Recovering Theological Education — Part 3: Reformation Era
by: Mike Fourman
16th–17th Century | Reformation
Primary Theological Educational Method: Improved Institutional, Protestant Scholastic
Historical Context
The sixteenth and seventeenth-century Reformation period was a time of significant renewal within the church, as the Bible once again became central to Christian faith and practice. Bold Reformation leaders, like Martin Luther, Urich Zwingli, John Calvin, and John Knox, reintroduced the gospel to much of Europe, reforming a large segment of the church and transforming theological education. Technological advances in printing, alongside the rise of sixteenth-century humanism, reignited interest in biblical, theological, and scientific inquiry.1 As Greek manuscripts and vernacular translations of the New Testament entered the West, the Protestant Church recommitted to biblical education in elder training.2 The results within the Western Church were earth-shaking, reshaping its theological foundations and practices.
The sixteenth and seventeenth-century Reformation period was a time of significant renewal within the church, as the Bible once again became central to Christian faith and practice.
Educational Access and Continuing Challenges
Theological learners in the Reformation era had greater access to education than adults of the medieval age. The intellectual awakening, particularly the scholasticism within Europe’s twelfth and thirteenth-century universities, laid a foundation for theological inquiry and learning, which had previously been absent or severely limited.3 Although lacking in biblical orthodoxy, the prominent Catholic scholastic leaders contributed, through their leadership and writings, to a renewal in theological training structures that the Protestant Reformation would later harness to train its leaders.4 Building on the foundations of the Scholastic renewal within education, individuals in the Reformation period had greater access to learning opportunities.
Yet, adult learners of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries continued to face significant challenges. Widespread illiteracy, class, and economic disparity, along with ever-present religious and political turmoil, left many rank-and-file clergy mired in relative theological ignorance.5 A survey of 311 English clergy conducted by Bishop Hooper of Gloucester illustrated the deplorable state of many church leaders entering the sixteenth century. Hooper found that of the 311 ministers surveyed, 168 were “unable to repeat the Ten Commandments. Thirty-one did not know where to find them. Forty could not tell where the Lord’s Prayer is to be found, and thirty-one did not know the Author.”6 Mercifully, the plight of clergymen would steadily improve. With the Reformers’ control of higher education and the increasing availability of educational opportunities across Europe, the theological competency of the average clergyman gradually—and in some regions, rapidly—increased throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Hooper found that of the 311 ministers surveyed, 168 were “unable to repeat the Ten Commandments. Thirty-one did not know where to find them. Forty could not tell where the Lord’s Prayer is to be found, and thirty-one did not know the Author.”
Improved Institutional Training and Protestant Scholasticism
During the Reformation, an improved institutional educational model became the primary method for training elders and ministry leaders, as Protestant Scholasticism replaced Catholic Scholasticism within the university. Under Roman Catholic Scholasticism, ministerial training was predominantly reason-centered, expert-reliant, and liturgically oriented.7 The Protestant Reformation, however, sought to return the curriculum of elder training to its biblically focused roots.8 While embracing the university structures that preceded them, the Reformers aimed to transform existing systems of higher education by replacing medieval church dogma and modifying twelfth-century rationalism with the tenets of Reformed theology.9 In this way, the Reformation church integrated structures of Renaissance humanism—meaning an awakened pursuit of intellectual inquiry—while emphasizing the Five Solas of theological orthodoxy.10
During the Reformation, an improved institutional educational model became the primary method for training elders and ministry leaders, as Protestant Scholasticism replaced Catholic Scholasticism within the university.
Curricular Focus and Expanding Clergy Training
The curricular focus within Protestant Scholasticism shifted from instructing a few privileged clergy to providing theological training for all clergy. As a result of this shift, historian Justo González asserts, “For the first time in the entire history of the church, constant efforts were made so that as many as possible among the ordained ministry would have formal theological studies leading to a profound understanding of the gospel, as well as the instruments necessary to serve as shepherds of the flock.”11 Theological education became a central focus of Protestant leadership. Recognizing the necessity of theological training, Martin Luther urged the councilmen of Germany, “We must certainly have men to administer God’s word and the sacraments, and to be shepherds of the souls. But where shall we get them if we let our schools go by the board and fail to replace them with others that are Christian?”12 The Reformers understood that the only way to reform the church and sustain that reform was through training the next generation of leaders.
“For the first time in the entire history of the church, constant efforts were made so that as many as possible among the ordained ministry would have formal theological studies leading to a profound understanding of the gospel, as well as the instruments necessary to serve as shepherds of the flock.”
