Protestant Reformation Corruption

The Protestant Reformation was a religious movement introduced by Martin Luther in the early 1500s in effort to end the corruption of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, during the Renaissance period, was vigorously corrupt that even Popes were guilty of being illiterate. The reason why Martin Luther introduced this movement was because he was not incredibly fond of what his fellow officials enacted. Especially since the Pope is the head of the Church, he addresses the Pope publicly regarding the corruption happening and this leads to the start of the Protestant Reformation. The teachings of Protestant Churches were the same as any Catholic Church, but they were given more freedom and salvation. However, this does not stop the many civil

(Chap. 12, Renaissance and Reformation). Thus, he was quite familiar with the Bible and its teachings. However, because of this, he knew of the sinful acts his fellow officials committed. Since the beginning of the late 1400s, the Catholic Church was corrupted in both politically and financially; the Church officials—including the Pope—were guilty of pluralism, indulgences, absenteeism, and clerical ignorance. Both pluralism and absenteeism both had to deal with taking on more than one job in the church and not fulfilling your duties required. On the other hand, indulgences were bribes that tricked people into believing they could escape any acts of sin by having priests pray on their deathbed. In addition, church officials were equally as illiterate as peasants. To make matters worse, Pope Alexander VII committed sinful acts of clerical ignorance by having three kids and a mistress. By religious standards, priests—especially Popes—were to dedicate their lives to the church and they weren’t allowed to be married. But, what led to Martin Luther finally deciding to start the Reform was the Archbishop of Magdeburg—Albert. He was already guilty of pluralism, which is having more than one job in the church, but he preceded to get a third job due to his greediness. Thus, he sends a letter to Pope Julius II to grant him permission. But in return, Pope Julius II

Several countries across Europe were affected—such as England, the Czech Republic, England, Spain, and Italy. In England of 1533, King Henry VII wanted a boy heir to his throne but his wife at the time—Catherine of Aragon—could no supply him with boy, and instead, she gave birth to Queen Mary. King Henry VII, extremely discontented with this, first arranges for a divorce. But under the Catholic Church, divorce is strictly prohibited and the Pope refuses to listen to his request. King Henry VII, still unhappy with no heir to the throne, asks for an annulment. An annulment in a marriage acts as if it never happened. But, the downside to this was that annulment can only occur immediately after marriage and no bearing of kids. King Henry VII met none of these requirements and thus, he creates a new church called the Church of England—or also known known as the Anglican Church—with the guide of Thomas Cromwell. Thomas Cromwell was the main reason to why King Henry VII chose to create the Anglican Church. This church, unlike the Catholic Church, followed the Protestant faith; therefore, he was able to divorce Catherine of Argon and he married several wives after. One of the several wives he married produced a girl offspring who was going to be soon nicknamed as Bloody Mary. Blood Mary, whose real name went by Queen Mary, became the next heiress to the throne from 1553-1558 after the death