WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO REFORM A RELIGION? THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION AS AN EXAMPLE

Abstract

The article questions the Protestant Reformation under the guise of «What does it mean to reform a religion?» . This implies that its' implementation over time be examined and that this be done while taking into consideration a few under lying problems. In the sixteenth century, the Protestant Reformation inherited antecedents and differentiated itself from them, as did the radical Reformation and the Catholic Reformation, each different, but each new and each determined by the socio-cultural context of the time. The article returns to the «primitive scene» of the Reformation, to the structuring of the Church, to the changes that are taking place in the type of foundation being put forward and to the status and forms of transcendence, models of articulation in secularity. On this background, the article revisits the usual confessional oppositions, critically interrogating each of the ideas presented. In particular, it points out the radicalness linked to the Protestant position, with its strengths and risks. It ends by evoking contemporary questions for the continuation of this event.