Page 353 - Western Civilization A Brief History, Volume I To 1715 9th - Jackson J. Spielvogel

clergy preached sermons advocating a more positive side to family relationships. The Protestants were espe- cially important in developing this new view of the family. Because Protestantism had eliminated any idea of special holiness for celibacy, abolishing both monas- ticism and a celibate clergy, the family could be placed at the center of human life, and a new stress on “mutual love between man and wife” could be extolled. But were doctrine and reality the same? For more radi- cal religious groups, at times they were. One Anabap- tist wrote to his wife before his execution: “My faithful helper, my loyal friend. I praise God that he gave you to me, you who have sustained me in all my trial.”8 But more often reality reflected the traditional roles of hus- band as the ruler and wife as the obedient servant whose chief duty was to please her husband. Luther stated it clearly:
The rule remains with the husband, and the wife is com- pelled to obey him by God’s command. He rules the home and the state, wages war, defends his possessions, tills the soil, builds, plants, etc. The woman on the other hand is like a nail driven into the wall . . . so the wife should stay at home and look after the affairs of the household, as one who has been deprived of the ability of administering those affairs that are outside and that concern the state. She does not go beyond her most personal duties.9
Obedience to her husband was not a wife’s only role; her other important duty was to bear children. To Cal- vin and Luther, this function of women was part of the divine plan. God punishes women for the sins of Eve by the burdens of procreation and feeding and nurtur- ing their children, but, said Luther, “it is a gladsome punishment if you consider the hope of eternal life and the honor of motherhood which had been left to her.”10 Although the Protestant reformers sanctified this role of woman as mother and wife, viewing it as a holy vocation, Protestantism also left few alternatives for women. Because monasticism had been destroyed, that career avenue was no longer available; for most Protestant women, family life was their only destiny. At the same time, by emphasizing the father as “ruler” and hence the center of household religion, Protes- tantism even removed the woman from her traditional role as controller of religion in the home. Overall, the Protestant Reformation did not noticeably transform women’s subordinate place in society.
Religious Practices and Popular Culture
The attacks of Protestant reformers on the Catholic Church led to radical changes in religious practices. The
Protestant Reformation abolished or severely curtailed such customary practices as indulgences, the venera- tion of relics and saints, pilgrimages, monasticism, and clerical celibacy. The elimination of saints put an end to the numerous celebrations of religious holy days and changed a community’s sense of time. Thus, in Protes- tant communities, religious ceremonies and imagery, such as processions and statues, tended to be replaced with individual private prayer, family worship, and col- lective prayer and worship at the same time each week on Sunday.
In addition to abolishing saints’ days and religious carnivals, some Protestant reformers even tried to eliminate customary forms of entertainment. Puritans (as English Calvinists were called), for example, attempted to ban drinking in taverns, dramatic per- formances, and dancing. Dutch Calvinists denounced the tradition of giving small presents to children on the feast of Saint Nicholas in December. Many of these Protestant attacks on popular culture were unsuccess- ful, however. The importance of taverns in English social life made it impossible to eradicate them, and celebrating at Christmastime persisted in the Dutch Netherlands.
The Catholic Reformation
Q FOCUS QUESTION: What measures did the Roman Catholic Church take to reform itself and to combat Protestantism in the sixteenth century?
By the mid-sixteenth century, Lutheranism had become established in Germany and Scandinavia and Calvinism in parts of Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, and eastern Europe (see Map 13.2). In England, the split from Rome had resulted in the creation of a national church. The situation in Europe did not look favorable for Roman Catholicism. Yet constructive, positive forces for reform were already at work within the Catholic Church.
Catholic Reformation or Counter-
Reformation?
There is no doubt that the Catholic Church underwent a revitalization in the sixteenth century. But was this reformation a Catholic Reformation or a Counter- Reformation? Some historians prefer to call it a “Counter-Reformation” to focus on the aspects that
The Catholic Reformation 315
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