Religion in Europe: Women

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Place in Society. The Catholic Church venerated women. Although in the Old Testament it was Eve who led Adam into temptation, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Ann, her mother, were lauded as examples of virtue and godliness. In the Church women’s roles were circumscribed; they could become nuns, not priests (although nuns’ contributions were valued). Some women, such as Teresa of Ávila, were valued (and feared) for their mystical visions and reform activities during the Counter-Reformation.

A WOMAN SPEAKS OUT

It seemed so funny to me, it made me laugh, because in this matter I was never afraid, it was well known that in matters of the faith, I would die a thousand deaths before I’d go against even the least ceremony of the church, or against any in the Sacred Scriptures. And I said that... if I thought there was any reason [to fear the Inquisition], I would go to them myself, and that if such an accusation were raised, the Lord would free me and I would profit from it.

Source: Gillian T. W. Ahlgren, Teresa of Avila and the Politics of Sanctity (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996), p. 44.

The Reformation. The Protestant Reformation both enlarged and diminished women’s opportunities. Often the best time for women was in the few years after a town had adopted the reformed faith. Institutions and structures were somewhat fluid, and women had some opportunity to create a place for themselves. Both women and men participated in the religious wars and riots which characterized the sixteenth century. On the one hand, women’s increased activity angered men; many cities prohibited women from gathering to discuss religion. On the other hand, reformers such as Calvin and Luther needed and cultivated relationships with women. Calvin looked for the support of noblewomen, and Luther corresponded with several women. In each case both relied upon female converts to bring their influential male relatives, such as local rulers, to reformed religion.

Changes. Unlike Catholicism, which celebrated women as saints and pious believers, Protestantism aimed to strip away such externals, which were considered unnecessary to faith. Calendar days which honored women were eradicated; so were processions and other activities which allowed women’s participation and gave women an active role in religious life. Joining a convent, long an option for women (and one that gave them a degree of autonomy), was no longer a possibility as marriage and motherhood were women’s highest callings.

Fear. Protestantism and Catholicism shared a basic fear of women: that they, more than men, might be agents of Satan, as witches. As Protestant teaching spread among the laity, so did popular superstition, including that of the woman as witch. Women without a proper place in society—older women, single women, widows, poor women, and childless women—were especially feared. Without social ties and limits, these women were particularly appealing to the Devil. The changing legal system permitted larger witchcraft trials. Once accusatory, the system became more inquisitorial. Whereas before the accuser had to stand before the accused, the system became more anonymous and official, and legal authorities could bring charges. Curiously, the Roman and Spanish inquisitions acted with lenience on witches, for they pitied those whom they thought bedeviled as mere pawns of Satan.

Witches. Witchcraft was not only a fear in Europe. In 1585 Jean Lery, a French explorer, wrote about how Brazilian native women, like their Christian counterparts, were prone to giving in to the Devil. The Puritans of New England were especially on the lookout for witches, culminating in the Salem trials of 1692 in Massachusetts.

Sources

Robin Briggs, Witches and Neighbors: The Social and Cultural Context of European Witchcraft (New York: Penguin, 1996);

Merry E. Wiesner, Women and Gender in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).

“THE PEOPLE FROM HEAVEN”

In a letter to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain dated 4 March 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote:

Nowhere in these islands have I known the inhabitants to have a religion, or idolatry, or much diversity of language among them, but rather they all understand each other. I learned that they know that all powers reside in heaven. And, generally, in whatever lands I traveled, they believed and believe that I, together with these ships and people, came from heaven, and they greeted me with such veneration. And today, this very day, they are of the same mind, nor have they strayed from it, despite all the contact they [the Spaniards at La Navidad] may have had with them. And then, upon arriving at whatever settlement, the men, women, and children go from house to house calling out, “Come, come and see the people from heaven!”

Religion in Europe: Catholicism

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The Universal Church. Until the middle of the fifteenth century the overwhelming majority of Europeans were Christians, and the overwhelming majority of them were Catholics. There had long been calls for reform of the Church. While a few groups might have been discontented with the Church and splintered off to form their own religions, to be Christian in Europe was to be a member of the Catholic Church, adhering to the authority of the Pope in Rome as the Vicar of Christ and to his shepherds spread throughout Western Europe, the cardinals, bishops, parish priests, and nuns. The word catholic means universal; the Catholic Church was so named because of its universal membership and authority of the Pope throughout the Continent rather than the sectarian divisions that would characterize Protestantism. Religion had a tremendous influence in everyday life: the calendar, with its saints’ days, feasts, and fasts, helped dictate the rhythm of life; so, too, the icons and images of Jesus and the saints gave religion a visual presence in churches and homes alike. However, not all Catholics were content with the Church. Late-medieval critics decried the lackluster papacy and practices such as simony (the selling of spiritual goods) and other forms of abuse as well as the general spiritual poverty. This was followed by a revival of religious practice fortified by the vitality of groups such as the Spiritual Franciscans, Waldensians, and Hussianites.

The Road to Reformation. The mid fifteenth century found many Catholics dissatisfied with what they perceived to be growing corruption and declining spirituality. Many clerical leaders were interested more in their own material gain than in leading their flocks. The sale of indulgences (payments to the Church which shortened the amount of time Catholics or their deceased relatives had to spend in purgatory) and absentee priests (in which priests served more than one parish and were supported by each of those parishes but were not present) led many to call for reforms. Martin Luther and John Calvin were among the most prominent reformers; Calvin in particular drew many Catholics away from the Church. In 1534 Henry VIII, King of England, dealt another blow to the Church. After the Pope refused to grant him a divorce, Henry created the Church of England. The Church of England resembled the Catholic Church except at the head stood the English

monarch rather than the Pope. The creation of the English church opened the door for reformers. When Mary, Henry’s staunchly Catholic daughter, ascended the throne, she not only reconnected with the Church in Rome but also persecuted or forced those in opposition to the Catholic Church into exile on the Continent. England did not remain a Catholic country for long; when Mary’s half sister, Elizabeth I, came to the throne in 1558, she did so as a Protestant and helped defend reformed religion not only in her country but also throughout Europe.

The Counter-Reformation. The Catholic Church did not sit idle, watching its numbers diminish. The clergy and laity instituted a series of changes known as the Counter-Reformation. Recognizing the existence of abuses, the Church sought to purify itself. While the Catholic Church stressed that it was not acting only in response to Protestantism but rather was putting into place much-needed reform, it is clear that both the origins of the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation could be found

in a shared discontent with the status quo. The Church took up the question of reform primarily at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). The council articulated doctrine on such matters as salvation and grace and defined the seven sacraments. Indeed, the Council of Trent gave the Catholic Church a doctrinal clarity lacking in Protestantism. The Church rededicated itself to the education of priests, establishing several seminaries for that purpose, and gave the Society of Jesus a special role, entrusted with promoting missionary work as well as education. Indeed, establishing missionaries in the New World and Asia was one of the major works of the Catholic Reformation (as the Counter-Reformation is also known). Ultimately the Counter-Reformation helped to revitalize spirituality and change religious culture to recognize the needs of the laity.

Sources

John Bossy, Christianity in the West, 1400–1700 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985);

Richard Mackenney, Sixteenth-Century Europe: Expansion and Conflict (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993).

Religion in Europe: Protestantism

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Importance of Faith. Protestantism developed in response to perceptions that the Catholic Church was departing from matters of faith and spirituality in favor of material concerns. Protestants placed great emphasis on the importance of faith and belief, achieved through a transformation of one’s heart. The way to know God was through reading the Bible and listening to sermons. Preaching would assist one in the quest for finding God. Thus the spread of Protestantism led to a rise in literacy as believers took it upon themselves to learn God’s word. In contrast to Catholicism, Protestant theology did not find good works, such as the paying of indulgences or the building of lavish altars, a sign of salvation. Good works were “correlatives of faith, not preludes,” as the historian Huston Smith has argued. When one possessed faith, good works would naturally flow. Despite their downplaying of good works, Protestants nonetheless stressed the importance of self-discipline. And Protestants believed in only two sacraments, baptism and communion, of the seven the Catholics revered.

