
The 500th Anniversary Of The Reformation In 2017 Focuses The Mind On The History And Significance Of Protestant Forms Of Christianity. It Also Prompts The Question Of How The Reformation Has Been Commemorated On Past Anniversary Occasions. In An Effort To Examine Various Meanings Attributed To Protestantism, This Book Recounts And Analyzes Major Commemorative Occasions, Including The Famous Posting Of The 95 Theses In 1517 Or The Birth And Death Dates Of Martin Luther, Respectively 1483 And 1546. Beginning With The First Centennial Jubilee In 1617, Remembering The Reformation: An Inquiry Into The Meanings Of Protestantism Makes Its Way To The 500th Anniversary Of Martin Luther's Birth, Internationally Marked In 1983. While The Book Focuses On German-speaking Lands, Thomas Albert Howard Also Looks At Reformation Commemorations In Other Countries, Notably In The United States. The Central Argument Is That Past Commemorations Have Been Heavily Shaped By Their Historical Moment, Exhibiting Confessional, Liberal, Nationalist, Militaristic, Marxist, And Ecumenical Motifs, Among Others.
This book investigates how the historical memory and commemoration of the Protestant Reformation have evolved and been reinterpreted across five centuries of European and American history. Thomas Albert Howard, a scholar of intellectual and religious history, utilizes a comparative historical framework to analyze how specific anniversaries—from the 1617 jubilee to the 1983 Luther quincentenary—reflect the shifting cultural, political, and theological priorities of their respective eras. He argues that these commemorations are not static reflections of the past but are active constructions shaped by contemporary ideological needs.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of collective memory and religious historiography. Readers frequently note the academic rigor of the prose and the clarity with which the author connects past commemorative practices to modern identity formation.
Page Count:
216
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0191069108
ISBN-13:
9780191069109
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