A Study on the Revolutionary Spirit in Luther’s Reformation

Jongkyunn Park

doi:10.21050/CSE.2017.39.01

The purpose of the study is grasp the true meaning of Marx’s statement that “the revolutionary past of Germany was theoretical, and it would be the Reformation.” This study is conducted in three stages. First, we understand the anti-clerical attitude of Luther and Marx-Engels, and consider the revolutionary meaning of it. Anti-clericalism is a key issue not only in a mainstream right-wing of Reformation camp as Luther, but also in left-wing of Reformation camps such as Müntzer. It can be said that it was the origin of the Reformation and the original root of the revolution to expose and protest against the evil of the church and the corruption of the clergies. And it can be judged that the radical Republicans of the nineteenth century, Marx and Engels, have faithfully followed the precedent. Second, we discuss how Engels understands Luther’s Reformation in his book The Peasant War in Germany. It is clear that Engels was willing to position Luther as a strong advocate of the emerging bourgeois ideology at the time. Nevertheless, it is noted that Engels acknowledges that Luther had a profound influence on the revolutionary conduct of Müntzer and especially the Peasant War in 1525. Finally, this study discusses the revolutionary connection between Marx and Luther in the sense that Marx positively assessed Luther as a first-level accomplisher in the development phase of the German Revolution.

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* 2021년 이후 발행 논문의 참고문헌은 현재 구축 중입니다.

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