History. Calls for reform are as old as Christianity itself. Sometimes heeded and sometimes not, reforms came in waves, but the basic structure of the Catholic Church remained in place until the Reformation. The Reformation was the most massive and permanent set of reforms. Indeed some historians have argued that Martin Luther, one of the primary architects of the Reformation, did not mean to rend the Church. Luther, Calvin, and their intellectual heirs succeeded because they gained the support of monarchs, nobles, local leaders, and the laity. In some cases rulers joined the Protestant movement because it was politically or economically advantageous; in other cases their faith was genuine. Harbingers of the Reformation were present in the late fourteenth century. John Wyclif, an English theologian, criticized the Church’s abuses and late in his life called for appeals to Scripture as the most sound authority. He denied the dogma of transubstantiation as being unscriptural. He called for the stripping of all temporal (and therefore extraneous) possessions held by both Church and king. While the monarchy regarded him as a threat and his ideas as heretical, he gained much popular support and went on to train lay preachers known as the Lollards. In their efforts at purifying the Church the Lollards have been called precursors to the Puritans. From the beginning, several varieties of Protestantism existed. Luther and Calvin advocated different theologies. Some sects, such as the Puritans, argued that the Church of England variety of Protestantism was not pure enough; some groups of Puritans further advocated separating from the Church of England.

Expansion. Protestantism was able to spread in some locales because of political support and its popularity among the people and because of the Church’s inability to suppress it. Calvinism, supported by Genevan princes, caught on in Switzerland. Though popular in France, Calvinism was resisted by the monarchies, and only a series of religious wars ensured that Catholicism would prevail. In England, Henry VIII cut the ties between himself and the Pope, but for personal reasons (the Pope refused to grant him a divorce). His children did not agree on religious issues: while Mary persecuted Protestants, Elizabeth, pushed by Parliament, moved England in a more Protestant direction. Other countries, such as Spain, remained firmly Catholic.

Source

Sidney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1972).

Religion in Europe: Religious Conflict

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Origins and Causes. Wars of religion exemplified the extent to which animosity between Catholics and Protestants had developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As Protestantism spread throughout northern Europe, Protestants of different nationalities felt closer to members of their own faith than to their countrymen. The same was true of Catholics. For instance, the Spanish king, ruling over the Netherlands, sent twenty thousand Spanish soldiers to suppress religious and political dissidents in 1567. In 1570 the Pope excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I, thereby freeing English Catholics from owing allegiance to her and giving them the right to overthrow her. Elizabeth tried to assist the Dutch by sending six thousand troops to Holland. The Spanish king, Phillip II, believed that the best way to defeat the English was to send an armada, or fleet, to defeat England’s weak navy. However, England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 and emerged as a stronghold of Protestantism.

The Case of France. The French witnessed much more horror in the wars of religion. French Protestants, the Huguenots, were radical in their demands: to them, no middle road existed. The Huguenots threatened the monarchy’s power, and the king was intent on destroying them. Some monarchs as well as Catherine de Medici, regent for her young son, tried to straddle a middle ground between Catholic and Huguenot. Catherine issued the Edict of St. Germaine in 1562, which proclaimed limited but legal recognition of the Huguenots. This edict led to violence as the Duke of Guise, staunch leader of the Catholic faction, commanded his troops to fire shots at the Protestants. This was the beginning of three generations of violence and took power away from Calvinist clergy, putting it into the hands of nobles. Ultimately, with the Edict of Nantes, issued during the rule of Henry IV (himself a former Protestant) in April 1598, the monarchy reached an agreement with the Huguenots. Unity, not toleration, was the aim. Huguenots were given full civil rights, including admission to college and the ability to hold public office. Their right to worship freely was severely restricted. It was a settlement which pleased neither side and which cost Henry his life; an unhappy Catholic murdered the king in 1610. (Louis XIV would revoke the Edict of Nantes in 1685.) Persecutions, including burnings at the stake, began in the 1530s, and in all there were eight wars. Some Huguenots fled to present-day Florida and South Carolina to escape persecution and build Huguenot havens, though with limited success. The wars of religion lasted for several more decades in France, not ending until 1648.

