The Unintended Outcomes of Spreading the Gospel

Community Split, False Unanimity, Secular Blaming

Bibliographic Data

ID4313485
AuthorsMarc Aberle (0000-0001-9330-8650, University of Geneva, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume15
Issue8
Pages1020
Publication date2024-08-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel15081020
OpenAlexW4401761830
LanguageEN
References cited42

Zwingli never considered it likely for the old Confederacy to endure being split between two confessional camps. Therefore, his sermons were a powerful impetus for mobilizing the cantonal governments in favor of a conversion of the entire alliance to the reformed Gospel. However, facing fierce reluctance, he tried to bypass the Diet by rallying local support among parishioners, thus bringing the whole Confederacy on his side. This purpose, allegedly uttered with the intent of securing peace, underpinned the use of symbolic violence and coercion. With the Christian Civic Union between Bern and Zurich, the local parishes found themselves at the core of these efforts, relying on majority votes. Preachers would certainly try to explain how the community would temporarily be divided before achieving a superficial unanimity by voting to abolish the Mass. While Zwingli's death marked an end to these ventures, French-speaking preachers translated these views and beliefs into Western and then French communities and the accusations of sedition and political disruption the protestants faced since years suddenly bloomed again. The transposition of those concepts to less republican contexts than those of Ancient Switzerland created one of the first manifestations of a link between Calvinism and Democracy, although in a controversial way

Economics · Gospel · Political science · Positive economics · Theology · Unanimity · History · Law · Philosophy · Religion, Society, and Development

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