Source Collection: Transformation of Beliefs
Document 1
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Author |
Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466–1536) |
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Date and location |
1509, Netherlands |
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Source type |
Primary source – satire |
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Description |
Erasmus was a famous Dutch philosopher, Catholic priest, and scholar who wrote in classical Latin. This satirical piece, “In Praise of Folly,” was partly influenced by his friendship with Sir Thomas More in England. In the text, which is written in a scholarly style and uses Greek references, Erasmus attacks superstitious beliefs, such as a belief in ghost stories or certain miracles. Erasmus uses the figure of the fool to voice his criticisms indirectly. |
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Citation |
Robinson, James Harvey. Readings in European History Volume 2: From the Opening of the Protestant Revolt to the Present Day. Ginn & Co., 1906. |
To this same class of fools belong those who beguile themselves... that if they look upon a picture or image of St. Christopher... they will not die that day; or that he who salutes an image of St. Barbara with the proper form of address will come back from battle safe; or that one who approaches St. Erasmus on certain days with wax candles and prayers will soon be rich...
And what shall I say of those who comfortably delude themselves with imaginary pardons for their sins, and who measure the time in purgatory with an hourglass into years, months, days, and hours, with all the precision of a mathematical table? There are plenty, too, who relying upon certain magical little certificates and prayers…believe that they may procure riches, honor, future happiness, health, perpetual prosperity, long life, a lusty old age,—nay, in the end, a seat at the right hand of Christ in heaven...
[They] think they can clean up... by sacrificing a single coin from their ill-gotten gains. They flatter themselves that all sorts of perjury, debauchery, drunkenness, quarrels, bloodshed
… and treason can be... paid off their arrears, they can begin a new score...
These silly things which even I, Folly, am almost ashamed of, are approved not only by the common herd but even by the teachers of religion.
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Glossary Beguile: to cheat or deceive |
Document 2
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Author |
Martin Luther (1483–1546) |
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Date and location |
1520, Wittenberg, Germany |
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Source type |
Primary source – letter |
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Description |
Martin Luther (1483–1546), a professor at the University of Wittenberg, is most famous for his 1517 “Ninety-Five Theses” against indulgences,2 which set off the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s 1517 theses did not present a final argument against Catholicism. However, they were the beginning of Luther’s much stronger challenge to the Catholic Church. This document shows that Luther had objections far greater than the use of indulgences. |
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Citation |
Luther, Martin. Works of Martin Luther: With Introductions and Notes. A.J. Holman Company, 1915. |
To His Imperial Majesty, and to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation...
Where sin is, there is no escape from punishment; ... we are indeed all equal... They assume... [that] the pope, whether he be [bad or good], cannot err in matters of faith; and yet... the pope and his followers [may be] wicked..., and no true Christians, not taught of God, not having true understanding…an ordinary man may have true understanding; why then should we not follow him? Has not the pope erred...? Who would help Christendom when the pope errs, if we were not to believe another, who had the Scriptures on his side??...
… if we are all priests..., and all have one faith... why should we not also have the power to test and judge what is correct or incorrect in matters of faith?... when the pope acts contrary to the Scriptures, it is our duty to stand by the Scriptures, to reprove... and... constrain him...
No Christian authority can do anything against Christ... I hope that the false, lying terror with which the Romans have this long time made our conscience timid and stupid, has been allayed...they have no power to interpret the Scriptures by mere authority, without learning; they have no authority to prevent a council or... to pledge it, bind it, or take away its liberty; but if they do this, they... have nothing at all of Christ except the name.
Document 3
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Author |
Catholic Clergy |
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Date and location |
1545–1563, Trento, Italy |
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Source type |
Primary source – religious decree |
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Description |
The Council of Trent met twenty-five times from 1545–1563, where the assembled officials debated how Catholicism should be interpreted and by whom. This document, expressing the decrees of this Council, illustrates the Catholic Counter-Reformation, which was a response to the Protestant Reformation. |
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Citation |
Robinson, James Harvey. Readings in European History Volume 2: From the Opening of the Protestant Revolt to the Present Day. Ginn & Co., 1906. |
… This holy Council enjoins on all bishops and [teachers], that they [teach] the intercession and invocation of the saints, the honor paid to relics, and the legitimate use of images...
If anyone says that the New Testament does not provide for a distinct, visible priesthood... [with] power... but is only an office and bare ministry of preaching and gospel... let him be anathema.
If anyone says that in the Catholic Church there is not a [divinely ordained] hierarchy... of bishops, priests, and ministers, let him be anathema.
If any one says that the sacraments... were not all instituted by Jesus Christ, our Lord; or that they are more or less than seven... or even that any of these seven is not truly and properly a sacrament; let him be anathema.
