Western Civilization

clergy preached sermons advocating a more positive

side to family relationships. The Protestants were espe-

cially important in developing this new view of the

family. Because Protestantism had eliminated any idea

of special holiness for celibacy, abolishing both monas-

ticism and a celibate clergy, the family could be placed

at the center of human life, and a new stress on

“mutual love between man and wife” could be extolled.

But were doctrine and reality the same? For more radi-

cal religious groups, at times they were. One Anabap-

tist wrote to his wife before his execution: “My faithful

helper, my loyal friend. I praise God that he gave you

to me, you who have sustained me in all my trial.”^8 But

more often reality reflected the traditional roles of hus-

band as the ruler and wife as the obedient servant

whose chief duty was to please her husband. Luther

stated it clearly:

The rule remains with the husband, and the wife is com-

pelled to obey him by God’s command. He rules the home

and the state, wages war, defends his possessions, tills the

soil, builds, plants, etc. The woman on the other hand is

like a nail driven into the wall... so the wife should stay

at home and look after the affairs of the household, as

one who has been deprived of the ability of administering

those affairs that are outside and that concern the state.

She does not go beyond her most personal duties.^9

Obedience to her husband was not a wife’s only role;

her other important duty was to bear children. To Cal-

vin and Luther, this function of women was part of the

divine plan. God punishes women for the sins of Eve

by the burdens of procreation and feeding and nurtur-

ing their children, but, said Luther, “it is a gladsome

punishment if you consider the hope of eternal life and

the honor of motherhood which had been left to

her.”^10 Although the Protestant reformers sanctified

this role of woman as mother and wife, viewing it as a

holy vocation, Protestantism also left few alternatives

for women. Because monasticism had been destroyed,

that career avenue was no longer available; for most

Protestant women, family life was their only destiny.

At the same time, by emphasizing the father as “ruler”

and hence the center of household religion, Protes-

tantism even removed the woman from her traditional

role as controller of religion in the home. Overall, the

Protestant Reformation did not noticeably transform

women’s subordinate place in society.

Religious Practices and Popular Culture

The attacks of Protestant reformers on the Catholic

Church led to radical changes in religious practices. The

Protestant Reformation abolished or severely curtailed

such customary practices as indulgences, the venera-

tion of relics and saints, pilgrimages, monasticism, and

clerical celibacy. The elimination of saints put an end

to the numerous celebrations of religious holy days and

changed a community’s sense of time. Thus, in Protes-

tant communities, religious ceremonies and imagery,

such as processions and statues, tended to be replaced

with individual private prayer, family worship, and col-

lective prayer and worship at the same time each week

on Sunday.

In addition to abolishing saints’ days and religious

carnivals, some Protestant reformers even tried to

eliminate customary forms of entertainment. Puritans

(as English Calvinists were called), for example,

attempted to ban drinking in taverns, dramatic per-

formances, and dancing. Dutch Calvinists denounced

the tradition of giving small presents to children on

the feast of Saint Nicholas in December. Many of these

Protestant attacks on popular culture were unsuccess-

ful, however. The importance of taverns in English

social life made it impossible to eradicate them, and

celebrating at Christmastime persisted in the Dutch

Netherlands.

The Catholic Reformation

Q FOCUSQUESTION: What measures did the Roman

Catholic Church take to reform itself and to combat

Protestantism in the sixteenth century?

By the mid-sixteenth century, Lutheranism had become

established in Germany and Scandinavia and Calvinism

in parts of Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, and

eastern Europe (see Map 13.2). In England, the split

from Rome had resulted in the creation of a national

church. The situation in Europe did not look favorable

for Roman Catholicism. Yet constructive, positive forces

for reform were already at work within the Catholic

Church.

Catholic Reformation or Counter-Reformation?

There is no doubt that the Catholic Church underwent

a revitalization in the sixteenth century. But was this

reformation aCatholic Reformationor a Counter-

Reformation? Some historians prefer to call it a

“Counter-Reformation” to focus on the aspects that

The Catholic Reformation 315

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