ABSTRACT
In medieval Catholic theology sophisticated distinctions had evolved with respect to the various definitions and aspects of faith, for example, the distinction between “implicit” and “explicit” faith. The former was the faith of untrained laypersons who, without fully understanding theological details, believed the various teachings of the church. “Explicit” faith was the informed and “explicit” belief in the teachings of the Catholic Church. Families were the place for the orderly exercise of human sexuality, the nurturing propagation of children, and—in Christian families—the nurturing of the Christian faith. The situation became more complicated when in 1576 Catholic nobles formed the Catholic League, since they had concluded that the king could not be relied upon to defend the Catholic faith. Neither the Catholics nor the Huguenots were militarily strong enough to inflict a decisive defeat upon the other, despite their support in the nobility, large enough cadre of supporters among the French people to make them a major force.
