Book Review: Reformation Myths by Rodney Stark

Reformation Myths: Five Centuries of Misconceptions and (Some) Misfortunes by Rodney Stark

2017 was the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant movement when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg church. While a lot of books and conferences celebrated the five centuries, this book (published in 2017) seeks to demythologize and debunk a lot of the assumptions about the impact and the benefits of the Protestant Reformation.

Stark covers a lot of topics, the most interesting of which (to me) was his analysis of church attendance. He shows that before the Reformation, church attendance was hardly universal or strictly observed. Since the Catholic Mass was in Latin, many churchgoers had a hard time knowing what was going on and were easily distracted. Sadly, even with the coming of vernacular liturgies, local people still did not necessarily become more faithful or even more attentive. In most Protestant countries, the laws required church attendance (which was only spottily enforced) and taxes paid for both the ministers and religious education, since the state was now dictate what religion was observed by the people. The results were less than spectacular. Ministers drawing a government salary didn't have a lot of incentive to minister well. If they did a poor job preaching or giving spiritual advice, they still got the same pay. This system is what Stark blames for the dire state of Christianity in Europe. Without competition or even a need to perform well, is it any wonder that people are uninterested in what their local clergy has to say or offer? Stark brings out a lot of interesting nuances on the perils of a tight church-state relationship.

He also discusses ideas like the Protestant work ethic and scientific boom credited to 17th- and 18th-century Protestants. Sociologist Max Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism became a sacred text in social sciences, where Weber argued that the Protestant notions of success and frugality combined to produce capitalism. Stark shows quite clearly that the roots of capitalism are much earlier and can be seen growing out of the pre-Reformation monasteries where any wealth generated was reinvested in the land or the works of the monastery. Weber's book was debunked almost immediately after its publication in 1905 but the myth beat the reality. Similarly, the idea that Catholicism was opposed to scientific and intellectual advancement is mystifying given the invention of the universities in the turn of the first millennium. Even in the so-called Enlightenment, equal numbers of Catholics and Protestants in Europe contributed scientific advancements. While science did flourish in the 1600s and 1700s, it was hardly because of Protestant motivations.

The book is a little polemical at times. Considering how deeply entrenched some prejudices and misconceptions are, his style is easy to understand. He has definitely done his research. The bibliography runs seventeen pages! The ideas are interesting and engaging, so the book is well worth reading. At under 200 pages, it does not take long either.

Highly recommended.