Reformation in Switzerland - Development of Protestantism

Development of Protestantism

After the violent conflicts of the late 15th century the Swiss cantons had had a generation of relative political stability. As part of their struggle for independence, they had already in the 15th century sought to limit the influence of the Church on their political sovereignty. Many monasteries had already come under secular supervision, and the administration of schools was in the hands of the cantons, although the teachers generally still were priests.

Nevertheless, many of the problems of the Church also existed in the Swiss Confederacy. Many a cleric as well as the Church as a whole enjoyed a luxury lifestyle in stark contrast to the conditions the large majority of the population lived in; this luxury was financed by high church taxes and abundant sale of indulgences. Many priests were badly educated, and spiritual Church doctrines were often disregarded. Many priests did not live in celibacy but in concubinage. The new reformatory ideas thus fell on fertile ground.

The main proponent of the Reformation in Switzerland was Ulrich Zwingli, whose actions during the Affair of the Sausages are now considered to be the start of the Reformation in Switzerland. His own studies, in the renaissance humanist tradition, had led him to preach against injustices and hierarchies in the Church already in 1516 while he was still a priest in Einsiedeln. When he was called to Zürich, he expanded his criticism also onto political topics and in particular condemned the mercenary business. His ideas were received favourably, especially by entrepreneurs, businessmen, and the guilds. The first disputation of Zürich of 1523 was the breakthrough: the city council decided to implement his reformatory plans and to convert to Protestantism.

In the following two years, profound changes took place in Zürich. The Church was thoroughly secularised. Priests were relieved from celibacy, the opulent decorations in the churches were thrown out. The state assumed the administration of Church properties, financing the social works (which up to then were managed entirely by the Church), and also paid the priests. The last abbess of the Fraumünster, Katharina von Zimmern, turned over the convent including all of its rights and possessions to the city authorities on 30 November 1524. She even married the next year.

Over the next few years, the cities of St. Gallen, Schaffhausen, Basel, Bienne, Mulhouse, and finally Bern (in 1528) all followed the example set by Zürich. Their subject territories were converted to Protestantism by decree. In Basel, reformer Johannes Oecolampadius was active, in St. Gallen, the Reformation was adopted by mayor Joachim Vadian. In Glarus, Appenzell, and in the Grisons, which all three had a more republican structure, individual communes decided for or against the Reformation. In the French-speaking parts, reformers like William Farel had been preaching the new faith under Bernese protection since the 1520s, but only in 1536, just before John Calvin arrived there, did the city of Geneva convert to Protestantism. The same year, Bern conquered the hitherto Savoyard Vaud and also instituted Protestantism there.

Despite their conversion to Protestantism, the citizens of Geneva were not ready to adopt Calvin's new strict Church order, and banned him and Farel from the city in 1538. Three years later—there had been elections in the meantime, and there was a new city council—Calvin was called back. Step by step he implemented his strict programme. A counter-revolt in 1555 failed, and many established families left the city.