A religious reform (from Latin ''re-'': "back, again", and ''formare'': "to form"; i.e. put together: "to restore, reconstruct, rebuild") aims at the reform of religious teachings. It is not to be confused with an organizational reform of a religious community, though mostly this is a consequence of a reform of religious teachings.

Definition

Religious reforms are performed when a religious community reaches the conclusion that it deviated from its - assumed - true faith. Mostly religious reforms are started by parts of a religious community and meet resistance in other parts of the same religious community. Religious reforms usually lead to a reformulation of the religious teachings held for true, and to the condemnation resp. rejection of teachings held for wrong. Mostly the deviation from the assumed true faith which gives reason for a religious reform crept in over a longer period of time, sometimes over centuries. A religious reform is always a reorientation at the historical beginnings of a religion (therefore: ''re-formare'', reconstruct) under the perspective of the present time and with the knowledge of the present time. A typical example for deviations from an assumed true faith are social changes within society which lead a loss purpose for ethical prescriptions, so they have to be replaced by other ethical prescriptions in order to protect the underlying, unchanged value for the future. Another typical example is the factual falsification of traditional views, e.g. by better insights into historical events or into natural science, by which the traditional views are falsified. The eternally continuing change of society and the progress of human knowledge are the reasons why a "final" reform of religious teachings is not possible. Religious teachings have to be reformed again and again. This realization was formulated in a concise

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

sentence, allegedly deriving from a saying of

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...

, and popularized by the Swiss Reformed theologian

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Calvinist theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary ''The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Declara ...

in 1947: ''

Ecclesia semper reformanda est ''Ecclesia semper reformanda est'' (Latin for "the church must always be reformed", often – as usual in Latin – shortened to ''Ecclesia semper reformanda'') is a phrase first greatly popularized by Karl Barth in 1947, allegedly deriving from a ...

'', which means "the Church must always be reformed". Religious reforms do not aim at an adjustment to the spirit of the time in the first place, yet they naturally bring about certain adjustments to the present time, since the religious tradition is reconsidered and reformed under the perspective of the present time and with the knowledge of the present time. A full adjustment of a religious teaching to the spirit of the present time cannot be expected from a credible religious reform. Religious reforms which do not aim at the reestablishment of an assumed true faith in the first place, yet at a mere adjustment of religious teaching to the spirit of the time without respect to an assumed true faith are no religious reforms, strictly speaking. Their purpose is questionable since those reforms are not based on the faith of the believers. Reforms of this nature are often based on compulsion and are usually not long-lasting but are reversed in the next generations. An example is the attempt of the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate to restore paganism as state religion. The opponents of justified religious reforms are called traditionalists, their ideology is traditionalism. The adherents of reforms to adjust to the spirit of the time in the first place without respect for an assumed true faith are called modernists, their ideology is

modernism Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, ...

. Both concepts were coined by Christian-Catholic historical developments, yet today they are applied to all religions.Cf. e.g. title of: J. Schacht
Modernism and Traditionalism in a History of Islamic Law
in: Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 1, No. 4 (Jul., 1965), pp. 388-400

Famous examples of religious reforms

* The

Buddhist councils Since the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities ("'' sangha''") have periodically convened to settle doctrinal and disciplinary disputes and to revise and correct the contents of the sutras. These gathe ...

(from the 5th century BCE onwards), for the clarification on the fundamental teachings of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in ...

among the

early Buddhist schools The early Buddhist schools are those schools into which the Buddhist monastic saṅgha split early in the history of Buddhism. The divisions were originally due to differences in Vinaya and later also due to doctrinal differences and geograp ...

. * The

First Council of Nicaea The First Council of Nicaea (; grc, Νίκαια ) was a council of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in AD 325. This ecumenical council was the first effor ...

(325 CE), for the clarification on the doctrine of the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

among the early Christian theologians. * The

Muʿtazila Muʿtazila ( ar, المعتزلة ', English: "Those Who Withdraw, or Stand Apart", and who called themselves ''Ahl al-ʿAdl wa al-Tawḥīd'', English: "Party of ivineJustice and Oneness f God); was an Islamic group that appeared in early Islamic ...

school of

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding '' ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Bat ...

, which existed between the 8th and 10th centuries. * The

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

led by

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Luther ...

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

, and other

Protestant Reformers Protestant Reformers were those theologians whose careers, works and actions brought about the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. In the context of the Reformation, Martin Luther was the first reformer (sharing his views publicly in ...

between the 16th and 17th centuries. *

Religious liberalism Religious liberalism is a conception of religion (or of a particular religion) which emphasizes personal and group liberty and rationality. It is an attitude towards one's own religion (as opposed to criticism of religion from a secular positio ...

Liberal Christianity Liberal Christianity, also known as Liberal Theology and historically as Christian Modernism (see Catholic modernism and Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy), is a movement that interprets Christian teaching by taking into consideration ...

*** Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy *** The introduction of the

historical-critical method Historical criticism, also known as the historical-critical method or higher criticism, is a branch of criticism that investigates the origins of ancient texts in order to understand "the world behind the text". While often discussed in terms of ...

Biblical scholarship Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

in the 19th and 20th centuries. ** Liberalism and progressivism within Islam ***

Islamic modernism Islamic modernism is a movement that has been described as "the first Muslim ideological response to the Western cultural challenge" attempting to reconcile the Islamic faith with modern values such as democracy, civil rights, rationality, ...

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

, otherwise referred to as Liberal Judaism. * The

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(1962–1965).

References

{{reflist

Bibliography

* Ronald L. Johnstone
Religion in Society: A Sociology of Religion
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006. * Armin W. Geertz, Jeppe Sinding Jensen
Religion, Tradition, and Renewal
Aarhus Universitetsforlag, 1991. * Michael Molloy, Richard C. Trussell
Experiencing the World's Religions: Tradition, Challenge and Change
McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 1998. * John P. Bradbury
Perpetually Reforming: A Theology of Church Reform and Renewal
2013.

External links

''Religious Reforms''
General thoughts on reform on Almuslih.org. Reform Religion

Definition

Famous examples of religious reforms

See also

References

Bibliography

External links