From Inner Religion to Church Reform: The Transformation of Religiosity in the Late Middle Ages

Abstract

This article analyses the transformation of Christian religiosity between the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period, focusing on the 14th to 16th centuries in Europe and America. Throughout the Middle Ages, the concept of the sacred evolved from a valuation of the sacredness of nature to a growing appreciation of the sacredness of the human being. Toward the end of this process, a shift toward a religiosity based on individual interiority becomes evident, increasingly independent of traditional mediating institutions such as the clergy. This gives rise to a new spirituality that exalts the sensitive and emotional aspects of the human being, fostering the development of mystical currents and granting greater prominence to the laity. Traditional ecclesiastical structures cease to be perceived as the sole channels of mediation, and the individual finds within their interiority the freedom to relate to God in a personal way. The issue of Church reform becomes a central point of discussion not only in Europe but also in America. In the 16th century, the first Franciscan missionaries in México saw the possibility of founding a «new Church» that would contribute to the reform of the universal Church.