Online Document Assignment 13

ANNA JANSZ OF ROTTERDAM

Religious Revolutionaries

The Reformation shook Europe to its foundations. Nonetheless, it was in many ways a conservative movement. There was no necessary connection between religious reform and political or social revolution. Far from challenging the political status quo, in the places where reform triumphed, it did so in large part because it reinforced the power and authority of secular elites. The German princes who embraced Lutheranism hoped to enhance their own positions at the expense of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Emperor, not to overturn existing social and political hierarchies. Luther himself signaled his understanding of the political dimensions of religious reform when he published his tract Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of the Peasants in response to the peasant uprising of 1525.

There were, however, those who saw in the religious upheaval that began in the 1520s the promise of a genuine revolution. Where Luther pushed for the reform of religious doctrine and practice, confident that alliances with existing political elites offered the best hope of achieving his religious goals, other, more radical Protestants believed that spiritual renewal required a profound break with the past. Viewing existing society as hopelessly corrupted, they sought to create communities mirroring those of Christ’s first followers, placing themselves outside of the political and social mainstream. As the story of Anna Jansz makes clear, the consequences of such actions could be severe. For many Europeans, including Luther, to separate oneself from society and the state was to go to war against society and the state, and such traitors deserved the harshest possible punishment. As you explore the evidence, ask yourself what might have led Jansz and thousands like her to die for their religious convictions. In Jansz’s case, what was it about the Anabaptist message that prompted a young woman of means and education to risk everything and, in the end, pay the ultimate price?

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