Reformation thinker Martin LUTHER, the Lollards
rejected CATHOLICdoctrines of celibate clergy, papal
indulgences, pilgrimages, and HIERARCHY. Persecuted
by the church and the royal state, the Lollards dwin-
dled by the end of the 15th century, but their ideas
reemerged in the MODERNProtestant churches.
Further Reading
Trevelyan, George. England in the Age of Wycliffe,new ed. Lon-
don: Longmans Green, 1904.
Luther, Martin (1483–1546) German Protes-
tant reformer and writer on religion and politics
The first widely influential CHRISTIAN Protestant
thinker, Luther (along with John CALVIN) radically
altered the Western view of CHURCH AND STATE.
Drawing on the theology of St. Paul (in Romans)
and St. AUGUSTINE, Luther emphasized Christianity
based on personal faith and God’s grace, rather than
the CATHOLICemphasis on religious rituals and works.
He attacked the church official HIERARCHYthrough a
DEMOCRATICdoctrine of “the priesthood of all believ-
ers,” the EQUALITYof all Christians. Although this was
a spiritual equality, it obviously affected worldly con-
ceptions of politics, away from MEDIEVAL MONARCHYof
the HOLY ROMAN EMPIREand toward REPUBLICANgovern-
ment in MODERNITY. Luther’s emphasis on INDIVIDUAL
relations with God through the Bible and Christ
becomes the dominant evangelical worldview.
Luther then reverses the order of church and state
(from that given by St. Thomas AQUINAS) by placing
the government above the church in worldly author-
ity. This later is adopted in England by King HENRY
VIII, who assumes the role of appointing bishops in
the Church of England. Strict separation of religion
and politics follows, with the church primarily con-
cerned with spiritual matters (worship, prayer, reli-
gious education, etc.) and the state with secular
matters (economics, law, punishment of criminals—
the “Sword” or “hangman”). Such separation of
church and state leads to Modern religious FREEDOM,
LIBERTYof conscience, and religious diversity as devel-
oped in John LOCKE, Thomas JEFFERSON, and others.
The noninvolvement of the Lutheran Church is often
blamed for the passive acceptance of the NAZIgovern-
ment in Germany of the 1930s. But for Luther, the
church deals primarily with the soul, the “inner man,”
and the state with the body or “outer man.” Chris-
tians are best made by a free, evangelical church, and
then they will, informally, affect the secular society
and politics, in Luther’s view. This is contrasted with
the traditional imperial Catholic Church where eccle-
siastical and governmental officials engage each other
directly.
Luther’s reformed emphasis on human sin and an
active Satan suspects any goodness from reason or
high human motives and doubts worldly leaders’ abil-
ity to affect good, except through the spirit of Christ
working through them. Christians should serve in
government if called to by God but not expect much
from earthly regimes, which are invariably evil and
corrupt. This leads to the predominant evangelical
(and especially BAPTIST) “removal” from the world and
its supposed vanity, pomp, and wicked corruption. If
all politics is more or less corrupt, there is little differ-
ence between forms of government or political leaders,
in this Lutheran perspective.
If the STATE forces citizens to perform actions
that are clearly contrary to Christian teaching (wor-
shiping idols, killing innocents, lying, and stealing),
unless supported by a JUST-WARdoctrine, the individ-
ual Christian can disobey the state, but this is a mat-
ter of individual conscience, not official church
direction (which remains neutral). In this sense,
Dietrich BONHOEFFER, Lutheran minister, contradicted
this traditional Lutheran doctrine by organizing
the church to resist the Nazi German government
openly.
Luther’s Protestant political theory led to long reli-
gious wars in Europe and transformed Western Chris-
tianity. American conceptions of religious freedom and
the separation of church and state are largely derived
from Luther’s thought. His main political writings
include On Secular Authority(1523), On Christian Lib-
erty(1520), and To the Christian Nobility of the German
Nation(1520).Further Readings
Atkinson, J. Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism,rev. ed.
Atlanta: Knox Press, 1982.
———. Martin Luther and the Birth of Protestantism.Har-
mondsworth, Eng.: Penguin, 1968, 1981.
Cargill Thompson, W. D. J. The Political Thought of Martin
Luther.New York: Barnes & Noble, 1984.
Thompson, W. D. J. Cargill (William David James). The Political
Thought of Martin Luther,Philip Broadhead, ed., preface by
A. G. Dickens. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1984.
Zachman, Randall C. The Assurance of Faith: Conscience in the
Theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin.Minneapolis:
Fortress Press, 1993.Luther, Martin 191