Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Their concerns were different in nature, though both feared the spread of uncontrolled print.

Erasmus (a humanist) feared that printed books would spread irreligious and rebellious ideas among ordinary readers who lacked the judgment to interpret texts correctly, threatening the authority of valuable literature and rational intellectual culture.

The Roman Catholic Church feared print because it allowed reformers like Martin Luther to circulate challenges to Church authority widely — Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, reproduced in vast numbers, fuelled the Protestant Reformation. The Church responded by keeping an Index of Prohibited Books to suppress such threats to its religious authority.

Erasmus feared intellectual chaos; the Church feared loss of religious and institutional control.

Source: Chapter 5, Section 3.2 – Religious Debates and the Fear of Print

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• The examiner wants you to take a clear position (same or different) and justify it with specific evidence for each — Erasmus and the Church separately.
• Key distinction: Erasmus worried about misreading and intellectual disorder; the Church worried about heresy and loss of authority. Both feared uncontrolled print but for different reasons.
• Avoid vague statements like "both were scared of print" — always name what specifically each found threatening.
• The Index of Prohibited Books (hinted at in the exercise question 1c) and Luther's example are the strongest textbook references to use here.