Reformation's Impact on Modern Politics Overlooks Medieval Analysis, Historian Argues

A Norwegian historian contends that understanding Christianity's influence on modern politics necessitates a broader historical lens, extending beyond the Middle Ages to encompass the Reformation. Bjørn A. Helland-Hansen, an eye surgeon and researcher, argues that analyses stopping in the medieval period fail to grasp the profound impact of subsequent religious and political shifts.

Helland-Hansen specifically critiques a recent op-ed by Professor Hans Jacob Orning, titled "Christianity – The Foremost Defender of Inequality." Orning's analysis, which he claims halts in 1263, is deemed insufficient because it overlooks the Reformation – a movement that fundamentally broke with medieval church structures and beliefs. The author points out that equating the persecutors with the persecuted, as he implies Orning's approach does, obscures a critical historical distinction.

The Reformation, Helland-Hansen asserts, introduced a radical theological principle: the authority of scripture superseded that of the church, and by extension, the state. This challenged the divine right of kings and popes, fostering a climate where no single institution could claim absolute, God-given authority. This theological shift had significant political consequences, contributing to the development of institutions that limited power and strengthened representation in places like the Netherlands and Great Britain.

While the French Revolution is often cited as the birth of democracy, Helland-Hansen suggests its ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity had roots in earlier movements. He posits that the Reformation, originating in Wittenberg, provided the foundational concepts of power and institutional frameworks that enabled lasting democratic structures. He concludes that explaining the evolution of stable modern democracies is difficult without acknowledging the Reformation's pivotal role, tracing the origins of press freedom, freedom of speech, and the rule of law not primarily through Paris, but through Wittenberg.