What, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, was 'superstition'?
Where might it be found, and how might it be countered? How was the term
used, and how effective a weapon was it in the assault on traditional
religion?. The ease with which accusations of 'superstition' slipped
into the language of Reformation debate has ensured that one of the most
fought over terms in the history of early modern popular culture,
especially religious culture, is also one of the most difficult to
define. Offers a novel approach to the issue, based upon national and
regional studies, and examinations of attitudes to prophets, ghosts,
saints and demonology, alongside an analysis of Catholic responses to
the Reformation and the apparent presence of 'superstition' in the
reformed churches. Challenges the assumptions that Catholic piety was
innately superstitious, while Protestantism was rational, and suggests
that the early modern concept of 'superstition' needs more careful
treatment by
historians. Demands that the terminology and presuppositions of
historical discourse on the Reformation be altered to remove lingering
sectarian polemic.