The Myth of the Reformation as the Light of Europe

Did the Reformation turn the lights on in Europe as is commonly believed by most Protestants? In the book Second Messiah by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas we read: "The establishment of the Romanised Christian era marked the beginning of the Dark Ages: the period of Western history when the lights went out on all learning, and superstition replaced knowledge. It lasted until the power of the Roman Church was undermined by the Reformation." This mistaken belief can be refuted with a little objective history. Certainly there was a period of darkness after the Roman Empire collapsed and Western Europed was ravaged by barbarian invasions. But more than 500 years before Luther broke from the Church, Europe was well on its way to becoming the cultural, intellectual, and scientific powerhouse of the world. Consider, for example, this list of achievements that had occurred or were in progress when the Reformation broke out in Europe in 1517:

• The rise of universities and their spread across Europe (see The Rise of Universities by Charles Haskins)
• The beginnings of Western science (see The Beginnings of Western Science by David C. Lindberg, The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages by Edward Grant, etc.)
• The Renaissance of the twelfth century (see The Renaissance of the Twelfth Century by Charles Homer Haskins)
• The rediscovery of Aristotle and the flowering of the 13th century (see Thirteenth, Greatest of Centuries by James J. Walsh)
• The invention of the printing press (invented by Gutenberg c. 1440)
• The Age of Discovery (i.e. Columbus discovering the Americas in 1492).
• The Renaissance (see the "The Renaissance" in the Catholic Encyclopedia)

Of course, it must be remembered that the Catholic Church was very much alive and involved in intellectual and civilizational pursuits after the Reformation. Who can discount the contributions of Catholic scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Descartes? Plus, from the Catholic Reformation came the Council of Trent and the rise of the Jesuits, who would go on to found countless universities and also produce many scientists from their ranks.

Therefore, to believe that the Church kept Europe in darkness is simply false.

For more on this subject see How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods.