"In this study, Erika Rummel examines the transformation of mental habits and institutions in Reformation Germany under the influence of confessional polarization. More specifically, she shows how the Reformation debate affected humanism.".

"Rummel deals with such topics as the perceived link between humanists and reformers, the tensions between the two groups over educational ideas, the suppression of skepticism, the social and political pressures that led to career changes and Nicodemism, and the efforts to achieve a religious peace.

In each of these areas humanists attempted to inject their own ideas into the Reformation debate, but often these ideas were reshaped and resurfaced in a form that was far removed from its original humanistic context."--BOOK JACKET.