Christianity's Dangerous Idea

Published in 2007, Alister McGrath’s Christianity’s Dangerous Idea examines the Protestant Reformation and its far-reaching consequences for Christianity and the wider world. Beginning with the conviction that every believer should have access to Scripture, McGrath traces how the Reformation challenged established religious authority and gave rise to an extraordinary diversity of Protestant traditions. From Martin Luther and John Calvin to later evangelical movements, the book follows the unfolding history of an idea that proved difficult to contain.

McGrath, a theologian and historian of science, considers both the creative energy and the internal divisions of Protestantism, exploring its influence on politics, culture, education and modern religious life. Rather than presenting the Reformation as a single event with a settled outcome, he treats it as an ongoing historical process shaped by competing interpretations and changing circumstances. The book offers an accessible introduction to one of the decisive movements in European history, while inviting readers to consider how religious ideas can transform institutions, societies and individual lives.

From the book

“Here I stand. I can do no other.”

— Martin Luther, traditionally attributed at the Diet of Worms, 1521

On Christianity’s Dangerous Idea

“A history of Protestantism from the sixteenth century to the present.”

— Alister McGrath, Christianity’s Dangerous Idea