Reformation Theology and History

Program Overview

The Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Reformation Theology and History studies the sixteenth century and its consequences. The Reformation was not a single event with a single cause, and it was not only a dispute about indulgences. It was a contest over authority, salvation, sacrament, church order, and the shape of Christian society, carried out in print, in pulpits, in councils, and too often by force. Its settlements still define the confessional landscape of world Christianity. Students read the primary sources: Luther's early treatises and later polemics, Zwingli and the Swiss reformers, Calvin's Institutes and commentaries, the Anabaptist and radical writings, the Anglican formularies, and the Catholic reforming literature and the decrees of Trent. The theological core examines justification, Scripture and tradition, the sacraments and the eucharistic controversies, ecclesiology, and the two-kingdoms and magisterial questions. Historical study covers late medieval religion and the conditions that made reform possible, the role of printing and vernacular literacy, cities and territorial politics, women in the Reformation, the confessionalization of Europe, the wars of religion, and the long consequences in Puritanism, Pietism, and the confessional orthodoxies. Latin and German reading ability is developed for research use. The dissertation makes an original contribution on a reformer, a controversy, a text, or a regional reformation. Graduates teach church history and historical theology, write for scholarly and church audiences, and advise denominations on their own confessional inheritance.

Core Courses

• REF 801 — Late Medieval Religion and the Conditions of Reform (6 credits)
• REF 812 — Luther and the German Reformation (6 credits)
• REF 824 — Reformed, Radical, and English Reformations (6 credits)
• REF 836 — Catholic Reform and the Council of Trent (6 credits)
• REF 848 — Confessionalization and Its Consequences (5 credits)
• REF 860 — Research Design in Reformation Studies (4 credits)
• REF 899 — Doctoral Dissertation in Reformation Studies (24 credits)

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree in biblical studies, theology, history, or a closely related field
• Prior coursework in the biblical or historical languages the specialization requires
• Statement of purpose naming the research question you intend to pursue
• Academic writing sample, ideally an exegetical or historical research paper
• Current curriculum vitae
• Official transcripts from prior institutions when available