Effects. The wars of religion did not only affect Europe, where they took place, nor did they influence only matters of faith. They touched economics, politics, and society. They also contributed to the ability of France to participate in overseas exploration and colonization. The more France had to focus its attention and resources on civil wars, the less it had to give to colonization.

Source

Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1529–1629 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).

Religion in Europe: Catholicism: Missionaries: Efforts in St. Augustine

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Beginnings. The first mission to the Timuca Indians of St. Augustine took place in 1565 as the Spanish reclaimed Florida from the Huguenots. Spain had first laid claim to the city, which its founder, Juan Ponce de León, believed held the Fountain of Youth, in 1513. In 1564, after the French Protestants established Fort Caroline twenty-five miles to the north, the Spanish became alarmed that the French might take control and that the Huguenots would have the chance to convert the Indians. Although the Jesuits had tried to convert the natives, they had been unsuccessful, and by 1572 the last of the Jesuits had left Florida. The Jesuits’ goal of converting large numbers of natives was hampered by the fact that several Jesuits were killed by the Indians and by the frequent disagreements between the soldiers and friars distracting the missionaries. This did not end the goal of converting the natives. Despite difficult living conditions, the Franciscans wanted to gain a foothold in Florida and continued to send friars. In May 1584 eight Franciscans sailed from Spain, but only three arrived. Three years later another twelve came to St. Augustine, and in 1590 eight more arrived. By 1592 only three remained. Twelve Franciscans arrived in 1595, and at last their missionary efforts began to take off in earnest.

Reasons for the Failure. Missionary efforts in St. Augustine ultimately did not succeed as the Spanish had hoped for several reasons. The Spanish government regarded Florida as a distant frontier and withheld financial and organizational support, and the missionaries themselves, both Jesuits and Franciscans, were unable and unwilling to build support among the native peoples. Rather than being eager and easy objects of conversion, the Indians manipulated the missionaries, often extracting Spanish goods in exchange for religious conversion. If the Spanish were to Christianize the Indians, it was in the settlers’ best interests to keep good relations with their neighbors. This was not to be the case. The missionaries exacted tribute—animal skins, corn, and labor—from the Indians. Finally, in the 1610s, missionaries in St. Augustine began to see the fruits of their labors

as the number of Indian conversions began to increase. Ultimately, however, these efforts were doomed to failure. The Timuca dwindled from six thousand to ten thousand (estimates vary) in 1600 to less than one hundred by the time the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States in 1821.

Sources

Charles E. Bennett, Laudonniere and Fort Caroline, History and Documents (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1964);

Jerald T. Milanich, Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1995).

Religion in Europe: Protestantism: Calvinism

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Theological System. Calvinism is the name given to the theological system of John Calvin and his followers. Calvinism had a tremendous impact in Europe and on the Puritans who came to New England. It has also influenced many aspects of life and culture as well as religion in the United States from the seventeenth century to the present. At the heart of Calvin’s system was the idea of Sola Scriptura, or Scripture as the sole source of knowledge needed to attain salvation. More important than symbols that were so much a part of Catholic practice was one’s understanding of the Bible, which would, in turn, deepen one’s faith. Adherence to biblical law would check the depravity that humans had carried with them since Adam. People also needed to have faith, for hearing sermons or receiving the sacraments held little meaning without it. However, faith or grace was not available to all. Calvin proffered the notion of predestination. God had chosen who was predestined to be among the elect, or saved, and who was damned. Members of the elect were a part of the invisible church, and only God knew who they were. Following St. Augustine, the seventh-century Christian thinker, Calvin also believed that a visible church existed, the historical church on Earth. Membership in the visible church, earned by upright, moral behavior, was also important and a goal to be worked toward. It was also evidence that one might be a part of the invisible church.

