Though the Protestant Reformers changed much within the church in the 16^th century, they left Christendom intact. Not only that but they also persecuted those who took the Reformation deeper and further and who wanted to dismantle the church-state system built since the fourth century. They were known as the Anabaptists – the ‘second baptisers’ – labelled as such because of their practise of baptising tho...

Did the Reformation change Christendom? Surprisingly not is Stuart Murray’s answer in chapter 5 of Post-Christendom. Though the Protestant Reformation brought about much needed change to doctrine and many church practices, very little was done as far as the church’s connection to the state is concerned. ‘They refined it, fractured it and shifted the balance of power within it towards the secular a...