Course aims:

Interdisciplinary study of religious phenomenon in Early Modern and Modern era (in the light of ecclesiastical history, sociology and cultural sociology).
The course proposes to investigate the relationships and interferences betweenofficial and popular religion, in the general- and central-European context of the end of the medieval era and the beginning of the modern era (15th-18th centuries).
From a methodological point of view, will be discussed the meanings conferred in historiography of the concepts of "official religion" and "popular religion", as well as the various forms of their manifestation, starting from the period Church Reforms and the Age of Enlightenment.

Course Entry Requirements:

Confessional Diversity and Social Modernization in Early Modern Europe.

Course contents:

1. Methodology. 2. "Official" and "popular" in debates of religious life historiography on the medieval and modern. 3. Official and popular religion in the late Middle Ages. 4. Reformulation framework of the official religion by the Protestant Reformation. Attitude towards popular religion. 5. Reformulation framework of the official religion by the Catholic Reformation. Attitude towards popular religion. 6. Tools for disseminating Reform: The parish clergy and its formation. 7. Tools for dissemination Reform in the Catholic territories: The orders, congregations and religious associations. 8. The Popular missions: An Evangelization project. 9. The Parish: Frame of the believers’ community life. 10. Benchmarks of Christian life: The rites of passage. 11. The Rhythms of Christian life: The holidays. 12. The cult of saints and practices of devotion. 13. The sorcery and the magical practices. 14. Conclusions: The official and the popular religion at the end of the Old Regime.

Teaching methods:

Lecture, conversation, exemplification

Learning outcomes:

The study of the process of modernization of society, from the perspective of the main concepts previously studied “confession” and “diversity”, in terms of official and popular manifestations of religious phenomenon. Identifying and making use of sources, published and unpublished, which can provide new insights for research on these lines. Concrete production of new historical knowledge on the basis of deeper insights within the study of above referred historical subject.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Oral exam – 40%; Frequency and oral presentation of a research paper – 60%.

Recommended reading:

Burke, Peter, A Social History of Knowledge, vol. I: From Gutenberg to Diderot; vol. II: From the Encyclopaedia to Wikipedia, Polity Press, 2012,
Scribner, Bob, Trevor Johnson, Popular Religion in German and Central Europe, 1400-1800, Macmillan, 1996,
Scribner, R. W., (Ed.), For the Sake of Simple Folk. Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, Cambridge University Press, 1981,
Scribner, R. W., Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany,, The Hambledon Press, 1987,
Thomas, Keith, Religion and the Decline of Magic. Studies in Popular Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century England, The Penguin Press, 1991,