Social System. Calvinism must also be considered as a social system. Both to achieve and reflect status in the visible church, Christians were to behave in a certain way in daily life, not only on the Sabbath and other holy days. Such uprightness might be a sign of sainthood. Calvin envisioned a model Christian society. Yet because he believed that humans were depraved as a result of Adam’s original sin, self-discipline and social control had to be imposed to achieve the desired ends. In Geneva a council of twelve elders was appointed. They instituted rules of discipline. Life was austere: music and incense were forbidden, as were bright colors and decorations, for they were temptations to evil and distractions from godliness. In establishing their new societies the Puritans who immigrated to New England were able to adhere more closely to Calvin’s idea of a model Christian community than either Calvin or his followers in Europe ever could. Calvinism, both in the Old and New Worlds, particularly appealed to the emergent middle class. Industrious and pious, they found particularly appealing the tenet that hard work and discipline suggested godliness and election.

Source

Michael A. Mullett, Calvin (New York: Routledge, 1989).

Religion in Europe: Protestantism: The Huguenots

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Background. The Huguenots were French Protestants. As John Calvin was French, the sect he founded spread quickly throughout France. While their numbers were not significant (between 1560 and 1570, the high watermark of their success, twelve hundred churches, or 10 percent of all churches in France, were Protestant), the Huguenots were extremely vocal and uncompromising in their demands. Some were content with local religious rights; others would only be happy with the spread of Protestantism throughout France, if not the world. Although the French monarchy was not closely tied to Rome and, in fact, was frequently at odds with the Pope, kings feared the Huguenots because they threatened the power of the monarch and a national church. Nobles enjoyed the autonomy Protestantism allowed them; many chose to convert since being Huguenot gave them the liberty to listen to their own consciences and follow their own laws rather than those of the Catholic monarch or the Church. Without the support of some powerful and wealthy nobles, the monarch’s authority was compromised. In time Protestantism became a power to be reckoned with, and several French kings recognized the wisdom of establishing a good relationship with the Huguenots and extending more rights to them. However, this did not mean the Huguenots were popularly accepted. The persecution of Huguenots began in the 1550s, including burnings at the stake. The violence culminated in the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre on 24 August 1572. Some Huguenots were even dragged out of bed after midnight; when it was over, about twelve thousand French Protestants had been killed.

The Americas. The Huguenots tried to bring their religion to the New World. In part this was to spread Protestantism and check the growth of Catholicism in the Americas; in part it was to provide a refuge for themselves. In 1562 they established the colony of Fort Caroline near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. However, three years later Pedro Menéndez de Avilés organized an expedition to drive the French out and gain control of Florida. The Spanish colony of St. Augustine was established, and the Huguenot (as well as French) presence in the area was eliminated.

Source

Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995).

Religion in Europe: Protestantism: Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses

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Motivations. According to popular lore, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses against the sale of indulgences on the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany, on 31 October 1517. While it now appears improbable that he took hammer in hand, his influence on Christianity in Europe and both indirectly and directly in the Americas is indisputable. Luther protested the sale of indulgences or purchased redemption from sin, which profited both Rome and his local archbishop. Archbishop Albert of Hohenzollern hoped to finance his recent elevation to Archbishop of Mainz, a politically important post, through indulgences. Luther precipitated a popular movement in Germany, capitalizing on widespread anti-Roman and anticlerical sentiment. Ultimately he formulated a new understanding of the Christian faith and helped begin the Reformation.

Impact. Of course the spread of reformed religion had a widespread effect on Europe. Those countries barely affected (such as Spain) took advantage of wars and political strife afflicting countries such as England and France, using the opportunity to move ahead in the colonization race. The initial advantage of Catholic Spain prevailed in New Spain. Ironically, however, reformed religion, embracing that which Luther had advocated in the Ninety-five Theses and other writings, would prevail in North America.

Source

John Bossy, Christianity in the West, 1400–1700 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985).