Reformation as a Feedback System: A Structural Theory of Religious Authority, Corrigibility, and the Limits of Democratic Conditions

This paper develops a structural theory of religious authority and institutional corrigibility by applying a feedback-based definition of democratic conditions to the organizational architecture of sixteenth‑century Christianity. Building on the author’s earlier work on the three‑function model of administrative philosophy, the study defines democratic conditions as the conjunction of effective negative feedback and the non‑transferability of responsibility. The analysis is conducted from the standpoint of an impartial observer operating under a Rawlsian veil of ignorance, thereby excluding theological self‑understanding and focusing strictly on institutional structure. Although the theoretical framework is general and applicable to a wide range of administrative, political, and religious systems, the paper uses the Reformation era as a focused case study to clarify the mechanisms at work. Through a comparative examination of the late medieval Catholic Church, early Lutheran movements, and Radical Reformation communities, the paper demonstrates that religious organizations can introduce limited forms of negative feedback but face structural constraints on full corrigibility due to doctrinal justification and the concentration of interpretive authority. The study reframes the Reformation not as a purely theological or ideological event but as the predictable breakdown of a positive‑feedback system lacking mechanisms for correction. By analyzing religious authority through the lens of feedback dynamics, the paper offers a structural explanation for the limits of democratic conditions within religious institutions and contributes a general framework for understanding the sustainability and failure modes of authority systems.