Lay Theologians as Experts in the Early Modern Period: Popular Transformations in the Wake of Spiritualism and Christian Theosophy; [Laientheolog*innen als Expert*innen in der frühen Neuzeit: Populäre Transformationen in der Folge von Spiritualismus und christlicher Theosophie]

In the Early Modern period, many professions, including theology, did not yet have systems to validate expertise. Some laypeople were able to acquire deep theological knowledge or have more impact than church-ordained theologians. The Reformation promoted the idea of a »Priesthood of Believers,« but it remained little developed, since clergy continued to administer sacraments. Lay activity surged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries under the influence of spiritualists, who believed that all things are connected by the Divine, and thus, that people do not need clergy to access God. Christian theosophers saw nature as divine revelation, and their study of the natural world also began to undermine traditional theology. Since through confessionalization, state and church power were deeply intertwined, the state tried to enforce adherence to confession. The attempts of the early modern state to define who could act as a theologian have left traces in modern historiography. © 2023, The Author(s).