The Reformation of European Christianity, 1500-1800

4 credits · Undergraduate

The European Reformations—when the old world of Latin Christendom collapsed—transformed not only Christianity, but also the political and cultural landscape of Europe. This course will explore the late medieval church, the birth of Protestantism, and the refashioning of the Catholic world, investigating the connection between these religious upheavals and the formation of modern political society. Battles between Catholics and Protestants, repression of religious heresy, witchcraft trials, the imposition of Christianity on New World peoples: these struggles helped create the political, legal, and religious orders of modern states. By understanding them, we'll seek to understand the religious and political complexities of our modern world.