[Conférence] Lay Readings of the Bible in Early Modern Europe

Throughout a period of dramatic change in Europe, characterized by the development of printing, the literary affirmation of vernacular languages, the discovery of formerly unknown places and cultures, the definition of intellectual professions and political theories of government, and the spread of new religious doctrines, the Bible remained a book of reference for ecclesiastics and laics alike. Even in Catholic countries, in which Biblical translations were forbidden, the laity drew upon the Bible as a source of ethical, cultural and professional inspiration. The aim of the international symposium, that will mark the culmination of LE STUDIUM-CESR project entitled The Laity and the Bible: Religious Reading in Early Modern Europe (1470-1650), is to illustrate recent comparative research studies of the contribution that Biblical readings made to the evolution of some of the essential aspects of modernity. Interpreting the Sacred Scriptures represented a means of reinforcing critical perspectives and autonomous behavior, and the symposium will provide an opportunity to clarify the connections between the laity and the Bible that had an impact on different aspects of early modern European countries/cultures and explore how they helped or hindered their evolution towards modernity.

En savoir plus sur le site du CESR.