The Empire’s Reformations

Politics and Religion in Germany, 1495-1648

David M. Luebke (University of Oregon, USA)

$90

Hardback

Forthcoming
Pre-Order now

QTY:

English

Bloomsbury Academic
22 August 2024

European history; Early modern history: c 1450 to c 1700; History of religion; Protestantism & Protestant Churches

Series: German History in Focus

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.

By: David M. Luebke (University of Oregon USA)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: HPOD
Dimensions: Height: 198mm, Width: 129mm,
ISBN: 9781350253285
ISBN 10: 1350253286
Series: German History in Focus
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 22 August 2024
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

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.

Reviews for The Empire’s Reformations: Politics and Religion in Germany, 1495-1648

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