The Reformation is an extremely important chapter in modern European history。Many traditional historical narratives，Use the term "Religious Reform" to summarize all historical events that occurred in Christian Europe from the end bet365 voucher 15th century to the mid-17th century。This is somewhat misleading，That is to guide readers to everything that happened during this historical period，Understood as based on religious change，The continuity bet365 voucher historical process itself is relatively ignored，and including politics、Economy、Culture、Technology、The evolution of society as a whole, including geography, climate and many other factors，Religion is just one element of this whole。The expression "religious reform" in Chinese，The "religious" element is more prominent than the term's form in Western languages，It is therefore more likely to be misleading。Another common biased understanding bet365 voucher Reformation，Relevantly: within the narrow scope of "religious" reform，It is easier for people to see the innovations in the conceptual field by reforming theologians and thought leaders，A large amount of "material" content in the historical process has been omitted。The objective limitations of historical research exacerbate this situation。Because documents recording changes in concepts are better preserved than historical materials in other material forms，Most historical narratives have to be based on the history of concepts to construct a causal chain on the timeline - the "theological revolution" led to the "religious reform"，The "Religious Reform" brought about the "modern transformation bet365 voucher West"。This is an oversimplified explanation model。

　　New progress in the study bet365 voucher history bet365 voucher Reformation

Research on the history of religious reform in recent years，With the support of new historical data and new academic methodology，Consciously corrected the above two tendencies。Among them，The main clue is the elucidation bet365 voucher ambiguity of "Reformation"。In English academic literature，Capital letter、“The Reformation” prefixed with the definite article is gradually replaced by other terms，If the first letter is lowercase、Plural form of “reformations”，Or the more ambiguous gerund "Reform"，They are all attempts by the new generation of scholars to break away from the shackles bet365 voucher long hermeneutic tradition of "the Reformation"。Another important clue is that the start and end points bet365 voucher reform are no longer clearly specified。Religious Reformation with a clear start and end time mark，Only phased reforms in certain countries or regions，And once many non-mainstream forms bet365 voucher Protestant Reformation，And the Catholic Church’s own reform efforts are also included in the complete history bet365 voucher Reformation，Then the fixed time window no longer applies。Back to starting point，End point pushed back，means a "long-term perspective" investigation bet365 voucher "Religious Reform"，The particularity bet365 voucher 16th century as a "reform century" has been weakened。

The interplay bet365 voucher two threads is quite interesting: the long-term perspective stems from the emphasis on the ambiguity bet365 voucher Reformation，But after the timeline is extended，different time、The differences between different reform paths in different places are no longer so prominent，They can be compared with each other、There are more clues that refer to each other。For example，“Top-down” political reform led by secular power，And the “bottom-up” popular movement-style faith revolution，There is no clear distinction between the two，They have always coexisted，Just becoming a relatively dominant force in different time periods。Moreover，In the confrontation between Protestantism and Catholicism，The purposes of both sides are completely opposite，But the technical means resorted to are not essentially different。These technical means are not affected by sectarian ideology，But by the politics of modern Europe、Determined by economic and cultural conditions，includes population growth、Popularization of basic education、The development of printing and publishing industry、Scientific Revolution、The maturity of languages ​​in various countries、The emergence of modern nation-states，And the emergence bet365 voucher first colonial empires。If the traditional historical narrative uses the "Religious Reformation" to explain early modern Europe，The newer historical research on the Reformation tends to use "how modern times happened" to explain the Reformation，The latter is more in line with the academic method of historical materialism。

On the selection of historical materials，The new generation of scholars pay more attention to what comes from the people、Grassroots files，Includes church inspection report、Parish Deacon Records、Church Accounts、Will、Donation details and usage、Litigation File，etc.，They do not record the reforms of politicians and preachers，It is the changes in people’s religious lifestyle。Also，Such as visual and musical arts；Religious Etiquette；People’s knowledge about witchcraft；Family、Marriage concept and women’s social status；The source class and education level bet365 voucher clergy...such topics that are rarely covered in traditional narratives，Accounting for an increasing proportion in the study bet365 voucher history bet365 voucher Reformation。Accordingly，The length of discussions dominated by theologians’ biographies and theological conceptual analysis is declining。

A history bet365 voucher Reformation，The emergence of conflicting sects、A history of struggle and ultimately having to find a way to coexist，The answers to these questions lie outside religion itself，Details reflected in religious talks、Compromise reached，And the formulation and implementation of relevant laws and regulations。Theological revolution relies on novelty of thought，True religious life must be based on "seeking common ground while reserving differences"，That is, the practical reconciliation between different denominations based on different theologies。Religious tolerance is not the ideological contribution of theologians，In reality, after a long period of violent conflict between the parties，Through long and difficult negotiations，Consensus reached on the basis of games and compromise。The impact of political and legal decisions on the religious life of most people，Far beyond difficult theological speculation。

　　Assessment bet365 voucher Value bet365 voucher Reformation

These new research developments，Further revealing the complexity bet365 voucher historical events encompassed by the term "Reformation"。Diversification of historical sources and interpretation models，It also shows that contemporary people have intensified differences in their assessment bet365 voucher value bet365 voucher “Religious Reformation”。Actually，Many recent studies on the history bet365 voucher Reformation，The initial motivation is the difference in values，Some scholars reject the traditional historical narrative’s presupposition on the “progressive nature” of Protestantism，Just started to collect new historical materials、Focus on new topics and start with them，Accumulate resources for new ways of telling history。

