GHIL Lecture

Matthias Pohlig

Religious Decision-Making in the Reformation

16 September 2024

(0:58 h)

GHIL Lecture

Matthias Pohlig

Religious Decision-Making in the Reformation

It is a widespread belief that the Reformation introduced the possibility of choosing between different variants of the Christian faith. In contrast, this lecture argues that the early German Reformation created a field of experimentation in which it was disputed who was able, and who was permitted, to decide on which faith options, and how. The Reformation gave rise to new questions of individual and collective religious decision-making, encompassing many different dimensions, such as faith options, the semantic and practical framing of situations in which choices were made, and the actors and procedures involved.

Matthias Pohlig is Professor of Early Modern European History at the Humboldt-Universität in Berlin. He is author of a monograph on Lutheran historiography in the sixteenth century (2007) and a monograph on information-gathering during the War of the Spanish Succession (2016). He has published widely on the Reformation, early modern religion, diplomacy and espionage, and questions of historical theory.

Don't miss the accompanying interview: During the Reformation people had to choose between the Protestant and Catholic faith - or so the popular narrative goes. But is it really that simple? GHIL Deputy Director Michael Schaich and podcast host Kim König are joined by Matthias Pohlig, Professor of Early Modern European History at Humboldt University of Berlin, to discuss the research behind his GHIL Lecture on ‘Religious Decision-Making in the Early German Reformation’.