A news item relevant to our discussion Woman blessed by holy toast (BBC, 17 November 2004).

Identify: Old Believers, Holy Thursday rites, auto da fe, blood libel, parish, maleficium.

1. Why does Muir call the Reformation a "ritual process"?

2. What does Muir mean when he refers to "ritual languages"?

3. What are the principal features of Muir's analysis of Protestantism and Catholicism in this chapter?

(a) Was the ritual behaviour of Protestants consistent with Protestant ritual theory?
(b) Why did images in churches pose problems for Protestant Reformers?
(c) Muir identifies two "distinct tendencies" (224) of Catholic ritual reform: the regulatory and the pietistic. What do they signify? Were they compatible with each other and with Catholic ritual theory?
(d) What in general was the Catholic response to the Protestant critque of rituals?
(e) What became the principal location of Catholic ritual life?

4. Why did Protestantism make virtually no inroads in Eastern Orthodox lands? Why did conflicts over ritual occur in Russia?

5. How does Muir's discussion of the persecution of Jews and witches fit into this chapter? Presuming that the rituals attributed to Jews and witches never occurred, how is it that they could be described in great detail?