Jews And Heretics in Catholic Poland : A Beleaguered Church in the Post-Reformation Era, Hardcover by Teter, Magda, ISBN 0521856736, ISBN-13 9780521856737, Brand New, Free shipping in the US

According to many historians, the Catholic Church was the victor over the Reformation in Poland and celebrated by developing pervasive anti-Semitism. However, according to Teter (history, Wesleyan U.) the Church was beset by the print culture of the Reformation and found its hold on the Polish faithful so insecure it had to find an enemy and wage a spiritual and political war. The Church used as its primary weapon its position in a triumvirate comprised of the King, the nobles and itself. It created a rigid hierarchy, separating Poles socially, culturally, and spiritually, although some nobles continued to associate with Jews. As a result non-Catholics were played against each other to justify the power of the Church, resulting in the violent racial anti-Semitism that marks all of Polish modern history. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR ()