Why was Leopold von Ranke’s history of the popes notable for its treatment of religion?

Leopold von Ranke’s Die römischen Päpste (The History of the Popes) is considered a masterpiece of narrative history primarily because it rose above religious partisanship.1

While many accounts of the era were colored by sectarian bias, Ranke’s treatment was notable for depicting the papacy not merely as an ecclesiastical or religious institution, but fundamentally as a worldly power. By applying his rigorous, critical historical methods to the papacy, he analyzed it within the broader context of European political and state development rather than through a lens of theological advocacy or condemnation. This objective approach allowed him to examine the institution's role in the 16th and 17th centuries as a significant political entity, consistent with his broader philosophy that states were "thoughts of God" and essential subjects of historical inquiry.12