Recent scholarly trends have called into question the view of the Reformation as a singular, epoch-making event; many scholars prefer to speak of sixteenth-century “reformations,” while others regard the Reformation as a chapter within longer-running and more significant historical processes. This essay proposes viewing the Reformation as a complex, epoch-making event that was initiated and sustained by both Protestant and Catholic actors. The Reformation created an enduring reality of division that was experienced and engaged differently by Christians depending upon their ecclesial, social, and geographic location, among other factors. By relating the disciplinary motives and endeavors of the era to contestation regarding truth and falsehood, the divine and the demonic, this essay argues for taking a broader view of religious discipline and for seeking to understand the Reformation era on its own terms, rather than as a late-medieval or an early-modern event.

中文翻译：

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改革研究的未来

最近的学术趋势使人们对宗教改革这一具有划时代意义的事件的观点提出了质疑。许多学者更喜欢谈论16世纪的“改革”，而另一些学者则认为“改革”是历史悠久，影响重大的历史过程中的一章。本文建议将宗教改革视为一个复杂的划时代事件，由新教徒和天主教徒发起并维持。宗教改革创造了持久的分裂现实，基督徒根据其教会，社会和地理位置等因素经历和参与的方式有所不同。通过将时代的纪律动机和努力与关于真理与虚假，神与恶魔的争辩联系起来，