Research On Religion » Dark Ages

Rodney Stark on Myths of the Reformation

tonygill — Sun, 17 Sep 2017 08:00:00 +0000

Everybody knows that the Protestant Reformation ushered in what eventually became an era of scientific enlightenment, economic development, and secularization to Europe. Or did it? Prof. Rodney Stark, co-founder of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion, says “Nonsense!” to many of these so-called historical truths as we walk through some common myths and misconceptions of the famous religious movement that Martin Luther set rolling. We begin first by noting that there really wasn’t just a single Reformation, but at least three including Luther’s protest, Calvin’s subsequent religious movement, and King Henry VIII’s English Reformation, which wasn’t so much a change in theology as it was a transfer of authority. Prof. Stark also points out that once Catholicism’s exit door was opened and excommunication was off the table as a form of punishment, Protestantism became a fissiparous movement that underwent continual reformations leading to thousands of recognizably distinct Christian denominations today. We further learn that “Protestantism” was a term first used by the Catholic Church, and not by the individuals protesting Rome’s monopoly dominance of Christian theology. The next myth that we wander into is that the Reformation (writ large for all the various reformations) was a religious rebellion of the masses. Here Rod points out that Europe was not deeply religious in the sense of being steeped in official Catholic doctrine, but rather was a mish-mash of popular Christianity, pagan rituals, and other non-Christian superstitions and rituals. The lower classes seldom attended religious services during the supposed “golden age” of Christianity, and when they did it was often raucous affairs, not the solemn worship services often depicted in paintings and literature. Social movements, he points out, are rarely ever spurred on by the poor, but rather by economic and cultural elites that have the time and motivations to organize collective action. We address the German Peasant’s War (sometimes Revolt) of 1524-25 as possible evidence of a popular religious uprising, but this was merely the one in a long string of sporadic peasant revolts against unfavorable economic conditions. Rod notes that the reason why some regions of Europe tended to “go Protestant” while others stayed Catholic had little to do with popular sentiment and more to do with elite politics and the economic position of princes to the Vatican in terms of debt owed. Poland is brought up as a curious case of a region that initially sided with Protestantism, but then returned to the Catholic fold. Rod further points out that Protestantism did not lead to an uptick in formalized religious worship, citing the work of a historian who actually took a census of church attendance and rolls during the 16th century.

The next issues that we tackle are not so much myths as they are misfortunes. Prof. Stark explains why he sees Protestantism as providing for the cultural and political conditions that gave rise to European nationalism, that had some beneficial aspects in coagulating states, but also led to a number of extremely vicious wars between rival geographies. Rod further notes that what the Protestant Reformation(s) did was really end Christendom, the spiritual language that kept Europe pieced together during some rather fragmented centuries, at least amongst the political elite. We then go on to discuss whether or not Christianity was the impetus behind the Scientific Revolution and, eventually, the Enlightenment. Rod corrects the record about the so-called Dark Ages in that there was still a great deal of scientific and technological progress that was occurring in the centuries prior to Luther, and that the seeds of capitalism were also sown and growing long before there could have been a Protestant Ethic. Rod explains that many of these notions were promoted by scholars who held an anti-Catholic agenda (e.g., Voltaire) and were uncritically accepted by scholars up to present day (although he also points out that many contemporary historians are setting the record straight). All this then leads us to consider the purported rise of individualism and secularization in the modern (post-18th century) era. Again, Rod emphasizes that Europe never really secularized because it always was relatively secular in terms of large numbers of people avoiding religious institutions, and what constitutes the notion of “individualism” today has always been around in some form.

We finish off with a brief discussion of one of Prof. Stark’s other recent books, Why God? Explaining Religious Phenomenon. His main critique here is that social scientists have typically approached religion as something that has nothing to do with God, citing the likes of Emile Durkheim who considered religion to be something other than an institutional connection to the transcendent or supernatural. Rod corrects the record by noting that scholars need to take the actual beliefs of the people they study seriously, and if they say they are creating organizations for the purpose of worshiping God, then that must might be what they are doing. He leaves us with some critical words of wisdom, which is always to be suspicious of the received wisdom. Recorded: August 21, 2017.

(Note: Prof. Stark has always been one of my informal academic mentors, and was a close neighbor of mine when he lived in Washington State. Following our formal interview, we had a nice chat about bears, bobcats, and coyotes in the area that I live. We shared a number of other “everyday stories.” It was a simple conversation, but a truly delightful one that should remind us about the importance of living one’s daily life.)

