SCHEPHERDS AND FLOCHS: RELIGIOUS PRACTICE BETWEEN ECCLESIASTIC PRIORITIES AND SECULAR NEEDS
SCHEPHERDS AND FLOCHS: RELIGIOUS PRACTICE BETWEEN ECCLESIASTIC PRIORITIES AND SECULAR NEEDS

Summary/Abstract: The project Beyond the Norms: Religious Practice in Late Medieval and Early Modern Transylvania has set out to explore the construction of religious/ confessional identity in the late medieval and early modern period with a focus on lay involvement in this process. The project thus wished to assess changes in religious practice shaped by secular agency in response to the norms set up by the church/churches. However, by taking a closer look at the changes in ecclesiastical prescriptions, both during the late Middle Ages and after the Reformation, this investigation has also considered the possibility of secular impact on the development of church norms. The project has consequently emphasized the role of the two-way communication between the clergy and secular society. It has addressed such issues as the place of religion in society, the strength of habit in religious practice and the power of allegiance to a confessional community. The project has consequently aimed to look at religious life in late medieval and early modern Transylvania from below, particularly and when possible from the perspective of the laity.

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