The Empire's Reformations - (German History in Focus) by David M Luebke (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

The Empire's Reformations provides a concise overview of reform movements in 16th-century Germany that gave birth to the modern division of western Christianity into multiple denominations - Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Calvinist, and more. It exposes the origins of modern religious pluralism, both in battle for souls among these emerging camps and in the struggles of political leaders at every level to manage the threat that religious diversity posed to tranquillity and order in a rigidly hierarchical society. As such, it offers a prehistory of religious toleration, not as a positive value - few regarded toleration as inherently good - but as a strategy for keeping the peace.

David M. Luebke considers the reformations of religion in the context of concurrent transformations in the political and judicial structures of the Holy Roman Empire, that sprawling confederation of principalities and city-states that embraced most regions where German was spoken. This allows Luebke to view the religious reforms through the lens of imperial politics, showing how the Empire differed from the Atlantic monarchies, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and the Mediterranean. On a different and equally significant level, he examines how ordinary people of all backgrounds experienced the controversy over religion and responded to reforms of doctrine and observance. The inclusion of both the imperial and local perspectives moves the Reformation beyond the familiar story of theological combat and reimagines it as something that had resonance throughout the world, impacting people's lives in the process.

Review Quotes

David Luebke's important and original book shows how the religious movements that exploded in the Reformation also shaped the development of the early modern Holy Roman Empire. His engaging, highly readable and stimulating text will be essential reading for students and scholars alike. - Joachim Whaley FBA, Emeritus Professor of German History and Thought, University of Cambridge, UK

About the Author

David M. Luebke is Professor of History at the University of Oregon, USA. He is the author of Hometown Religion: Regimes of Coexistence in Early Modern Westphalia, 1535-1650 (2016), which was awarded the Gerald Strauss Prize in 2017. He is also series editor of Spektrum: Publications of the German Studies Association and series co-editor of Studies in Central European Histories.