The importance of religion is evident in almost all aspects of the literature of sixteenth-century France and in particular in writers' engagement with two major, complexly inter-related phenomena: first, the Reformations, Protestant and Catholic (or Counter-Reformation), in which were involved theological issues such as the relationship between grace and human nature, the value of good works versus faith alone, the constitution of the Church, the Bible and its interpretation, the intercession of the saints, and the sacraments (notably the Eucharist and confession), and which, in the second half of the century, gave rise to a long series of civil wars; and, second, the humanist movement's revalorisation of ancient culture, including philosophical ideas more or less susceptible to syncretic reconciliation with Christianity (most notably in the form of Neoplatonism), and its development of new historical and philological methodologies, along with an emphasis on the study of Greek and Hebrew, applied within the fields of biblical translation and commentary. While this essay will focus on Christian religious culture, the study of Hebrew by scholars such as François Vatable entailed an engagement with some aspects of Jewish thought, although this was often regarded with suspicion. An interest in the cabbala, related to the enthusiasm in certain quarters for esoteric traditions, was developed notably by Guillaume Postel, a student of Vatable, and passed on to Guy Le Fèvre de la Boderie (see below) among others.