Protestant Revolution, The: From Martin Luther to Martin Luther King Jr.

fascinating history of the Reformation and its continuing impact on the modern world.

When Martin Luther nailed ninety-five criticisms of the Catholic Church to the door of his local church in 1517, he sparked not just a religious Reformation, but an unending cycle of political, social and economic change that continues to this day.

By challenging the authority of the Pope, Luther inadvertently unleashed a revolutionary force: the power of the individual to determine his or her own thoughts and actions. Over four centuries later, the Protestant minister Martin Luther King Jr., was acting on the same revolutionary principle when he rejected racial discrimination and spearheaded the U.S. Civil Rights Movement.

The legacy of the Reformation is all around us, influencing our work life, our family life, even our sex life, as well as our political views and sense of national identity. This is the story of how, in effect, Protestantism created the modern world.