Christianity in Germany 1550–1850: Confessionalization, Enlightenment, Pluralization, written by Andreas Holzem

or demagification of religion favored by Reformed Protestants.For him, this means that anyone who claims "a particular modernity" for all Protestants must rely on "a one-dimensional conception of Protestantism" (280).Similarly, Kaufmann concludes that "The Reformation did not produce modern Western civilization, neither by itself nor as a major influence, any more than any other factor."But he remains convinced that without the transformations wrought by "the Reformation," our world would be different (282).Although this book was obviously aimed at a German audience, its translation into English is highly valuable, for it provides Anglophone readers with a succinct summation of the era of the Reformations by one of Germany's most eminent historians.In the process, the book also reveals much about the Germanocentric perspective that shaped much of "Reformation" historiography in Protestant cultures for four and a half centuries.Kaufmann sums up the characteristics of this viewpoint eloquently and, simultaneously, also allows his readers to clearly discern the context of his approach and the significance of his masterful survey:"In no other country has so much been written about the Reformation, so many controversial judgments made, so many authors' own thoughts, desires, and beliefs emphatically identified with Luther's person and projected on the event of the Reformation.The colorful and highly ambivalent reception history of Luther leaves little doubt: there has hardly been a more 'German' figure than he" (245).