Editorial

Abstract

This essay takes a critical view of conventionally subdividing the span between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries into periods. It queries terms like ‘Middle Ages’, ‘late Middle Ages’, ‘Renaissance’, ‘Reformation’, ‘pre-modern’, ‘early modern’, and ‘modern period.’ These macro-historical constructs are misleading, it argues, for they create the illusion of European history as a succession of relatively uniform eras separated by clear breaks, revealing a purposeful, linear ‘development’ connecting medieval premodernity with Enlightenment modernity. It is sensible to contrast the Reformation with the previous Church, theology, and piety. However, it is illadvised to interpret this religious ‘system break’ as a change of eras beyond question. The Reformation sustained a pre-existing momentum of change, but also left much culture unaltered. Accordingly, it was neither medieval nor early modern, nor an independent period sandwiched between medieval and modern periods. Instead, it was a far-reaching reconfiguration of parts of the Western Church between 1520 and 1560 that was both deeply rooted in the past and pointing to the future.     

Reformation,gender, and sexuality in Switzerland: two case studies

Abstract

Niklaus Manuel, active in Bern, painter, playwright, and politician, wrote a carnival play in 1525 entitled the Der Ablasskrämer [The Indulgence Seller], which stages seven women as rather aggressive propagators of the Reformation. The first case study examines this play and questions the predominant tendency among scholars to qualify Manuel's staging of women simply as a case of literary inversion. The second case study is concerned with sexual deviance among the Anabaptists of the St. Gall and Appenzell areas of eastern Switzerland in the mid-1520s. It interprets this, in line with other recent research, as an attempt to spiritualize sexuality.     

Jón Arason, ‘the last Icelander’ and the Coming of the Reformation to Iceland

Abstract

The subject of this study, Jón Arason, the last Catholic bishop of Iceland until the modern era, was executed with his two sons in 1550. His legacy is ambiguous; venerated in a Lutheran country as a nationalist hero, but also described by some commentators as illiterate, yet revered by others as the greatest poet of his age. The article will examine this legacy in light of contemporary evidence in order to demonstrate that Arason's life exemplifies much about an overlooked aspect of the Reformation on the fringes of Europe. In addition, because of Iceland's position as part of the Norwegian kingdom under Danish rule, Arason's career exemplifies much about the growth of the modern state. Although a bishop, he provides an interesting example of a medieval chieftain's struggle against the form of direct rule that was an inevitable feature of the developing modern empire.     

Reformation

Abstract

Thomas Becon (1512/13–1567), one of the early English Reformers, is known for his dialogues, prayers, and Catechism. While the word ‘reformation’ occurs rarely in his works, the notion itself extends further than Church structures and theology. Becon’s approach to reformation does not envision the Church as an object of faith or an ecclesiastical construct to be refurbished. His style reveals undertones that convey a somewhat deeper flavour. Beside his Nicene definition of the Church, his idea of reformation is grounded in subliminal assumptions which we propose to elucidate. The Reformation as a return to a model of ideal Church organization or returning to the supposedly normative Apostolic Church is more like the expression or resurgence of a myth akin to resurrection.     

Facets of Right‐Wing Authoritarianism Mediate the Relationship Between Religious Fundamentalism and Attitudes Toward Arabs and African Americans

Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, hate crimes against Arabs have increased in the United States. Despite recent increases in anti‐Arab attitudes, little psychological research has been conducted to understand this prejudice. Across two studies, we tested a theoretical model of Arab and African‐American prejudice. We found the aggression facet of right‐wing authoritarianism mediated the relationship between religious fundamentalism (RF) and prejudice toward Arabs and African Americans. Results are interpreted in light of previous research on cognitive rigidity, RF, and prejudice, and implications are made for political leaders conversing about Arab nations and peoples.     

Specifying the Interrelationship Between Exposure to Violence and Parental Monitoring for Younger Versus Older Adolescents: A Five Year Longitudinal Test

Five waves of longitudinal data collected from 349 African American youth living in extreme poverty were used to examine the interrelationship between exposure to violence and parenting during adolescence. Semi-parametric group based modeling was used to identify trajectories of parental monitoring and exposure to violence from T1 to T5. Results from these analyses revealed: (1) a trajectory of declining parental monitoring for 48% of youth; and (2) four distinct trajectories of exposure to violence. Multivariate findings were largely consistent with the ecological-transactional model of community violence. Youth with stable and/or increasing trajectories of exposure to violence were more likely than youth with stable-low exposure to violence to have declining parental monitoring, but additional analyses revealed a similar pattern of findings for younger adolescents (age 9–11 T1), but no evidence of linkages between trajectories of exposure to violence and parental monitoring for older adolescents (age 12–16 T1). The theoretical and policy implications of these findings as well as areas for future research are also discussed.