Evaluation
An analysis of theological education in the Reformation era, when evaluated against the project director’s rubric, reveals strengths in a biblically focused curriculum with a clear emphasis on theological practicality. The university-modeled training programs, such as Calvin’s school in Geneva, also offered community-enhanced learning through a short-term residential community.13 Nevertheless, the growing institutionalism within Reformation theological training resulted in a lack of ongoing accountability at the congregational level and a growing disconnect from the specific needs of individual churches. Finally, research on Reformation theological training did not reveal a significant emphasis on intentional, ongoing educational opportunities beyond personal ministerial development.
1 Elizabeth L. Eisenstein, The Printing Press as an Agent of Change: Communications and Cultural Transformations in Early-Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979), 303–306; Black cites Luther’s opinion of printing, stating “Luther called printing ‘God’s highest and extremist act of grace, whereby the business of the Gospel is driven forward.’” M. H. Black, “The Printed Bible,” in The Cambridge History of the Bible, Vol. 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day, ed. S. L. Greenslade (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1963), 432. Reed and Prevost, A History of Christian Education, 177, 224; The schools of the “Brethren of the Common Life” fostered the rising humanistic tendencies of this era, training many of the reformation-era leaders (e.g., Luther and Erasmus). González, The History of Theological Education, 64. ↩
2 González highlights how the growing accessibility of Greek and Hebrew texts and the influence of the humanists led to theological study that was “impossible to separate…from devotion and the practice of charity.” González, The History of Theological Education, 68. ↩
3 Justo González indicates that the twelfth century provided a renewal of trade, a monetary system, and an “awakening of letters and knowledge.” González, The History of Theological Education, 37. ↩
4 The authors define “Scholasticism” as the combination of “philosophy with Christian theology.” Reed and Prevost, A History of Christian Education, 129; González notes four scholastic leaders, Anslem, Hugh of Saint Victor, Abelard, and Peter Lombard, who were especially influential in “the awakening of theology and and of studies in general that would take place in the thirteenth century.” González, The History of Theological Education, 37. ↩
5 Russell West observes that, prior to the Reformation, significant “inequities [among clergy] were perpetuated through the class-divided ecclesia,” heavily influenced by “literacy-driven socialization.” Although these disparities continued in many parts of Europe, they began to diminish in regions where Reformation fervor existed. West credits the Reformation with initiating a renewal of “empowerment-oriented learning for all people within the church.” West, Church-Based Theological Education, 123; James Reed and Ronnie Provost explain how religious persecution “prohibited the establishment of many Anabaptist schools. Therefore, education to these groups mostly meant training in the home and worship.” Reed and Prevost, A History of Christian Education, 200. ↩
6 A.G. Dickens, The English Reformation (London: Batsford, 1964) 293. ↩
7 West, Church-Based Theological Education, 122. ↩
8 González explains, “[Philipp] Melanchthon proposed a new theological curriculum in which teaching would be grounded not in philosophical scholasticism of earlier generations, but in biblical study based on solid exegesis in the original languages.” González, The History of Theological Education, 71. ↩
9 Graeme Chatfield, “Models of Western Christian Education and Ministerial Training: Antecedents in the Sixteenth Century” in Theological Education: Foundations, Practices, and Future Directions, Australian College of Theology Monograph Series, ed. Andrew M. Bain and Ian Hussey (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2018), 61; In the context of the founding of the Academy of Geneva, W. Stanford Reid states, “Calvin was greatly influenced by the ideological conflicts and changes which were going on around him in the educational world. He spent a number of years at the University of Paris where, according to his own testimony, he gained a first-hand knowledge of the differences between the old and new ideas.” He concludes, “From this training he came forth…a thoroughly convinced humanist.” W. Stanford Reid, “Calvin and the Founding of the Academy of Geneva,” The Westminster Theological Journal 18, (1955): 4. ↩
10 The authors highlight humanism’s educational objectives during the Renaissance, stating, “During the Renaissance, humanism profoundly influenced European education by stressing high standards of scholarship.” The Reforms, who shared the humanist ideals of the era, embraced the Renaissance university construct to accomplish their educational objectives. Reed and Prevost, A History of Christian Education, 177. ↩
11 González, The History of Theological Education, 89. ↩
12 Martin Luther, The Annotated Luther, ed. Hans Joachim Hillerbrand, Kirsi Irmeli Stjerna, Timothy J. Wengert, and Euan Cameron (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017), 271. ↩
13 Reid, “Calvin and the Founding of the Academy of Geneva,” 11–17; Robert D. Knudsen, “Calvinism as a Cultural Force” in John Calvin: His Influence in the Western World, ed. W. Stanford Reid (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 28. ↩