Analysis on 'Divided by Faith' by Benjamin Kaplan

Book review on "Divided by Faith" by Benjamin Kaplan
Mr. Kaplan, a professor of Dutch history at University College London and the University of Amsterdam, in his book does not argue against earlier accounts except that he shifts the focus of elite intellectuals and theories to popular values of belief and behavior (Kaplan 2007).
Chapter 5 indicates that the protestant revolution of the 16th-century was invented in order to make reforms within the Catholic Church in Western Europe (Kaplan 2007). Kaplan in the writing provides evidence that all Protestant churches have their initial roots in this Reformation period. Besides, the narration shows this period as responsible for the numerous spiritual movements that are found within the Roman Catholic Church then and today. This is so because of new spiritual movements, reforms of religious communities that the church portends (Kaplan 2007).
Chapter 5 also indicates the evident illusion that peace for the Protestants and Catholics would ever come. He quotes the evident futility through a lament by John Donne who said ‘Tis all in pieces, all coherence gone’. However, the Catholic Church did everything it could to suppress, absorb and resolve schism from its followers and movement. It also depicts how the unity of western Christendom was shattered. Kaplan responds by referring back to early modern Europe, a time during which the issue of religious toleration was as pressing as it is today (Kaplan 2007).
In chapter 6 the author of the book continues to indicate the growth and depth of protestant strength and faith in Austria. He shows how believers could not spare to demand that the ruling fraternity should allow them to preach God’s Word by upholding ‘free, pure and clear’ teachings in the nation of Austria. And since the state was threatened by invasion from Ottoman Turks, it became easy for the spread of reformation while the authorities were doing everything to stop the Ottoman army.
The Successor of Ferdinand, Emperor Maximilian II extended Protestantism when he proclaimed the policy by declaring religious freedom. It also shows how protestant Austria’s nobles necessitated Protestantism through their given grant by the emperor and his brother. Kaplan provides that by 1570s the number of protestant nobles had grown to 90 percent, and hence the unity of western Christendom was shattered. Kaplan book extensively takes us on a panoramic tour of Europe's religious landscape and deep fault lines through three centuries. Nonetheless, the total number of Vienna’s burghers also equaled that of the nobles of Austria.
The writer convincingly achieves to convey the co...