The Hussite Reformation, sparked by the Czech theologian Jan Hus, was in part motivated by a desire to address the class inequalities and divides in Bohemian society. Many of the issues, however, were directly related to the influence of the Catholic church in Bohemia. At the root of the movement was the aspiration for priests and other ecclesiastical officials to turn away from material desires, such as land and wealth. The reformation also included taking Communion under both kinds or, communion sub utraque specie, a practice that would place the peasantry on a much more even level to the clergy. In order to bridge the gap between the church and the lower classes, the reformists also sought to promote preaching scripture in different languages. In this time period, the early 15th century, services were done in Latin, the language of the educated, creating a barrier for the peasant class.

These wishes of the peasantry to correct the abuses of the Catholic church were addressed through the drafting of the Four Articles of Prague.^[1] These acts were first accepted into Czech law with the Prague Compactata, an agreement with the Hussites. Although they were not initially accepted by all groups, the articles and the Compactata laid the groundwork for more cooperation between the Hussites and nobility. The Four Articles of Prague also clearly laid out the demands of the Hussites and peasant class.

These articles promoted preaching from scripture and communion under both kinds, and banned the ecclesiastical ownership of land and remission of sin based on status money. Although these articles were primarily to fight back against the growing corruption within the Catholic church, there is a clear connection to the class struggles occurring alongside the reformation. In revoking the land ownership of the church, the clergy would not be able to extract greater revenue from the peasantry. The prohibition of selling indulgences to the nobility also reduced the power that the elite had in relation to religious practices. It also, in theory, allowed for the Catholic church to remain a more separate entity from other social classes and political groups. Therefore these articles would remove the Catholic church as a factor in increasing social inequality.

[1] Mark, J. J. (2021, November 17). Bohemian Reformation. World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Bohemian_Reformation/