David Bentley Hart on Atheist Delusions

tonygill — Sun, 23 Feb 2014 09:00:32 +0000

A regular listener to the show recently requested we talk with David Bentley Hart about his book Atheist Delusions and we have so complied. Dr. Hart, an Eastern Orthodox theologian and prolific writer, joins us to talk about how the book came about as well as his counter-critiques to the critiques of Christianity that are often made by the “new atheists” (as well as some of the older atheists) with a wee bit of churlishness here and there.

Our discussion begins with how this award-winning book came about. We discover that he did not originally intend on writing such a book but was approached by an acquisitions editor from a publishing house with the general idea for this book in mind. This conversation reveals some of the fascinating “inside baseball” of the academic publishing business.

Following this discussion, we set out to define who the “new atheists” are, why they have appeared when they did, and what impact Dr. Hart thinks these folks have had on the general culture. Tony further inquires as to why they are “fashionable,” as per the title of Dr. Hart’s book, and a pithy response is provided. We compare them to the “old atheists,” who David argues had more substantive critiques of religion.

We then dive into David’s substantive responses to various claims made by atheists — new and old — regarding the deleterious effect that religion, specifically Christianity, has had on human history and progress. Prof. Hart explodes the myth that Christianity plunged Western civilization into a “dark age of knowledge,” by burning down libraries and tamping down scientific inquiry. He provides some interesting detail into how the trope of “library burning” came about, tracing it back to a short sentence based upon some historical hearsay in the work of 18th century historian Edward Gibbon. (That is “18th century” in the sense that Gibbon lived in the 1700s, not that he was a historian examining that era.) This sets off a conversation about how such myths are perpetuated in the populary imagery. Hart claims that no serious historian or other scholar accepts such reasoning, although the popular classes are easily fooled. We then touch upon the infamous Galileo incident. While popular imagery has it that the Vatican was acting to squash a heliocentric view of the universe and repress scienfitic inquiry, the reality was that this was a clash of personalities with the scientist not giving due respect to the powerful religious figures at the time. Portraying Church leaders as “simpletons” in one’s academic writing is not the best way to endear one to the religious officials who help fund one’s research. The topics of witch hunts and religiously-induced violence are also reviewed.

We then take up the question of whether or not the “Age of Reason” brought humanity out of these dark ages. This brings us to a discussion on the difference between modernity and Christianity and how modern society retains the echoes of the Christian revolution but is really drifting towards a soulless destiny likely devoid of true faith. We end on this cheery note. Recorded: February 21, 2014.

NOTE: I have done the best with the audio quality that I can without distorting any of the sound quality.

Rodney Stark on the Triumph of Christianity, Part II

tonygill — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 08:00:57 +0000

What path did Christianity take following Emperor Constantine’s Edict of Milan in 313? We address this question with Prof. Rodney Stark, co-founder and co-director of Baylor University’s Institute for Studies of Religion. This interview is the second in our three part series examining Prof. Stark’s book, The Triumph of Christianity. We begin by looking at what effects the Edict of Milan had on Christianity, including both the benefits and drawbacks. A discussion of the downside of becoming an official state religion brings us to a discussion about the Church of Power, where clerical offices were often held for personal gain, and the Church of Piety (e.g., monasticism) that pushed back against institutional corruption. We also note how the level of religious practice among the European peasantry has been exaggerated during this period and what implications that holds for secularization theory. Both elements were in play during the medieval era. We then examing whether or not the “Dark Ages” were really that “unenlightened” or merely a caricature imposed upon that time by thinkers such as Voltaire. Rod argues that Europe actually flourished after the collapse of the Roman Empire and Christianity was a big part of economic and moral progress during the millenium stretching from the 5th century to the 15th century. We discuss the Church’s role in ending slavery as well as its support for scientific inquiry. Galileo becomes a topic for our discussion as Prof. Stark demonstrates why this renowned scientist was actually censured by the Church … and it wasn’t because of his scientific theories, but rather how he presented them. We finish off by looking at religious dissent, touching briefly on witchcraft and the Protestant Reformation, which brings us to the topic of the Spanish Inquisition, which Prof. Stark also notes has been badly misrepresented in some academic circles. Recorded: March 2, 2012.