Education in the Reformation

Methuen, C. (2016) Education in the Reformation. In: Rublack, U. (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Protestant Reformations. Oxford University Press: Oxford. ISBN 9780199646920 (doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199646920.013.20)

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Publisher's URL: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-of-the-protestant-reformations-9780199646920?lang=en&cc=gb#

Abstract

What did Protestants need to know, and how were they given access to this knowledge? This chapter explores the spread of university and school education in Protestant areas during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, considering schools, their place in church orders, their curricula and their importance as models of good civic and godly order. Despite Luther’s pessimistic view of human reason, the article highlights the role of Protestant education in inspiring new approaches to the natural world: Melanchthon, amongst others, saw study of the natural world as leading the observer to God. The rise of Jesuit education indicates that early modern Catholic education was being restructured according to similar principles. Across Western Europe, education was intended to support the divinely imposed civic order, and to train young people to be good citizens who would contribute to a “godly society”.

Item Type:Book Sections
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Methuen, Professor Charlotte
Authors: Methuen, C.
Subjects:B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History
D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > DD Germany
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Theology and Religious Studies
Publisher:Oxford University Press
ISBN:9780199646920
Published Online:01 December 2015

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record