It is one thing to preach against idolatry, and quite another actually to smash an altarpiece. As has already been pointed out, iconoclastic theology and iconoclastic policy were not always in agreement during the early days of the Reformation. We have seen how the policies of Karlstadt and Zwingli were reduced to practice in Wittenberg and Zurich. It is now time to examine the phenomenon of iconoclasm in greater detail.

Older studies of the Reformation often display a keener awareness of the significance of iconoclasm than modern interpretations. J. H. Merle D'Aubigné's History of the Reformation, for instance, describes the spread of Protestantism in Switzerland largely through a narrative of iconoclastic acts; and in doing so, he only follows the lead established in the sixteenth century by chroniclers such as Johannes Stumpf and Jeanne de Jussie. Although these polemical histories generally lack precision, depth, and objectivity, they sometimes offer a perceptive understanding of revealing patterns.

Iconoclasm is a phenomenon that allows us to analyze the process of the Reformation as do few other aspects of that age. It is not only the most visible change brought about by the religious crisis of the sixteenth century, but also one of the most radical and “democratic.” Even though there were different types of iconoclasm and various reasons for its occurrence, it is still safe to say that the destruction of Catholic cultic objects was perhaps the most intense popular expression of the revolt against Rome.