happens, a confluence of minutiae turned Luther’s actions from an evolutionary trial balloon into an actual societal mutation. In particular, his actions occurred within an environment of personality types intertwined with technology and social upheavals so as to create not just a theological schism but a social one as well. The technological aspect of this mix was the invention and subsequent widespread availability of the printing press. The social aspect was the translation of the Bible into German, English and other popular common languages. This meant that the discussion of Luther’s ideas wasn’t confined to the literati and conducted in Latin. Rather, it meant that the common man, or at least the societal elite outside the power structure of the Church, could follow the discussion and ponder and participate in the potential outcomes. Thus, Luther was able to bring what might have been a purely religious turmoil into the world of main street politics; in essence, he was able to redirect the orientation of the policy infrastructure within the trust infrastructure. He did not challenge the trust of believers in God, but rather the projection of policy based on that trust.

It was this facet of the event, its more purely social side, or perhaps we should say secular side, that ultimately amplified the profound nature of the situation. Besides Luther himself, the two dominant personalities involved were Pope Leo X, whom the Durants describe thus, “His morals were good in an immoral milieu…” but “All his faults were superficial except his superficiality.” On the more secular side was found Frederick the Wise, “…a pious and provident ruler.” These personality characteristics strongly influenced the sequence of events and the ultimate outcome; essentially, Pope Leo didn’t perceive the problem quickly enough and Frederick offered political and physical cover to Luther long enough for the paradigm shift to take hold. The end result was a dislocation between the trust infrastructure, the Christian God in this case, and the policy infrastructure. The question was, “If policy isn’t defined by the Roman Catholic clergy then by whom is it defined?” The ramifications had long legs indeed.

What, then, were some of these ramifications? First, it is important to note that the Protestant Reformation resulted in a new policy infrastructure within the same trust infrastructure. That is, protestant believers view themselves as adherents to essentially the same God as do Roman Catholics. Of course, the policies of one church derived within this trust infrastructure are sometimes viewed as heretical from the perspective of other churches. So, in fact the multiple churches that trust in the same God were, after the schism, competitors. The original church continued; the new churches developed. This is exactly the same situation that exists with the emergence of new organic species; competition and coexistence until such time as a winner emerges or benign coexistence stabilizes. Such is the case with modern Christianity; we’re in an environment where different denominations are in subtle, or not so subtle, conflict with one another.

So, we interpret one perturbation in the major social system that is Western Christianity in terms of a great schism in existing policy infrastructures. Many other societal mutation events followed from it, but perhaps the most profound is recognized in another great schism; that resulting in an iconic example of Western Democracy. It began in the late XVIII^th Century when Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain, located among the eastern reaches of the continent of North America, began the steps to remove themselves from the trust and policy infrastructures defined by the British monarchy. The Declaration of Independence, which we first considered in this light in our Prologue, is very similar to Luther’s 95 Theses from the standpoint that it was a defining moment in the continuum of social structures at which a significant change of direction arose. The declaration very clearly established both a new trust infrastructure and the seminal policy infrastructure that would allow development of a more comprehensive social structure, although the seminal policy infrastructure very clearly did not define what this comprehensive structure

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