How Did Erasmus Feel About the Catholic Church

Erasmus remained a member of the Roman Catholic church all his life, staying committed to reforming the church and its clerics’ abuses from within. He also held to the Catholic doctrine of free will, which some Reformers rejected in favor of the doctrine of predestination.

What did Erasmus say about the Catholic Church?

Erasmus had criticized the church for many of the same problems that Luther later attacked. In one of his most famous books, The “Praise of Folly,” he mocked priests who didn’t read the Bible.

What did Erasmus believe?

He embraced the humanistic belief in an individual’s capacity for self-improvement and the fundamental role of education in raising human beings above the level of brute animals. The thrust of Erasmus’ educational programme was the promotion of docta pietas, learned piety, or what he termed the “philosophy of Christ”.