Research On Religion » Oxford

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.)

Corey Olsen on J.R.R. Tolkien (An “Encore Episode”)

tonygill — Sun, 15 Jun 2014 08:00:00 +0000

While the staff at RoR is on vacation, and in honor of my son’s high school homework assignment to read The Hobbit over summer break, we re-run an episode exploring the life, times, and writings of J.R.R. Tolkien with Prof. Corey Olsen, founder of The Mythgard Institute, a privately-run center for learning about Tolkien and mythology more generally.

Without doubt, Corey is passionate about the subject of Middle Earth, as is evidenced by his alternate moniker The Tolkien Professor. Tony probes where this passion came from and whether or not Christians should be wary of these stories that contain elves, goblins, and other seemingly pagan creatures. Not surprisingly, there are a number of deeply devout individuals who are hesitant to let their children read books by Tolkien or see the movies. However, Prof. Olsen does a remarkable job in discussing what myths are and what mythology is meant to do, and why religious believers should embrace these works of fantasy fiction.

Our discussion explores the important influences of Tolkien’s life, including his deeply-held Roman Catholicism, his love of languages, and his passion for mythology. We learn that Tolkien not only created the mythical world that we see in movies such as The Lord of the Ring trilogy, but that he fully developed six different languages and a storyline about their historical roots, an amazing feat if one considers how complex our everyday languages are. Tolkien’s relationship with C.S. Lewis is also discussed. Admittedly, Tony is not a big fan of this genre of fiction, so he was surprised to find out the degree of influence Tolkien had on Lewis. Corey shares a number of interesting tidbits about their longstanding and fruitful relationship.

We finally, then, get to the spiritual themes in The Hobbit. Prof. Olsen notes that Christianity was not something that was explicitly woven into Tolkien’s writings, though his deeply-held faith did condition how he crafted his mythic worlds. Providence, fate, and free will emerge as very important spiritual themes in Tolkien’s writings and Corey points to various examples within the story where this becomes apparent. (Not to worry, folks. There are no spoilers to the Hobbit film series in this interview.) Prof. Olsen also speculates about how Tolkien probably was influenced by the ancient Christian writer Boethius. We then finish off with whether or not, as a Tolkien aficionado, Corey is anticipating the release of Peter Jackson’s film. He even manages to get Tony excited about maybe, just maybe, reading the book. Recorded: November 9, 2012.

Corey Olsen on J.R.R. Tolkien, Religion, and The Hobbit

tonygill — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 09:00:05 +0000

Just in time for the release of the highly-anticipated movie The Hobbit, we explore the life, times, and writings of J.R.R. Tolkien with Prof. Corey Olsen, an assistant professor of English at Washington College and founder of The Mythgard Institute, a privately-run center for learning about Tolkien and mythology more generally. Without doubt, Corey is passionate about the subject of Middle Earth, as is evidence by his alternate moniker The Tolkien Professor. Tony probes where this passion came from and whether or not Christians should be wary of these stories that contain elves, goblins, and other seemingly pagan creatures. Not surprisingly, there are a number of deeply devout individuals who are hesistant to let their children read books by Tolkien or see the movies. However, Prof. Olsen does a remarkable job in discussing what myths are and what mythology is meant to do, and why religious believers should embrace these works of fantasy fiction. Our discussion explores the important influences of Tolkien’s life, including his deeply-held Roman Catholicism, his love of languages, and his passion for mythology. We learn that Tolkien not only created the mythical world that we see in movies such as The Lord of the Ring trilogy, but that he fully developed six different languages and a storyline about their historical roots, an amazing feat if one considers how complex our everyday languages are. Tolkien’s relationship with C.S. Lewis is also discussed. Admittedly, Tony is not a big fan of this genre of fiction, so he was surprised to find out the degree of influence Tolkien had on Lewis. Corey shares a number of interesting tidbits about their longstanding and fruitful relationship. We finally, then, get to the spiritual themes in The Hobbit. Prof. Olsen notes that Christianity was not something that was explicitly woven into Tolkien’s writings, though his deeply-held faith did condition how he crafted his mythic worlds. Providence, fate, and free will emerge as very important spiritual themes in Tolkien’s writings and Corey points to various examples within the story where this becomes apparent. (Not to worry, folks. There are no spoilers to the film in this interview.) Prof. Olsen also speculates about how Tolkien probably was influenced by the ancient Christian writer Boethius. We then finish off with whether or not, as a Tolkien afficianado, Corey is anticipating the release of Peter Jackson’s film. He even manages to get Tony excited about seeing this film and maybe, just maybe, even reading the book. Recorded: November 9, 2012.