[So] that the faithful may... receive the sacraments... this holy Council enjoins on all bishops that... they shall first explain... the efficacy and use of those sacraments... even in the vernacular tongue, if need be...
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Glossary Enjoin: to order someone to do something |
Document 4
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Author |
Multiple Sikh gurus |
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Date and location |
1604, India |
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Source type |
Primary source – scripture |
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Description |
The Guru Granth Sahib is a central Sikh scripture, composed by multiple Sikh gurus. Sikhism is a syncretic religion (made up of different religions, philosophies, or ideas), and this scripture contains the teachings of Hindu Bhakti and Sufi Muslim poets in the form of poetic statements and hymns. It adds its own commentary on these diverse traditions and brings them together in unique ways. |
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Citation |
There are five prayers and five times a day... the first be truthfulness, the second honest living, the third charity in the Name of God... fourth be good will to all... the fifth the praise of the Lord.
Repeat the prayer of good deeds, and then, you may call yourself a Muslim.
It is difficult to be... a Muslim; if one is truly a Muslim, then he may be called one.
First, let him savor the religion of the Prophet... then, let his pride of his possessions be scraped away.
Becoming a true Muslim... let him put aside the delusion of death and life. As he submits to God’s Will... he is rid of selfishness and conceit.
And when... he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim.
You keep your fasts to please Allah, while you murder other[s] for pleasure.
You look after your own interests, and so not see the interests of others. What good is your word...?... you do not behold Him by thought or contemplation.
You do not care for others, you are a religious fanatic, and your life is of no account... Your holy scriptures say that Allah is True, and that he is neither male nor female.
But you gain nothing by reading and studying... if you do not gain the understanding in your heart. Allah is hidden in every heart; reflect upon this...
The One Lord is within both Hindu and Muslim...
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Glossary Conceit: excessive pride and vanity |
Document 5
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Author |
Mughal artists and scholars |
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Date and location |
c. 1599, Mughal Empire in India |
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Source type |
Primary source – royal document |
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Description |
The Maktab Khana (meaning “House of Translation”) was a bureau of records and translation founded by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1574. Emperor Akbar commissioned translations and illustrations of major Indian and Arabic texts from Sanskrit and Arabic into Persian. This image is likely the first illustration in the 1598–99 Razmnama, which was the Persian translation of the Hindu Sanskrit epic the Mahabaratha. Muslim scholars, who can be seen in the upper half of the painting, and upper-class Hindu Brahmans, who can be seen in the lower half, collaborated to translate the epic into Persian, the official language of the Mughal Empire. |
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Citation |
“Hindu and Muslim Scholars Translate the Mahabharata from Sanskrit into Persian.” In Razmnama, 1598–99. Courtesy of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Rare Book Department. |
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Glossary Sanskrit: An ancient language of India that is considered the root of many modern South Asian languages. |
Document 6
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Author |
Mughal Emperor Nur-ud-din Muhammad Jahangir (1569–1627) |
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Date and location |
1625, Mughal India |
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Source type |
Primary source – royal memoir |
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Description |
Jahinger was a Mughal Emperor who reigned from 1605 to 1627. This excerpt of his memoirs describes the changing views toward non-Muslims in the Mughal Empire. Jahinger’s father Akbar proposed syncretic belief systems and sought the counsel of Hindus and other religious groups. In contrast, Jahinger and his descendents were far less tolerant. Jahinger’s approach continued to characterize Mughal views of non-Muslim communities. |
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Citation |
Jahangir, Emperor of Hindustan, The Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri; or, Memoirs of Jahangir. Translated by Alexander Rogers, Edited by Henry Beveridge. Royal Asiatic Society, 1909. |
During my reign] at the city of [Varanasi] a temple had been erected... [with an] idol... It was the belief of these [non-Muslims] that a dead Hindu... when laid before this idol would be restored to life... I employed a confidential person to ascertain the truth; and, as I justly supposed, the whole [enterprise] was detected to be [a deception]...
[so I destroyed] this temple... and on the spot... I erected the great mosque... and... it is my design... to fill it with true believers.
… I must however acknowledge that [I] asked my father the reason why he had forbidden any one to prevent... the building of these [places] of idolatry, his reply was... “.... [I would fail to] discharge the duties of my exalted station, were I to withhold my compassion and indulgence from any of those entrusted to my charge. With all of the human race, with all of God’s creatures, I am at peace: why then should I... be the cause of... aggression to any one? Besides... were I to be governed by motives of the kind suggested in your inquiry, what alternative can I have but to put them all to death! I have thought it therefore my wisest plan to let these men alone... [they] are usefully engaged, either in the pursuits of science or the arts, or of improvements for the benefit of mankind, and have in numerous instances arrived at the highest distinctions in the state...”
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Glossary Idol: a negative term for a statue or image of a god that is used as an object of worship |