 16th and 17th centuries. An equally significant expansion of the standard Reformation text is MacCulloch's decision to include the 17th century. He incorporates not only the horrific Thirty Years' War but also the expansion of the Portuguese, Spanish, and English empires into the Americas.
Ultimately, religious change came to every country in Europe. In order to cover the necessary ground, MacCulloch has to switch rapidly from one area to the next. Although the transitions often work well, at times the book has the feel of a whirlwind European bus tour: if you blink, you might miss the border and suddenly find yourself in a different country. This is a small price to pay, however, for a tour that includes all of Europe west of Russia and not just Protestant nations.
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