Differenzierung und Integration - Konfessionalisierung im frühneuzeitlichen Gesellschaftssystem : das Beispiel der habsburgischen Vorlande

Abstract

Using the example of the Habsburg lands, the author reformulates the paradigm of confessionalization in the light of system theory. Confessionalization is understood as symptom of a reorganization which deeply affected the entire social structure. The process of confessionalization brought about the disintegration of the hierarchical patterns of feudal society and the slow integration of religion and politics as functionally related systems of action with their own social rationality of action. From the perspective of the prince, the confessionalization of the Vorlande meant the creation of clearly marked boundaries between the secular and the ecclesiastical sphere of influence. This made it increasingly difficult to employ secular titles of possession for ecclesiastical purposes and vice versa. On the other hand, the prince used his religious and secular reform policy in order to bypass the nobility and to bring his princely authority to bear direccly upon his subjects. In this way, confessionalization contributed decisively to the formation of a state independent of the nobility. There were analogous developments in the ecclesiastical sphere. The process of confessionalization brought about the reorganization of the Adelskirche and its structure based on benefices into a bureaucratic organization centered on the bishop and staffed by an educated clergy committed to a special, i.e. non-noble, way of life. At the same time, the church succeeded in extending its legal autonomy vis-a-vis the secular government. With the Tridentine reform of piety, the division between the holy and the profane also became clearer in other areas of life. This furthered the separation of the religious sphere from other fields of social interaction. Therefore, confessionalization became possible because it was linked with the complex processes of integration, in the course of which religion and politics developed into social systems independent of one another. Hence it has to be doubted whether confessionalization qualifies as a fundamental process of society. It should rather be understood as a part of a comprehensive and thorough process of restructuring. Therefore, the significance of confessional church-building in the evolutionary process of modernization in early modern society will have to be newly defined.