1990s，This academic trend is called the “revisionist” school in the English academic world，The new historical view they constructed is called the "revised" historical view。“Revision” was first used in the study bet365 voucher history bet365 voucher British Civil War，A group of scholars do not recognize parliamentary Puritanism as an "advanced ideology"，Advocates using factional struggle rather than conflict of beliefs to explain the evolution bet365 voucher political landscape。Applying the “revision” perspective to the study bet365 voucher history bet365 voucher British Reformation，The non-religious nature bet365 voucher reform is obvious: it was political reform that created Protestantism，Rather than new beliefs causing the Reformation。A religious movement that neither presumes to be strong，A history bet365 voucher Protestant Reformation that is not premised on the collapse of Catholicism，Not only possible，And necessary。After entering the 21st century，The criticism bet365 voucher "revision" school has weakened，But their results were absorbed by the younger generation of scholars、Internalization，It also has a great influence on non-academic general readers in the field of public communication。The “progressiveness” of Protestantism is deconstructed，There is more room for discussion on its negative effects。

The Protestant Reformation caused large-scale damage to traditional religious material and cultural heritage，Religious conflicts plunged Christian Europe into continuous chaos in the 16th and 17th centuries、An extremely intense war，The Reformation era was one bet365 voucher most extreme periods of spiritual and physical violence in human history，These are unavoidable contents in today’s religious reform history narrative。The academic history behind it，First, the persuasiveness bet365 voucher traditional Protestant view of history has weakened，Second, the proportion bet365 voucher Catholic Reform in the overall research on the history bet365 voucher Reformation continues to increase。The "Reformation" cannot only be understood as the protest and innovation of Protestantism against Catholicism，The reform bet365 voucher Catholic Church, which is traditionally known as the "Counter-Reformation" - to a large extent, it is the Catholic Church's effort to adjust itself to adapt to the times，Protestantism is not necessarily the opposite - it is also the meaning bet365 voucher "Religious Reform"，Indispensable elements that constitute the plural form of "reform"。Otherwise，The "Reformation" is just another major separatist movement in the history of Christianity，Its originally weakened explanatory power on the "modern transformation bet365 voucher West" will also be completely lost。

Should realize，The reason why traditional Protestant history narratives have long occupied the mainstream of academic discourse，It is not so much based on comprehensive theoretical arguments，It is better to say that it is due to the dominant position of some representative Protestant countries in the international political and economic field。Protestantism and the economic and political institutions identified as its results，And personal liberation、The causal relationship between national prosperity and social progress，Has a powerful persuasiveness in a sensory sense。In reverse，Changes in the international political and economic landscape，Requires a new generation of scholars not only on a theoretical level，It is also necessary to reflect on the limitations of traditional historical narratives in connection with today’s social reality。As the study of pure conceptual history turns to in-depth discussions of church history and social history，The position of "the success bet365 voucher reform is the self-proof of an advanced religion"，Even if it has not been completely overthrown，At least a much more sophisticated and in-depth argument is needed。

　　Difficulties and advantages of related bet365 voucher discussions

Discussing "Religious Reform" in Chinese context，The first thing to face is the obstacle posed by the Chinese term itself: it already defines "reform" as "religious"，The biased nature of this understanding has been explained previously。Chinese word formation and grammar rules，It also determines that it is difficult for us to adjust the noun morphology (such as transformations、Reform) reflects subtle changes in the meaning of terms。The second difficulty is，Thanks to China’s growing prosperity since reform and opening up，The vast majority of Chinese readers today feel very positively about the word "reform"，“Reform” equals “progress” is one bet365 voucher basic consensuses in Chinese society，It is difficult for us to ask Chinese readers to realize，Christian Europe where the Reformation took place，The fundamentalist impulse of an exclusive religion is its initial motivation，Its fundamental appeal is to oppose secularization、Anti-science、Anti-rational，Not related to "Man is liberated from divine authority"。

On the other hand，Christianity in contemporary China，With its unique form of Sinicization, it has been able to survive the fragmentation and sectarian conflicts that have continued in the Western Church since the Reformation era to this day。China’s historical tradition determines that “religion” has never been the decisive factor in social development and change，China has relatively rich cultural resources and political means to manage religious risks。Since the founding of New China，Marxist historical materialism education popularized among the general public，Making it difficult to use religion as a single element to explain the logic of society as a whole。Looking at Western academic circles and public perception，Attributing modernization to the Reformation is still one bet365 voucher popular theoretical paradigms，Just like the religious reformation and the binding of Anglo-American neoliberal system，There are many loopholes in academic theory，But it is still a conceptual idol that is difficult to break。

In view of this，We can say，In the process of constructing a new bet365 voucher theoretical discourse system，How Chinese scholars discuss and evaluate the bet365 voucher reform，has important indicator significance。

　　(Author’s affiliation: Institute of World Religions, bet365 voucher Academy of Social Sciences)